Close Up Civil Discourse Credential

The Civil Discourse Credential focuses on students’ competencies across three domains: Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy, Communicating Across Difference, and Analyzing Social and Political Issues. These skills and dispositions are in high demand: in classrooms, in college admissions, on university campuses, in the modern workplace, in politics and government, and in our everyday lives and decision-making processes. 

• The credential provides criteria to demonstrate proficiency in a range of vital discourse skills, including identifying misinformation, facilitating dialogue in diverse groups, accounting for personal biases, exploring competing viewpoints on complex issues, and analyzing policy.
• The credential offers recommended activities and resources for students and educators to use, all tracked through a Learning Record hosted by Mastery Transcript Consortium.
• Students might analyze the use of political rhetoric by elected officials, design resources with a multipartisan perspective on a politically charged topic, or facilitate a structured deliberation with peers to address a community issue.
• Nonpartisanship and a willingness to engage with differing views are cornerstones of Close Up’s approach and underpin the skills students are intended to gain by achieving the credential.