Microcredentials - a (not so ) new way to recognise learning

Micro Credentials
a (not so) new way to recognize learning
Anthony F. Camilleri
Senior Partner – Knowledge Innovation Centre
28th EURASHE General Conference, Tallinn, 20.04.2018

www.microcredentials.eu
The Future of Education….

… has been coming for a long time

Megatrends
• Increasing cost of Higher
Education
• No more jobs for life
• Employer demands for
flexibility and reaction times
• Move to skills-base rather
than qualification base
• Decreasing value of a
degree coupled with degree
inflation

Megatrend
Rise of Non-Accredited
Higher Education

Growth of the MOOC

A Traditional View of Qualifications
Example: Irish Qualifications Framework

The EQF only
Captures a
fraction of the
spectrum of
credentials
A modern view of Qualifications

Types of
Credentials
The EQF only
Captures a
fraction of the
spectrum of
credentials
Formal Learning Qualification
Recognition of Skills
Experiential
Social

Summary
• The value of degrees and
qualifications is
decreasing
• New models of (higher)
education are thriving
The End of
Traditional
Education and
Degrees

Higher Education and Tertiary
Education Qualifications are
still in increasing demand

Higher Education and Tertiary Education
Qualifications are still in increasing demand

Summary
• The value of degrees and
qualifications is
decreasing
• New models of (higher)
education are thriving
Degrees are still the
Golden Standard
for Employment

In a crowded job-
market a degree
allows an
applicant to
quickly stand out
Source: Career Arc

In a crowded job-
market a degree
is easily
understood
Source: Career Arc

•Typically a
qualification
is considered
to be a
function of
the:
•reputation of the organization
issuing the credential
•demand for and/or inherent value
of the experience or skill described
by the credential
•the reputation of the credential in
and of itself
Inherent Value of a Qualification

measurable it represents a specific, identifiable and measurable experience or skill;
secure not falsifiable, and verifiable
personal attributable to a single, identifiable person;
stackable credentials of the same type can be added together to form a greater whole;
transferable it can be converted into different credentials;
collectable the person to whom it is issued can own, control and physically possess the credential;
standardised standards ensure that the same set of conditions will always lead to the award of the same credential;
transparent the value represented by the credential, as well as all processes that lead to its award are published;
recognisable the credential is available in a language and format that allows for wide use and acceptance;
traceable the conditions which led to the issue of the credential can be audited;
easy to use: third parties using the credential can do so easily;
Technical Value of a Qualification

Value of a Qualification
The wide acceptance of degrees is
as much a function of their technical
value as of their inherent value

Bologna has improved technical quality
of qualifications
•Recognition Conventions
•Qualifications Frameworks
•Diploma Supplements
•Credit Systems
No common European
format exists for
describing qualifications
and their learning
outcomes: this hinders
their comparability.
but digital tools have been ignored

…but only at qualification/degree level
Although the EQF aims to promote flexible learning
pathways and focuses on learning outcomes
independently of where the qualification has been
acquired, no common arrangements exist for credit
transfer and accumulation for qualifications related to
the EQF. European Council
Recommendation on new
Qualification Framework

A simple Idea….
ECTS not Qualifications
should become the
default unit of learning

A challenging Idea….
ECTS not Qualifications
should become the
default unit of learning
A hundredfold
increase in volume of
credentials data held
and generated

How to do It
• extend principles recognition and transfer in
Erasmus Agreements to overarching credit
systems
Recognition
Conventions
• extend QFs, to allow the mapping of
credentials measuring between 2 and 60
ECTS
Qualifications
Frameworks
• should become a collection of credit/course
supplements, with transparency data
collected at this level
Diploma
Supplements
• create a meta-data standard for all credit
systemsCredit Systems

Our little big challenge….
Create a digital standard format
for documenting micro-
credentials in terms of ECTS
using existing recognition
tools

The MicroHE project
brings together
partners from across
Europe to:

Imagine a Future
where recognition is
universal
automatic
seamless

THANK YOU FOR
YOUR ATTENTION
You can download this presentation at:

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