Accessing the mana of lifelong learning Liam Rātana, the Spinoff (New Zealand)

For most New Zealanders, study ends when we enter the workforce. The Mind Lab is trying to change that by offering tertiary study without the barriers of time and money.The value of lifelong learning is undeniable, especially in an age when technological advances are rapidly changing the way we work. But for many people the cost – and time – required to return to education is too high to allow them to leave their careers to undertake further study.  

https://thespinoff.co.nz/partner/the-mind-lab/17-11-2021/accessing-the-mana-of-lifelong-learning/

COVID-19 is Accelerating the Creation of Options for Adult Learners - Paulette Delgado, Observatory (Mexico)

The pandemic forced educational institutions to move to the digital environment. Although this change has been full of challenges, it's something that must have happened a long time ago. Due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the demand for digital skills has been on the rise, mainly due to artificial intelligence and automation. This promoted practices such as talent analysis, pre-evaluation, and even simulation-based hiring, where they perform tasks that applicants will have on the job if they get it. Furthermore, due to the global demand for retraining, lifelong learning is critical to find a job and keep it. This is why there has been a boom in flexible digital learning offerings. Coursera reported earlier this month that there was a 38% revenue growth caused by the brilliance of obtaining entry-level professional certificates. In addition, there was an increase of around 75% in micro-credentials granted by companies, industry associations, and other non-institutional providers.

https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-news/options-for-adult-learners

Quick college credentials: Student outcomes and accountability policy for short-term programs - Stephanie Riegg Cellini and Kathryn J. Blanchard, Brookings Institution

Asmall, though important, set of postsecondary programs have largely escaped the notice of policymakers and researchers: short-term vocational programs lasting between 300-599 clockhours. These short programs are not currently eligible for Pell Grants, but can access federal student loans under the Higher Education Act. These programs are understudied in the literature and are not separately identifiable in most public government datasets. In this report, we document the size and scope of these programs, discuss current policies designed to ensure program quality, and explore the implications of alternative accountability policies that regulators might consider.

https://www.brookings.edu/research/quick-college-credentials-student-outcomes-and-accountability-policy-for-short-term-programs/

Adapting workers to the modern economy: Alternative training and certification - Marcus Casey and Ember Smith, Brookings Institution

Technological change is transforming the skill needs of employers. And it is not clear that colleges and universities are supplying workers with the requisite skills or ongoing learning options to satisfy this demand. As noted in the World Economic Forum, “42% of core skills required to perform existing jobs are expected to change” over the next two years. This trend is among those feeding a growing anxiety about the labor market; as a recent survey suggests, 44% of young people worry that there won’t be demand for their skills and knowledge in the future. Furthermore, even if schools were to overhaul their curricula, those already in the workforce would still need retraining to keep up with technological change. While there are some initiatives in place, none are at the scale needed for the number of workers at risk.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/04/13/adapting-workers-to-the-modern-economy-alternative-training-and-certification/

An Innovator’s Views On Digital Credentials — From Credly’s Jonathan Finkelstein - Michael B. Arthur, Forbes

Digital credential management — determining and certifying credit for the learning you have completed or embarked on — has emerged as a fast-growing specialization within talent management. This article looks at that specialization through an interview with Jonathan Finkelstein, CEO of Credly, a major player in the business. Credly and its competitors make money from selling their services to organizations. However, Finkelstein was willing to speak about his company’s contribution to people’s careers. He had much to say.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarthur/2021/07/19/an-innovators-views-on-digital-credentials---from-credlys-jonathan-finkelstein/

GW Research Professor Co-Leads National Initiative Advocating for Incremental Postsecondary Credentialing - Ruth Steinhardt, GW Today

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has awarded a $3 million “Transformative Research in the Education Sciences” program grant to “Credential As You Go” (CAYG), a national initiative at SUNY Empire State College. The initiative is co-led by Holly Zanville, co-director of the George Washington University Program on Skills, Credentials and Workforce Policy; Nan Travers, director of SUNY Empire State’s Center for Leadership in Credentialing Learning; and Larry Good, CEO of the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce.CAYG works to develop a consistent, widely recognized incremental credentialing system for American postsecondary education—a system advocates say could create a more equitable and accessible alternative to traditional degree-focused credentialing systems.

https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/gw-research-professor-co-leads-national-initiative-advocating-incremental-postsecondary

Survey: 7 in 10 College Leaders Say Microcredentials Could Help Enrollment and Revenue - Dian Schaffhauser, Campus Technology

Microcredentials are increasingly finding a home in higher education to provide students with opportunities to boost skills quickly in new areas, supplement existing course and degree offerings rapidly, and provide programs that can help institutions compete against alternative education formats such as bootcamps. According to a new survey, seven in 10 higher education leaders (71 percent) said that "alternative credentials" could help them achieve institutional revenue and enrollment goals. Yet, just 60 percent considered credential initiatives "totally" or "very" aligned with their institutions' strategic plans.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2021/07/22/survey-7-in-10-college-leaders-say-microcredentials-could-help-enrollment-and-revenue.aspx

It’s time to create an alternative path into a journalism career - Joshuah Benton, NiemanLab

