A new research report, "Enabling Learning for Life: New Realities for Work and Education," by global technology company D2L, suggests that while American workers are interested in upskilling in their careers, they have little understanding of the value of microcredentials and how to go about obtaining them. The study draws on reports published over the last five years, the company said. It particularly asks questions about how higher education can play a significant role in helping workers upskill to meet the demands of the "paradigm shift" toward emerging jobs based heavily on new technology, including AI.
Thursday, August 10, 2023
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
From Novelty to Necessity: Strategic Microcredential Development and Universal Recognition in Higher - Ed Erica Noll-Crawford, Evolllution
So, higher ed really has to step up its game if it wants to keep up. That said, microcredentials must be intentional. Higher ed often wants to create cool, new degrees that might sound fun, but don’t have a true job market for. They also might turn to Microcredentials to do the same thing—building a program out for fun or personal interest rather than for Workforce Development. However, we’ve found that it’s better when creating microcredentials is an intentional process. At Miami University Regionals, we don’t approve new microcredentials unless a business or industry signs off on it. We want students to have job opportunities with these credentials, so we must have strategy and meaning behind what we create or offer.
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Navigating Microcredentials and VFR - Paul Walsh, Evolllution
Higher education does not have one mandated logbook for determining how to get where you are going with microcredentials. Even our accreditors (FAA?) don’t offer much on microcredentials beyond warning of breaching the golden rule of the credit hour. A search for microcredentials on the MSCHE website resulted in zero hits. The EvoLLLution, to its credit, has featured microcredentials over 205 times since the term was coined nearly a decade ago. I’d be preaching to the choir if I repeated everything that has already been written on the benefits of or lessons learned in microcredentialing projects. Allow me to hit some highlights and offer a few visual flight rules regardless of whether you’re sitting at the airport plotting your course and waiting for clear skies or already aloft.
Monday, August 7, 2023
Define, Refine and Design: A Collaborative Approach for Introducing Microcredentials to Your Learning Ecosystem - Jeremy Lingle, Katie Linder, Jason Drysdale, Evollution
Recently at CU Denver, we have focused on shoring up the infrastructure for our microcredential offerings. One core element of this initiative: internal working groups comprised of faculty and staff from a range of campus teams. Our engagement with external partners has also led to some important discoveries as we explore how to respond to learner and market needs nimbly and proactively. Through this collaborative work, we have identified several obstacles and opportunities for introducing microcredentials as a key campus strategy: (1) developing a shared understanding of microcredentials, (2) identifying and prioritizing solutions for process inefficiencies, (3) clarifying resources for determining market need and (4) creating supports for program developers.
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Strategic and Operational Roadblocks to Broad Acceptance of Microcredentials - Mike Jackson and Michelle Alvarez, Evolllution
There is still no agreement among higher education institutions and other entities developing microcredentials as to what constitutes a microcredential, with definitions varying by institution or entity. There are efforts to develop a shared taxonomy, but that effort has not yet been broadly embraced. Institutions launching microcredentials have had to develop their own vision and framework for utilizing microcredentials on their campus, author their own taxonomy, develop a review or governance process, identify the badging platform they will use and develop a process for awarding the badges.
Saturday, August 5, 2023
The On-Ramp to Scaling Microcredentials: Advice from the Acceleration - Lane Arthur Thomas, Evolllution
Depending where your institution seems to be along the continuum—from offering just a few microcredentials to offering many—there are some things to keep in mind if you want to achieve large scale with these types of offerings. Every institution is different, but there are some common principles that can determine how this sort of transformation will evolve. So, as you turn onto the entrance ramp, destined for a significant offering of microcredentials at scale, let’s review a few approaches that can help you pick up speed.
Friday, August 4, 2023
Process Keys to Microcredential Success - Daria LaTorre, Evolllution
As demand for microcredentials continues to grow, it’s critical that institutions focus on fulfilling the mission at the heart of microcredentials—flexible, affordable and relevant short-term education—through collaboration and student centricity.
Institutions may encounter both strategic and operational roadblocks when developing microcredential programs. With so much variety in content and format, it can be a challenge to strategize and launch a plan for a microcredentialing initiative. However, with some thoughtful planning that keeps efficiency at its core, institutions can effectively develop microcredentials to best serve their student learners.
