The notion that ‘early exit’ degrees should be re-valued in higher education institutions has been floated in a HEPI blog (‘It’s not about diet, it’s about portion control’ – Valuing Certificates, Diplomas, and Awards as core business – HEPI) and I support the author’s views. In this short post, I am proposing microcredential as an approach to make early exit degrees more viable, especially for workforces that are looking for re- and/ or up-skilling opportunities as a part of continuous professional development.
Lack of growth opportunities is a major reason (Why Upskilling And Reskilling Are Essential In 2023 (forbes.com)) why employees leave workplaces and one way for employers to retain their valuable employees is by providing them opportunities to participate in upskilling and reskilling programmes for professional development. Universities can support such programmes by offering microcredential courses.
Microcredentials (A European approach to micro-credentials – European Education Area (europa.eu)) are basically certifications of learning outcomes of short training and courses. Microcredentials can be modularised in such a way that a combination of microcredentials, accumulated over an extended period of time, can lead to early exit degrees.
Only a few universities in the UK offer microcredential courses and more needs to be done given the widespread benefits of microcredentials. Existing microcredential courses are primarily online and there is a scope to implement in-person microcredential courses to support re-skilling and up-skilling of workforce. In addition to supporting local businesses to retain valuable employees and improve productivity, microcredentials also widen participation by enabling access to education to people who cannot enrol in conventional university degree courses for practical reasons. Furthermore, re-skilling is getting more important given how the way people work is changing rapidly (Future of Work | McKinsey & Company) due to various factors such as the rise in automation and AI. Offering microcredentials is therefore a valuable way for universities to contribute to society by widening access to education and helping local businesses become more productive.
Microcredential courses can be most effective when custom-designed to meet the skills gaps and needs in a given geographical region, preferably the region where the course provider is located. Course contents for microcredentials could be designed in consultations with local companies and local governments in order to best cater to societal needs. Each microcredential module could be 5 to 10 academic credits worth and designed in such a way that multiple modules over a conveniently long period of time can be taken by learners to accumulate sufficient credits to receive higher qualifications. The design should enable people working full time to eventually receive higher degrees, should they pursue the degrees over reasonable time periods.
Block delivery can be very suitable for microcredential courses as it is generally more convenient for full-time workers, particularly if their employers are willing to send them to obtain microcredential as a part of re- or up-skilling training. Block delivery entails immersive learning and teaching over an intense but short duration. Problem-based learning is another suitable model for designing microcredential courses. This model involves identifying local societal or industrial problems and designing courses that aim to tackle the identified problems. The learning objectives would be defined such that they can be applied to solve the identified problems. Learners could then be assessed based on the solutions they propose. This makes assessments of microcredential courses more authentic in the sense that the assessments mirror real-life workplace scenarios, rather than closed-book exams with questionable practical values.
Authentic assessments in microcredential courses have the potential to address some complex challenges of implementing Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). In a recent HEPI blog (The Lifelong Learning Entitlement could still be a game changer for higher education – HEPI), the challenge of how student outcomes could be best measured for modular learning relevant to LLE has been highlighted. One option to overcome this challenge of the LLE, which can involve modular learning, is implementing microcredential courses with authentic assessments. Authentic assessments could be designed in such a way that they meet specific clusters of module learning outcomes of standard university courses. In this way, microcredentials can greatly support the LLE initiative.
Overall, more higher education institutions should consider offering microcredential courses in order to widen access to education and also support local economies. Microcredential also expands opportunities to reskill the workforce which is becoming more important in present times. Problem-based learning approach in an immersive block delivery environment is a viable option for delivering microcredential programmes. Policies that encourage microcredential courses are needed. These could be financial or other incentives to higher education institutions, companies that provide microcredential opportunities to their employers, and more importantly, people who want to obtain microcredentials for up- or re-skilling.
Microcredentials are also well positioned to support the Department of Education’s Local skills improvement plan (LSIP) (Local skills improvement plans – statutory guidance (publishing.service.gov.uk)), and are likely to support the similar plan the new government will bring. Initial pilot tests of microcredentials could be for programmes that support local economic growth in line with existing LSIP priorities.
This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Parakram Pyakurel, Associate Professor at the New Model Institute for Technology & Engineering (NMITE).