American journalists look less and less like the country they cover — in terms of race, class, and background. We need to expand the pool of people who can enter the industry, and an idea from K-12 education might help. There were The Successful Journalists Who Didn’t Go To Journalism School And Think It’s Insane. The Successful Journalists Who Went to J-School But Back When Prices Were Reasonable. The J-School Grads Who Hate The Price But Felt They Had To Go Nonetheless. The Young Journalists Who Still Worry It’s Essential For A Good Career. 

https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/10/its-time-to-create-an-alternative-path-into-a-journalism-career/

What are micro-credentials? - Kwami Ahiabenu, Graphic.com

Education and training were traditionally tied to a face-to-face classroom which took months or years at a stretch, ending with the acquisition of a certificate. Innovations in education and training are giving birth to alternative forms of instruction delivery and new varieties of certification. One such alternative is micro-credentials or micro-certification. It is anchored on a system of evidence of accomplishment, rigorous assessment, and validation standards. Furthermore, its popularity is in part driven by its relevancy to labor market stakeholders in terms of offering a valuable tool in aligning skills, attitudes, and knowledge acquisition process to labor demands by industry. 

https://www.graphic.com.gh/features/features/what-are-micro-credentials.html

CUNY School Of Professional Studies: Apply Now For CUNY Winter-Spring 2022 Micro-Credential

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is excited to announce that applications for the Winter-Spring 2022 EverUp Micro-Credentials are now open through November 30! This free 100-hour online intensive will provide undergraduate students with in-demand skills and a chance at an internship or full-time job at NY Jobs CEO Council companies, who are some of New York's largest employers. Students who complete the course will also receive a $300 stipend, access to internship info sessions, and networking.

https://sps.cuny.edu/about/news/apply-now-cuny-winter-spring-2022-micro-credential

Higher Ed, From Static to Dynamic - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Businesses are accustomed to changes in the marketplace: the demographics of customers and clients change through time. Products and services are constantly under scrutiny to ensure that they are finely tuned to the needs and desires of the marketplace. Efficiency, effectiveness and cost savings are encouraged and rewarded among employees and managers.  Higher education, on the other hand, over the past decades has become too comfortable in serving an unchanging market with a largely unchanging product, year after year, decade after decade. As a result, we see startling data on student enrollments. For example, fewer than half of all high schoolers want to go to a four-year college. 

https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/blogs/online-trending-now/higher-ed-static-dynamic

Creating a Constellation of Offerings with Microcredentials and Continuing Education - Kristine Collings, Modern Campus

 Kristine Collins, Assistant Dean of Academic Programs in the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto, highlighted the increasing need to help learners stay relevant in the workforce. “We are constantly fed information about there being a skills gap and about remaining competitive,” she said.  This is why microcredentials are an attractive solution. They’re short, affordable and it’s something the institution can support.There is some fear within higher education that microcredentials will replace or hold more significance than a traditional degree. But, as Collins points out, that’s a misconception; an institution can thrive by having microcredentials exist alongside degrees. 

https://moderncampus.com/blog/creating-a-constellation-of-offerings-with-microcredentials-and-continuing-education.html

Micro-credentials: The solution to the skills gap and accessible education - Mike Caruso, University Business

A recent Gartner survey found that 58% of employees need new skills to successfully do their work. If organizations don’t provide necessary training, they risk the inability to perform critical business activities, inefficient operations and missed growth opportunities. To close the skills gap, organizations need to invest in upskilling opportunities like micro-credentials — mini-qualifications that demonstrate an individual’s abilities, knowledge or experience in a specific subject area. With micro-credentials, companies can leverage programs from educational institutions to upskill and reskill their workforce. For universities, micro-credentials can unlock corporate partnerships, expand their reach and create more accessible educational opportunities.

https://universitybusiness.com/micro-credentials-the-solution-to-the-skills-gap-and-accessible-education/

Why faculty need to talk about microcredentials - LOLEEN BERDAHL, University Affairs

There is reason to believe that shorter, competency-based programs will play an important role in the university landscape in the coming years.  As anyone working in university leadership has heard, non-degree programming is expected to play a big part in the future of higher education. Microcredentials – also known as micro-credentials (the hyphenation question has yet to be settled), nano-credentials, badges, certificates, alternative credentials, and probably several other names – were creating buzz before COVID-19. The pandemic has further fuelled momentum. While postsecondary leaders and governments are increasingly focused on microcredentials, it is not clear that they are fully on the radar for faculty

.https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/the-skills-agenda/why-faculty-need-to-talk-about-microcredentials/

There's a new effort to map university degrees to workplace skills - Emily Bamforth, EdSurge

The National Student Clearinghouse announced Monday it’s working with an AI company to associate the experience earned through various degrees, credentials and internships with skills needed by employers. The organization, which offers digital information services for more than 3,600 higher education institutions, is examining how to use tools from AstrumU, which develops technology to help fill gaps in the workforce. AstrumU tools, already used at universities nationwide, use data from both employers and higher education institutions to recommend students potential careers through using machine learning to parse students’ experiences.

https://edscoop.com/university-skills-mapping-nsc/