Making Sense of the Micro: Building an Evidence Base for Ontario’s Microcredentials

Abstract

This Innovation Spotlight responds to confusion and uncertainty surrounding “microcredentials”. The authors, from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO), offer a working typology that uses “microcredentials” as an umbrella term for credentials that are tied to short learning opportunities, focussed on specific skills or knowledge. In the context of declining long-term employment, the authors call for short, flexible programs that facilitate lifelong learning and respond to the modern hiring needs of employers. They make the case that postsecondary institutions, governments and employers can collaborate in designing and delivering job-relevant microcredentials, grounded in evidence. The authors plan to build an evidence base by engaging stakeholders – prospective students, employers, and institutional administrators – to examine the perceived and potential value of microcredentials.