1 The Role of Micro-credentials in the Credential Ecosystem
The first recorded credential ecosystem started in the year 859 at the University of Al-Quaraouiyine, Morocco, and was composed of scholars, bachelors, and masters (Ikhmal, 2021). Through the centuries, the credential ecosystem has evolved to meet the needs of society. Currently, it is composed of macro-credentials and micro-credentials. A macro-credential is a historically recognized credential like college and university degrees, diplomas, and college certificates. In contrast, micro-credentials refer to credentials that leverage innovations in technology, learning program design, and skill recognition such as digital badges, online certificates, micro-masters, nano-degrees, and endorsements.
Macro-credentials
Macro-credentials include four types of college/university degrees and two types of certificates. The four types of college/university degrees are associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral. The two types of certificates are college and graduate. Table 1 further explains and compares them.
| Issuer(s) | Credentials | Credits | Time | Verification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community, state, technical, and career colleges | Associate | 60 | 2 years | Transcript |
| Universities and some colleges | Bachelor | 120 | 4 years | Transcript |
| Universities | Master | 30-60 | 2 years | Transcript |
| Universities | Doctoral | 48-120 | 3+ years | Transcript |
| Colleges | College Certificate (undergrad level) | 12-36 | 1+ years | Transcript or license from accrediting body |
| Universities | Graduate Certificate | 18+ | 1+ years | Transcript or degree endorsement |
“Educational degrees, which are being increasingly criticized for their high cost, especially in the United States, lack of alignment with employment needs, and inability to adapt in a timely manner to changing trends, are no longer the only answer” (Brown et al., 2021, p. 1). Macro-credentials no longer provide the job security or career proofing they once did. They fail to teach specific skills needed to stay competitive in today’s workforce.
Micro-credentials
Soft and digital skills are two types of skills acknowledged by modern-day society as essential to success in the workforce. These skills are also increasingly being recognized by micro-credentials. Competency-based micro-credentials allow the learner to demonstrate evidence of their competence in a skill. They are grounded in research that illustrates how the competency will positively impact the learner’s ability to effectively implement the skill. Learners can select which micro-credentials to complete and when to align them to their professional needs, making them personalized. Lastly, micro-credentials can be included on a resume or shared on online platforms like LinkedIn with current and potential employers.
By focusing on a specific skill(s), micro-credentials allow learners to earn a micro-credential as soon as a competency is attained, which makes the experience more attainable, affordable, and accessible. This model also creates opportunities to separate the skill assessment and recognition from the learning process, which enables learners to be credentialed for skills regardless of how, when, and where they attained them. This type of micro-learning is favored by learners who cannot pursue longer learning programs that lead to credentials such as a college degree. “Micro-credentials emerge as flexible and more inclusive learning opportunities to meet society’s current and future challenges” (Bozkurt & Brown, 2022, p. 2). Micro-credentials allow the learner to quickly earn recognition for newly acquired skills to stay current with their industry, in contrast to pursuing a more costly degree that takes years to complete. Micro-credentials “are seen as the bridge to achieve ‘better work-integrated learning and better learning-integrated work” (Saray & Ponte, 2019).
Micro-credentials in Action: Educator Development
Since 2014, Digital Promise has partnered with several organizations and educational institutions to integrate micro-credentials into professional learning pathways, with the goal of empowering learners, specifically those who have been historically and systematically excluded.
“Micro-credentials have supported my practice by providing me with a pathway to focus on a specific professional development goal without the regulated stress of a formal class. In many ways, I have learned more about my teaching style, current standards of 21st-century teaching, and best practices through micro-credentials,” said Jessica, a sixth through eighth-grade science educator. “This is largely due to the structure and nature of micro-credentials as self-paced and self-monitored ways of professional development that are driven by my choice.”
Digital Promise offers more than 580 competency-based micro-credentials on various research-backed skills, such as the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC) stack of micro-credentials, Friday Institute’s Learner Variability stack, and Childhood Education International’s Refugee Educator stack. Digital Promise’s micro-credentials are developed, assessed, and issued by more than 115 partner organizations.
- The credential ecosystem is ever-changing to meet the latest needs of society.
- Micro-credentials provide learners with skill recognition for the new skills they are learning and implementing to stay current with their industry.
- Micro-credentials shorten skill recognition, making them more attainable, affordable, and accessible for learners not able to pursue longer macro-credential programs.
