If an undergraduate student only has 119 credits, what does being one credit short of their degree say about their competencies? According to most institutions’ official records and transcripts, not much. Anecdotally, faculty and staff know the student is practically ready to enter their professional field, equipped with transformative knowledge and skills to be successful. Instead of waiting until the final credit, higher education institutions could better serve students by integrating microcredentials as a new, meaningful value-add to the transcript and their macrocredential. This move would more accurately reflect competencies students acquire in both curricular and cocurricular experiences as they progress at the institution. Campuses that adopt this approach not only acknowledge students’ competencies in real time but also begin to shift from a one-and-done degree model to a culture of lifelong learning, where education is seen as an ongoing journey rather than a final destination.
Equity and Digital Credentialling
Not long ago, I participated in a panel 1EdTech hosted, where we explored the intersection of equity and digital credentialling. Microcredentials represent a powerful tool for higher education institutions that make competency acquisition and degree attainment more equitable. To achieve this goal, institutions should offer the right credentials at the right time and allow all earners to leverage their credentials in a way that meets their personal and professional needs.
My colleague and copanellist Rita Fennelly-Atkinson from Digital Promise addressed the concern some have about offering too many credentials as unfounded. To reiterate her point, there is no such thing. Instead, learners should have access to a wide range of digital credentials that acknowledge and validate their competencies. This approach allows institutions to recognize achievements in both traditional academic programs and experiential and applied learning opportunities—an element critically important to the mission of many public institutions, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Expanding an institution’s digital credential portfolio can enhance this recognition without compromising quality; the real goal is to support all learners in leveraging verified competencies effectively.
Microcredentials as a Pathway to Macrocredentials
I work at a public, traditional, four-year, brick-and-mortar liberal arts, Research 1 institution; of course, I believe in and know the value of macrocredentials. At the same time, the traditional trajectory of earning a macrocredential, particularly an undergraduate degree, often disproportionately favors learners with privilege. Consider a student interested in pursuing their undergraduate degree who is also a parent and must work full time to financially support their family and studies. What if this student is enrolled in a degree program that offers major courses only at specific times of the day or during certain semesters? Compared to a more traditional full-time student who lives on campus, this student’s path to earning their macrocredential differs significantly and has long-term consequences in both their professional and personal lives.
There are too many stories of students who must navigate too many challenges, but the point remains: In today’s world, the pathway to earning a macrocredential is often inherently inequitable. Microcredentials offer a solution by breaking down macrocredentials into smaller, more manageable but measurable chunks, making higher education more accessible and less intimidating. Not only do microcredentials provide immediate recognition of a learner’s competencies, they also give learners greater agility and flexibility regarding when and how they can engage in more formalized learning experiences. And if these microcredentials align with specific workforce needs, they offer earners immediate value to their careers.
Breaking Down Boulders
Earning a macrocredential can feel like pushing a boulder uphill: a daunting, overwhelming task. But what if, instead of a single massive boulder, the journey involved moving a series of smaller rocks up that same hill? Imagine each rock varying in size and shape, representing microcredentials a learner can carry at different times, based on their capacity, readiness and life context. The smaller rocks are easier to manipulate, move around or return to. As learners carry these smaller rocks, they also begin to stack them, building a solid foundation to support future learning and growth. Stacking the rocks symbolizes accumulating competencies over time and represents strategic steps toward achieving a larger goal. This approach allows for a more individualized and manageable path through higher education, ensuring learners can say, “I can carry this rock right now,” and return later for another. This process of returning to the rock pile and stacking them in unique ways embodies the essence of continuous, lifelong learning. Even more exciting, this rock pile offers endless opportunities for growth and learning, allowing them to create their own path.
Higher education institutions willing and interested in turning the boulder into a rock pile demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning while increasing access to more traditional macrocredentials. Through microcredentials, institutions acknowledge their learners’ diverse lives, paths and backgrounds and cultivate a community in which education and learning are viewed as a continuous journey, not a singular event.
Experiential and Applied Learning Experiences
UMBC’s main campus is about a 15-minute drive southwest of Baltimore City. Through our Shriver Center, Center for Democracy and Civic Life, Sondheim Public Affair Scholars program and our institutional commitment to social responsibility, many of our campus community members engage in experiences beyond the traditional classroom. From peer mentoring and tutoring at a neighboring middle school, to community-building programming in Baltimore City, to on-campus leadership development series, UMBC offers a range of experiential and applied learning experiences.
For administrative purposes and to earn a transcript notation, many of these experiences are associated with a zero-credit practicum. While this transcript notation serves an important institutional function, it disguises the true value and substance of these experiences. In many cases, the durable skills that employers seek—such as communication, teamwork and collaboration—develop most authentically through experiential and applied learning than in a traditional classroom setting.
Failing to fully capture these real, meaningful and transferable competencies does a disservice to our learners. Microcredentials can provide a comprehensive way to articulate competencies students gain in settings beyond the traditional classroom. While the zero-credit transcript entry is useful and serves a functional need for the institution, microcredentials instead offer a detailed and accurate reflection of a student’s learning and growth, especially in environments that foster practical, hands-on experiences.
Reimagining Higher Education’s Role in Lifelong Learning
As cliché as it sounds, with the demographics of the traditional college student continuing to evolve, the traditional practices and approaches of higher education institutions must also evolve. Today’s college students are more likely to be older, employed and take longer to complete their macrocredentials than students have in the past. If institutions are committed to fostering inclusive excellence and equitable education, they must respond by meeting learners where they are.
To do so, institutions must reimagine both curriculum and institutional culture to shift the focus from just awarding a macrocredential at the very end of a single path to recognizing and rewarding learners at multiple milestones throughout their educational journey. By acknowledging significant accomplishments along the journey, institutions can provide immediate value and encourage continuous progression. This approach not only supports the multiple pathways students often take but also turns the act of earning a microcredential into an artifact of their lifelong learning. With microcredentials that stack toward other microcredentials or macrocredentials, learners are continually motivated to keep moving forward, seeing and building upon their achievements as they go.
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