Thursday, August 3, 2023
Upskilling: Why It’s Important and How Higher Education Can Help - Cecilia Buchanan, Fierce Education
Key findings of the report include: Continuous upskilling is not the norm—yet: 80% of U.S. adults expressed some interest in pursuing additional skills training in the next year but only 35% had pursued some form of professional development/upskilling. There is no clear preference for training providers: 15% of U.S. adults said they are not sure where to go if they need to build additional professional or technical skills that are job- or industry-specific. Micro-credentials may hold promise, but they’re not yet widely understood by individuals: 30% of U.S. adults didn’t know how to describe what a micro-credential is in response to an open-ended question.
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Micro-Credentials and Digital Badging to Become Staple in HR Field, Says Test Preparation Expert HRCP - Yahoo Finance
The global market for online degrees and micro-credentials is expected to reach $117 billion by 2025, as people become more adapted to e-learning settings. According to HRCP, a leading provider of human resource study materials, micro-credentials allow people to learn knowledge or skills in bite-sized chunks and pass an evaluation to earn a credential for a very specific skill or area. These credentials stack, allowing people to earn a digital badge once they've finished a certain set of micro-credentials. Digital badges can be displayed on the person's resume, email signature, or social media as proof of their achievement.
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Thinking about a microcredential course? 4 things to consider first - Simon Leonard, the Conversation
Preparing people for professional environments has always been a core purpose of universities, and the adoption of microcredentials will likely expand the ways this can be done. A microcredential, however, is a different educational proposition to a traditional degree course. So it is important the consumer chooses wisely. But even though they are different, the two are still compatible. You may even find yourself engaging in both traditional university courses and microcredentials as you evolve and adapt throughout your career.
Monday, July 31, 2023
Microcredentials far from maturity, Educause poll finds - EdScoop
Non-degree credentials and certificates have been offered by colleges for years, but few programs are well-established, a survey found. While non-degree credentials and certificates have been offered across higher education for years, those programs frequently are not well-established, the poll found. Only 9% of respondents indicated that their institution has a mature microcredential program, while 19% said their institution did not offer any microcredentials at all and 4% said they didn’t know about any microcredentialing at their institution. A majority of respondents, 69%, indicated they are in the early stages of launching or expanding microcredential programs.
Sunday, July 30, 2023
UNO’s New Microcredentials Offer Rapid Upskilling to Meet Top Workforce Needs - University of Nebraska Omaha
New short-form course offerings from the University of Nebraska at Omaha will provide learners of all ages and from all industries with opportunities to learn in-demand skills and fill critical workforce gaps in a short amount of time.Beginning in Fall 2023, UNO will begin to offer microcredential programs. These flexible, affordable, and accessible new course offerings enable learners to increase their knowledge of in-demand skills through short-form non-credit courses.
Saturday, July 29, 2023
Micro-credentials: Empowering Filipinos for the future of work Noemi Lardizabal-Dado - Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, Manila Times
In an evolving tech landscape, micro-credentials are proving to be instrumental for upskilling and reskilling. Micro-credentials are skill-centric certifications aimed at helping learners enhance their proficiency across various knowledge domains. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized the value of micro-credentials for Filipino workers to stay competitive in a meeting with members of the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) last year. "It's not a four-year course. It's not a degree. But you can present this to qualify for a job," said President Marcos. He emphasized the need to provide retraining and reskilling opportunities for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) intending to return to the country.
Friday, July 28, 2023
Free college in Colorado? It’s covered if you’re interested in teaching, firefighting, law enforcement, construction or forestry - Jenny Brundin, Colorado Public Radio
Colorado has such dire workforce shortages in early childhood education, education, firefighting, law enforcement, construction and forestry that if you want a job in those fields, the state will pay for your college education to get a job. Gov. Jared Polis officially launched the program “Career Advance Colorado” on Tuesday. It will provide tuition, fees and course materials to students on those specific career training paths. “We’re excited to save Coloradans money and train people for good-paying jobs by offering free community college education for in-demand positions at the state’s 19 community and technical colleges,” Polis said.
https://www.cpr.org/2023/07/18/colorado-free-college-career-advance-program/
Thursday, July 27, 2023
Recruiters Say Alternative Credentials Can Land You a Job, But Validating Them is a Challenge - Business Wire
As college degrees become more expensive and post-grad salaries stagnate, job seekers are turning to more affordable options such as coding bootcamps and certification programs. According to Capterra’s 2023 Alternative Credentials survey of 300 recruiters, 96% of them say they’ve had at least one applicant submit a resume with an alternative credential in the past year. “Dropping inequitable college degree requirements on job openings and recognizing the value certificates, digital badges, or other alternative credentials can bring to an organization are a great start.” However, as the demand for alternative credentials surges, recruiters also face a significant challenge in validating their authenticity and relevance for specific jobs. A significant 43% of recruiters say they sometimes or always don’t recognize an alternative credit when it appears on a resume, and 71% agree that evaluating the quality of alternative credentials is harder than assessing a college degree.
