Why My University Has Embraced Microcredentials
As the first-ever microcredentials program manager at CU Boulder, I’ve seen how digital badges show potential employers clear evidence of the skills our students will bring to the workplace.
We’ve been hearing for a while that higher education is in trouble. Two of the biggest perceived “threats” to higher education are artificial intelligence (AI) and microcredentials. Some fear that AI will make positions that formerly employed college graduates obsolete. Microcredentials—short credentials that prove competency in different skills—are also potentially worrying to colleges now that so many jobs are switching to skill-based hiring and doing away with degree requirements.
However, where some people see the writing on the wall for universities, the University of Colorado, Boulder, has been getting in front of the problem and using these as opportunities to enhance its offerings. And as their first microcredentials program manager, I want to explain why we did this and what other universities can learn.
Microcredentials vs Degrees
With the rise of microcredentials, many have pitted them against traditional undergraduate degrees. And it’s not entirely wrong to say that microcredentials threaten degrees in their current state. Microcredentials are a fast and less expensive route to show employers you have the skills they need for a job. However, the two don’t need to be pitted against each other.
Microcredentials can’t replace everything a university degree offers, but they do challenge degree programs to increase the transparency of their degree offerings. Universities should be able to point to what their programs provide, integrating microcredentials into the more holistic education philosophy that undergraduate degrees offer. Ultimately, this shift should elevate degrees since they currently act as a check-mark on many graduates’ resumes instead of telling the whole story of years of educational rigor.
Putting the challenge to degrees aside, there is also an imperative to give the 62% of the workforce that doesn’t have a degree a different way to quantify their abilities. This is particularly relevant to college dropouts, who are often saddled with debt and without any form of certification, despite the work they put into the parts they did complete.
Incorporating microcredentials into degrees would make them more modular and give those who couldn’t finish their degree for one reason or another something to show for their effort.
“Skills credentialing could give people multiple options for arriving at a destination, like a career GPS,” says Dave McCool, president and CEO of Muzzy Lane. “Skills based credentials can verify that people have particular skills, like collaboration and creativity, that degrees have served as a proxy for in the past.”
Microcredentials in Higher Education
As microcredentials are still unexplored territory, there is much debate on ensuring they deliver the value they promise. There’s also some concern that universities might cheapen themselves if these microcredential graduates don’t have the skills they’ve promised.
Each organization offering microcredentials is handling it differently. For its part, CU Boulder sends all our courses through course review and the regular approval process, even noncredit courses, to ensure they meet the standards of the rest of the college.
Another way CU Boulder ensures the quality of microcredentials is by issuing digital badges. These badges are tokens that can be added to LinkedIn or digital resumes and link to information on the criteria to earn the badge. The badges can also link to evidence of the competency gained.
This type of artifact is another way microcredentials are pushing the envelope in terms of educational practices and their relationship to hiring. Many people don’t perform well in interviews for reasons unrelated to their ability to competently fill the role. These microcredentials serve as a portfolio for jobs, allowing employers to understand better how an individual has already demonstrated the required skill.
While there is still much confusion in higher education on what microcredentials will mean and how they will play out, they’re already pushing universities to think more about what value they offer.
Hatching the Egg
At CU Boulder, we’re at the bleeding edge of offering microcredentials. However, concerns and cultural changes need to be addressed before microcredentials truly take off elsewhere.
For one thing, we don’t yet have the structures in place to make microcredentials ubiquitous. Standard resumes don’t have the space for microcredentials, even though they’re designed to be machine-readable.
Another issue is that the quality of microcredentials is often seen as suspect when not associated with a university.
“College degrees are fairly standardized,” David McCool says. Employers know they take about four years and 120 credits. Thousands of institutions offer them, but they are all done the same way. That’s not true of skills-based credentials. No one knows what went into one versus another.”
While a study from a 2023 report conducted by UPCEA showed that most employers were familiar with microcredentials, they also wanted more proof of these types of programs’ validity. This can be very frustrating for the people putting hard work into getting valid credentials and can discourage them from putting too much effort into obtaining them.
Though many companies have nominally eliminated bachelor’s requirements from specific job postings, it doesn’t mean their hiring practices have changed. Harvard Business Review ran a study that showed that even though the number of positions that supposedly don’t require bachelors has jumped, very few people without a degree get hired.
In industries without robust certification practices, companies can start recognizing microcredentials through internal promotions. This takes some of the perceived risks away since you’re drawing from your existing pool of employees. It shows how they can increase their value through acquiring skills and can help shift perceptions within your organization.
Conclusion: Embracing the Future of Education
CU Boulder’s journey in embracing microcredentials reflects a forward-thinking approach to the evolving educational landscape. By integrating microcredentials into our academic offerings, we are not just reacting to industry demands but proactively enhancing the value and relevance of our degrees.
Microcredentials complement traditional degrees, providing students with tangible proof of their skills and competencies. This initiative aligns with our commitment to ensuring that our graduates are well-educated and well-prepared for the workforce. As we refine and expand our microcredential programs, we are setting a precedent for other institutions to follow, demonstrating that higher education can adapt and thrive in the face of change.
Ultimately, the success of microcredentials hinges on quality assurance, industry recognition, and cultural shifts within academia and the job market. CU Boulder is at the forefront of this movement, and our ongoing efforts will help shape the future of education, making it more inclusive, flexible, and attuned to the needs of both students and employers. By embracing microcredentials, we are safeguarding the value of university education and ensuring that our students are equipped to succeed in an ever-changing world.
Bios: Noah Giesel is the Badge Summit Founder and Microcredential Program Manager, University of Colorado, Boulder. You can find @SenorG on X or on LinkedIn.
David McCool is president and CEO of Muzzy Lane, creators of the SkillBuild line of durable skills courses. He is a member of the Higher Learning Commission’s Credential Lab Quality Assurance Design Team, and under his leadership Muzzy Lane won the 1EdTech™ ‘s 2022 Gold Learning Impact Award. A pioneer in the field of role-playing assessments and a thought leader in the skill-based economy, McCool was previously involved in the founding of two successful startups. He graduated from MIT with a BSEE. He can be reached at dave@muzzylane.com or via LinkedIn.