For-credit micro-credentials aren’t just fueling enrollment at community colleges across the United States. Colleges and universities across the world are leveraging the credentials to fuel student engagement, brand differentiation and workforce development opportunities for learners of all ages, according to a new report from Coursera.
Over 80% of education leaders surveyed by the online program manager said their institution plans to integrate or expand for-credit micro-credentials in the next five years. Respondents from North America were the most likely to state their institutions already offer them (59% versus 53% globally). Overall professional certificate enrollment growth year-over-year in North America is 61%.
Coursera garnered responses from 1,058 higher education leaders across 852 institutions in 89 countries for this survey. Most of the responses came from the United States and India, followed by Mexico, Colombia, the Philippines, Nigeria and Malaysia.
The shift toward for-credit micro-credentials
Non-degree certificates proliferated with the rise of online learning and massive open online courses, known as MOOCs, early in the 21st century. By 2019, these non-degree offerings made up 71% of all credentials awarded by community colleges, according to the National Center of Education Statistics.
Higher education leaders have begun to embed their degree programs with credit-bearing, micro-credential opportunities as a means to sustain enrollment. Three-quarters (75%) of respondents said students are more likely to enroll in such degree programs. A few reasons leaders agreed on why include:
- Increase engagement and satisfaction (87%): 82% in North America
- Provide a competitive advantage (86%): 76% in North America
- Support student retention (80%): 75% in North America
“The for-credit adoption of micro-credentials signals a transformative shift in higher education,” said Rav Ahuja, CCO and global program director at IBM Skills Network.
Building lifelong career skills
The two biggest advantages higher education leaders envision for credit-bearing micro-credentials are building lifelong learning modalities and helping students become job-ready. Over 90% of North American respondents agreed or strongly agreed that micro-credentials let students develop job-related skills to meet employer demands (93%).
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Businesses agree: Of the 1,668 global employers Coursera surveyed last year, 88% believed micro-credentials distinguish job candidates, and 72% said they were more likely to hire someone with a degree and mico-credentials. Responses from U.S. employers were within 2 percentage points of global averages.
Among institutions that don’t offer micro-credentials, 65% stated that improving career prospects for students was a top-three consideration in their growth strategy. More than two-thirds (68%) said their campuses are likely to adopt micro-credentials in the next five years to better support these goals.
What’s capping growth?
The barriers to integrating for-credit micro-credentials are different in the U.S. and around the world. U.S. leaders are far more aware of them, are likelier to be skeptical about program quality and struggle to recruit faculty buy-in.
For a specific look at U.S. higher education leaders’ perspective on for-credit micro-credentials, click here.
