Interested in Microcredentials? We Can Help!
The types of programs offered and target audiences who would benefit from microcredentials is seemingly endless. ILCI is your partner in understanding, creating, and delivering micro-credentials.
Why Should UNO Provide Opportunities to Earn Microcredentials?
- As Nebraska's metropolitan university, UNO is committed to empowering learners who will gain the expertise necessary to achieve their personal and career goals over the course of their lives. Microcredentials further this goal by providing learning opportunities that are accessible when and where needed. Strengthening -learners' ability to reach their full potential benefits individuals and creates a stronger, more agile workforce and economy overall.
- Microcredentials are consistent with UNO’s long-standing mission of engaging closely with our community by engaging campus expertise to enhance outcomes at the individual, local, regional, state, national, and international level.
- Microcredentials align with UNO’s mission to build and retain a high-quality workforce in Omaha and Nebraska. Supporting employees’ efforts to reskill and upskill will strengthen their career progress. Providing employers with opportunities to develop their employees will lead to greater workforce retention.
What Are Microcredentials?
- Microcredentials confirm that specific knowledge, skills, or competencies have been acquired by a learner. While the specific characteristics of microcredentials vary widely, some common attributes can include the following:
- timelines are shorter than a degree program and learning is focused on specific knowledge, skills and competencies
- microcredentials are often more narrowly focused than credit-bearing certificate programs or courses
- microcredentials are not full degrees
- Delivery may be offered in different time frames that need not coincide with the beginning and end of a semester, including in an on-demand fashion
- May be for-credit or not-for-credit
- Can be offered online, in person, synchronous, asynchronous, and/or a combination thereof
The Value of Microcredentials Includes:
- Reinforcing UNO’s identity as the institution for lifelong learning and professional development
- Attracting new learners through noncredit to credit-pathways, including stackable credentials that honor different modalities of learning
- Allowing students to “earn while they learn” by increasing the earning potential for students who work while completing degree programs
- Increasing learner persistence and graduation by creating “small wins” for students
- Providing an "add on” for students to distinguish themselves in a competitive landscape
- Strengthening industry-government-higher education linkages
- Reducing barriers to access for upskilling and reskilling
Microcredentials Are Not New to UNO:
- Many units already have continuing education, executive education, and professional certification trainings stemming from strong partnerships with industry, government, and non-profit partners.
- The present effort is not an effort to supplant or replace current programs and partnerships.
- It is also recognized that some units will not wish to develop microcredential programs or may prefer to collaborate with other units in developing microcredential programs.
- The goal of the framework is to identify how UNO can support efforts across campus to expand microcredential programs in areas of high demand and need.
- We aim to do many things, among them are to:
- provide infrastructure that supports the good work of existing microcredential programs (e.g., marketing, enrollment platforms, and badging infrastructure)
- pilot additional new microcredentials stemming from the work of the Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) Steering Committee
- learn from these efforts in order to continuously improve UNO’s microcredential portfolio
