From shifting student demographics to distance learning, higher education has seen its fair share of changes in recent years. As it continues to evolve to meet the needs of today’s students, new trends continue to emerge.
Among these trends, microcredentials have become more prevalent. These competency-based recognitions help fill the gap between the soft skills employers want and what candidates have to offer. Many hiring managers view soft skills as just as — or even more important — than hard skills. Having microcredentials helps individuals demonstrate their capabilities and qualifications with sought-after soft skills.
Programs awarding microcredentials have expanded significantly in recent years to meet the labor market’s evolving needs. By offering microcredentials at your college or university, you can adapt to the changing higher education landscape and take your enrollment rates and revenue to the next level.
A microcredential is a competency-based certification. Microcredentials typically align with soft skills that employers value, such as a student’s proficiency in oral communication or teamwork. A rubric outlines the specific criteria for each skill, and students earn the microcredential once they successfully demonstrate the competency. Upon successful completion, students receive a digital badge, which they can easily add to online resumes and ePortfolios.
Microcredentials are generally:
Microcredentials in education are diverse and vary from institution to institution. They may be geared toward undergraduate students or those seeking professional advancement.
Educator microcredentials present a unique opportunity to connect professional learning to practice. Some examples of microcredentials for educators offered by the National Education Association (NEA) include:
Earning a microcredential is similar to taking an abbreviated version of a college course. It may take anywhere from a month to a year, depending on the competency.
Training and assessment pathways vary, but a typical microcredential course may require:
Administrators can give their college or university a competitive edge in the fast-changing higher education landscape by offering microcredentials. With microcredentials, your higher education institution can:
Watermark ePortfolio software makes it easy to incorporate microcredentials and digital badges in higher education programs.
Our Student Learning and Licensure solution provides a centralized location for students to complete assignments, organize artifacts, and log their field experience. Along the way, evaluators assess student progress and provide feedback. At the end of their learning journey, students have a robust ePortfolio, allowing them to market themselves to employers confidently.
What’s more, ePortfolios serve as evidence of program quality and outcome achievement, which is required for program accreditation and state reporting.
Our platform integrates with major learning management systems (LMS), so students can easily pull artifacts from the LMS to their ePortfolio. Grades also flow to and from your LMS, automatically eliminating duplicate entries. You can run accurate, detailed reports, allowing for an easier accreditation process.
At Watermark, we offer a range of software solutions that give higher education institutions the insights they need to evolve. Our comprehensive ePortfolios make it easy to highlight your microcredential programs.
To see our software in action, request a demo today. Our friendly, knowledgeable team will walk you through all the different program features and answer any questions you may have.
