According a new study, 75 percent of students prefer to enroll in universities that offer’microcredentials” – skills-based certificates – along with traditional degrees.
Over half of all universities offer microcredentials in their curriculum, and 75% say that this attracts more students. Microcredentials can also help improve retention. 75% of students who had previously stopped their traditional degree expressed an increased interest in returning to school if they were offered microcredentials.
According to Coursera’s research, which is based on an analysis of higher education leaders in 852 institutions from 89 different countries, this is a result of a study that involved 1,058 individuals from 852 universities. Coursera offers 125 Professional Certificates and other courses that are relevant to the workplace. It currently has over 148 millions learners.
In spite of the fact that nearly all educational leaders (97%) who responded to the global study agreed that micro-credentials improved long-term prospects for career advancement, less than half (46%) offer them as academic credit for students.
Coursera found that European institutions were the least likely to offer microcredentials. But barriers to successfully integrating micro credentials also exist outside of Europe. Six out of ten respondents (59%) from North America say that they offer academic credit for their micro-credentials. The global average is 53 %.
According to the research, educational leaders find it hard to adopt new learning approaches through micro-credentials. The following are the main barriers to a successful integration of Micro-credentials:
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Lack of awareness regarding micro-credentials (50%
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Integration of micro-credentials into existing curriculum is difficult (45%).
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Uncertainty regarding the quality of micro credentials (35%).
Eight out of ten respondents (82%) plan to offer micro-credentials within the next five year period. In order to facilitate the integration of microcredentials into university curricula institutions cite resource allocation (53%), curriculum reform (50%), as well as ensuring faculty engagement and buy-in (47%) among their main obstacles.
Nikolaz Foucaud is the Managing Director EMEA of Coursera. He said that “repeated testimony from students, employers and higher education institutions suggest that microcredentials will play an increasingly valuable part in ensuring a university education aligns with employers’ needs and nurtures quality employment outcomes.” They are a great complement to traditional degrees because they can equip learners with relevant skills quickly and efficiently.
There is still much work to do if the integration is to meet its intention. Microcredential providers can alleviate concerns about the quality of their microcredentials by securing an independent credit recommendation, and institutional leaders should collaborate with faculty in order to ensure they are integrated into curricula so that existing offerings are enhanced .”
Jennifer Walsh, Chief Strategist, Hawai’i Pacific University said: “Micro credentials ensure that undergraduate and adult students are equipped with the industry-specific skills they need to be employable and advance. By offering micro-credentials through Coursera’s Career Academy we send a clear message: We are invested in the success of our students .”
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