Wednesday, July 26, 2023
NNSA to award $2.17 million for new apprenticeship programs - National Nuclear Security Administration
“Across the NSE, we see a need for a greater number of skilled trade workers. Training in these areas is increasingly limited; therefore, the ACCESS program is working to develop training programs to fill the gaps,” said Dr. Kevin Greenaugh, Chief Science and Technology Officer, Office of Defense Programs. Hardinge, Inc., Elmira, NY, will receive $978,053, for the project Level Up @ Hardinge, which will recruit and train apprentices in advanced manufacturing for the workforces at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Kansas City National Security Campus, and Y-12 National Security Site.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
7 Questions on Experiential Learning at Indiana U - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology
I started with reading a lot of books about advertising and how it works and all that stuff, but as I taught more and more, I gradually realized that the best thing is to just have the students do some advertising. That allowed me to not have to figure out in advance how I'm going to teach every single thing, but rather make corrections or adjustments as we go along. If you're a good teacher, you can pay attention to what people need, at what time they need it, and go into it and help them. So experiential learning is a big part of how I teach. I'm always looking for projects that have some meat and gravitas to them.
Monday, July 24, 2023
Micro-credentials now available for New Hampshire educators - IndepthNH
Continuing with its efforts to build literacy knowledge, the New Hampshire Department of Education (NHED) is pleased to partner with Credentials Unlimited to provide educators with the opportunity to earn valuable micro-credentials focused on the Science of Reading. Through this collaboration, NHED aims to empower educators with the knowledge and skills to implement evidence-based reading practices in their classrooms. By earning a micro-credential in the Science of Reading, educators can enhance their professional growth, improve their teaching technique and ultimately make a profound impact on their students’ literacy development.
Sunday, July 23, 2023
What Are Microcredentials And Why Should You Care? - Frederick Hess, Forbes
If you pay much attention to higher education or workforce training, odds are you’ve seen excited talk about the promise of microcredentials. Earlier this year, a survey of employers reported that 95 percent think it’s a good thing if their employees are earning microcredentials. More than 70 percent said that microcredentials have helped their organization fill skills gaps, that they’ve helped improve their workforce quality, and that their organization is increasingly more willing to consider these types of credentials in lieu of four-year degrees. At the same time, the survey conducted by Collegis Education and UPCEA (the association for college leaders in continuing education) raised some cautions. Seventeen percent of employers said they were concerned about irrelevant credentials and a lack of critical training, and 12 percent expressed worry about the quality of the education provided.
Saturday, July 22, 2023
Supporting Internship Experience With Pay - Ashley Mowreader, Inside Higher Ed
To offset expenses and provide students with equitable access to internships, Emory University in Georgia has joined the growing number of institutions developing solutions to the issue. The Pathways Internship Funding program, launched this summer, provides students with financial aid and support their career pursuits. “Our goal is to allow students to say yes to their dream internship even if it is unpaid or underpaid,” says Ed Goode, director of experiential learning at Emory’s Pathways Center, adding that he and his staff strongly recommend to employers that they pay their interns.
Micro-credentials: a perspective from Europe - FE News
A CEDEFOP conference, 22 – 23 June surveyed the present state of Micro-credentials across Europe. Led by Anastasia Pouliou (CEDEFOP expert in qualifications, credentials and the future of VET) the conference looked at how Micro-credentials can improve skills utilisation and career development, and build stronger links with workplace requirements. Anastasia makes the point that designing a Micro-credential requires careful and precise articulation of learning outcomes. Some sessions in the conference engaged in the sterile debate on how micro-credentials should relate to national systems, and whether credits could be assigned tariffs, aligned with existing qualifications, and so become transferable. This sounds like the assessment bureaucracy trying to get their hands on a movement which is essentially local, spontaneous, and indeed potentially subversive.
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