Introduction to �Micro-Credentials
Christina Armutlieva, Varna University of Management
Enhancement of entrepreneurship skills among women to provide gender equality and employability for citizens of Uzbekistan. ( EMPOWER)
Project Number: 101129076 — EMPOWER—ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
Presentation Outline
Initial questions to answer about the term of micro-credential (MC):
What?
Why?
How?
How long?
Where?
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
WHAT?
MC Definition
“A micro-credential is the record of the learning outcomes that a learner has acquired following a small volume of learning. These learning outcomes have been assessed against transparent and clearly defined standards.
Courses leading to micro-credentials are designed to provide the learner with specific knowledge, skills and competences that respond to societal, personal, cultural or labour market needs.
Micro-credentials are owned by the learner, can be shared and are portable. They may be standalone or combined into larger credentials. They are underpinned by quality assurance following agreed standards in the relevant sector or area of activity.”
Source: A European Approach to Micro-Credentials
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
WHAT?
MCs Popular Explanations
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
Source: Driver and attractors for the growth of micro-credentials (Brown 2022b)
WHY?
MCs Relevance and Topicality
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
WHY?
MCs: Green, Digital, Inclusive
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW?
Principles for Design and Issuance of MCs
Source: Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW?
MCs Minimum Standards
Source: Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW?
The Process of Design and Issuance of MCs
Step 1: Analyse 🡪 Step 2: Select 🡪 Step 3: Describe 🡪 Step 4: [Re-]Design 🡪
Step 5: Arrange 🡪 Step 6: Create 🡪 Step 7: Combine 🡪 Step 8: Describe Assessment 🡪 Step 9: Pilot 🡪 Step 10: Collect feedback 🡪 Step 11: [Iterate] 🡪
Step 12: Celebrate 🡪 Step 13: Complete
Micro-Credentials Exchange Network. Implementation Framework
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW?
Standard Elements to Describe an MC
Source: Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability
Mandatory Elements |
Title of the micro-credential |
Awarding body, Date of issuing |
Learning outcomes |
Notional workload needed to achieve the learning outcomes (in ECTS credits, wherever possible) |
Level (and cycle, if applicable) of the learning experience leading to the micro-credential (EQF, QF-EHEA) |
Type of assessment |
Form of participation in the learning activity |
Type of quality assurance used to underpin the micro-credential |
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW?
Standard Elements to Describe an MC
Source: Council Recommendation on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability
Option Elements (non-exhaustive list) |
Prerequisites needed to enrol in the learning activity |
Supervision and identity verification during assessment |
Grade achieved |
Integration/stackability options (standalone, independent micro-credential/integrated, stackable towards another credential) |
Any further relevant information, incl. indicative content and recommended literature |
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
HOW Long? Where?
“Opinions in the consultation group have differed regarding the range of ECTS credits in defining the workload of micro-credentials… The Common Micro-credential Framework suggests that micro-credentials should be based on a notional workload of 100-150 hours (including revision for, and completion of, the summative assessment). This equals 4-6 ECTS credits. Others argued that even 1 ECTS credit could be accepted for the workload of micro-credentials. On the other end of the possible scale, 60 or 90 ECTS credits were mentioned, the latter of which would already be very close to the size of the short-cycle qualification.”
Source: A European Approach to Micro-Credentials
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."
Thank you for your attention!
Questions?
"Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be."