From: A strategic reset: micro-credentials for higher education leaders
Definition (Draft European Commission) A micro-credential is a recognised proof of the learning outcomes that a learner has acquired following a short learning experience. These learning outcomes have been assessed against transparent standards The proof is contained in a certified document that lists the name of the holder, the achieved learning outcomes, the assessment method, the awarding body and, where applicable, the qualifications framework level and the credits gained. Micro-credentials are owned by the learner, can be shared, are portable and may be combined into larger credentials or qualifications. They are underpinned by quality assurance following agreed standards. (p. 6) Debiais-Sainton (2020) | Types of micro-Credentials**  Certificate  Certification  MOOCs  Apprenticeships  Coding boot camps  Badges  Micro-Masters  Nano-degree **These terms are defined in the Glossary Cirlan and Loukkola (2020), Kurzweil (2020), OECD (2021), ICDE (2019), Australian Government (2020), DeakinCo (2017), COL (2019), Brown et al. (2021) |
Characteristics Focused on acquisition of skills and competencies Offered online, face-to-face, and/or blended delivery modalities Short termed as compared to traditional degrees and certificates; for example, micro-credentials could be 3-days to 9Â months Created to verify credential as an evidence-based validation Awarded with academic credit or non-credit Assessed through teer review (e.g., university, agency, professional body) Consist of multiple skill levels (although not required), with competencies ranked by importance in each skill level and competency importance varying across levels Aligned or mapped to existing qualifications and/or standards frameworks Have a geographical footprint, where providers define their service region and critical skill areas are identified with employers Characterized by autonomous transparency Includes funding sources for development and assessment, resulting in cost to students Identifies with an organizational entity to manage and provide oversight of micro-credentials Stored in a digital repository (e.g., portfolio, digital wallet, third party vendor like Credly) for secure storage, verification, and stakeholder distribution. Debiais-Sainton (2020), COL (2019), ICDE (2019), Kato et al. (2020), Matkin et al. (2020), Oliver (2019), Selvaratnam and Sankey (2020) and SUNY (2020b) | Micro-Credential Information and Validation Elements Title of the micro-credential Country/Region Awarding body ISCED field of education and training Date when the micro-credential was issued Notional workload Level of the learning experience Learning outcomes Form of participation in the learning activity Type of assessment Supervision and identity verification during assessment Quality assurance of the credential Prerequisites needed to enrol in the learning activity Grade achieved integration /stackability options 1 Duration of validity 2 Further information Australian Government (2019, 2020), Cirlan and Loukkola (2020), Debiais-Sainton (2020), European Union (2018), Matkin et al. (2020) and New Zealand Qualifications Authority (2019) |