Introduction to Micro-Credentials

• Think small - narrow down the competency. Not a course.
• Key employer / psi collaboration = success.
• Skill needs to be assessed. There needs to be rigor.
• Needs to be support to institutions
• Endorsement from institutions

[personal communication with Lena Patterson and Emma Gooch,  EcampusOntario, May 21, 2020]

Characteristics of badges as a microcredential (Oliver, 2016b):

• Granular
• Stackable
• Evidentiary
• Personalized
• Machine readable

 American Council on Education in SUNY's Whitepaper - Best Practices

• Transparency - be clear about what competencies are focused on and the relationship with other micro-credentials
• Modularity (stackable)
• Portability - the microcredential has value locally, nationally and/or betond.
• Relevant
• Validity - both predictive validity and concurrent validity
• Equity - all students should have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Quality is important as it is in any qualification. The following is a nice summary of how quality is measured in different countries (Kato et al, 2020):