Microcredentials are reshaping the future of higher education, but barriers remain for most higher ed institutions.

In higher ed, leaders see microcredentials as the future


Microcredentials are reshaping the future of higher education, but barriers remain for most institutions

Key points:

Nearly all higher education leaders (97 percent) offering microcredentials believe the credentials improve students’ long-term employment prospects, according to a survey from Coursera.

Microcredentials are certifications that focus on a specific set of learning outcomes in a narrow field of learning. They are completed over a shorter time and help students demonstrate their skills and competencies, increasing competitiveness in the job market.

More than half of those surveyed (53 percent) said their institutions offer credit-bearing options, and 82 percent indicate plans to do so within the next five years. At a time when student success and ROI are under the microscope, more and more institutions see career microcredentials as a powerful tool to increase student satisfaction, grow their brand, and influence student enrollment and retention.

Institutions that currently offer microcredentials view them as powerful engagement tools and are actively increasing their use. Almost three in four (73 percent) higher-ed leaders say that after implementing microcredentials, their institution expanded its offerings to include more microcredentials, or to provide more students with access to microcredentials.

Microcredentials are particularly useful in helping students demonstrate skills in new technologies when degrees or formal courses aren’t fully established. For example, two-thirds of business leaders say they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills, and microcredentials offer an opportunity for students to demonstrate their AI skills and knowledge in the workforce.

And while microcredentials are growing in popularity and are gaining advocates, barriers still exist for institutions that do not yet offer microcredentials, including a lack of awareness (50 percent), difficulties integrating microcredentials into an existing curriculum (45 percent), uncertainty about the quality (35 percent), insufficient data around relevance and benefits (34 percent), resistance from faculty around shifting from traditional methods (27 percent), technological limitations for online offerings (22 percent), and institutional policies (22 percent).

There also are barriers to adoption for institutions that already offer microcredentials. Those include alignment with existing programs (65 percent), getting faculty buy-in (49 percent), ensuring industry relevance (42 percent), offering microcredentials for credit (40 percent), ensuring academic integrity (39 percent), and achieving administrative support (22 percent).

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Laura Ascione

IT Campus Leadership

Your source for IT solutions and innovations to support campus-wide success. Weekly on Wednesday.

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