solving? Differentiating these different levels of mastery, and doing so with a level of transparency and measurability, is very difficult and is currently one of many factors holding back any adoption of micro-credentials. It is easier for hiring companies to focus on hiring completed degree holders, or specific high-stakes exam certification holders, rather than try to guess what an ill-defined micro-credential might mean for a candidate’s level of mastery. The good news is there is work being done to help address the current shortcomings of micro-credentials. An example is the Mozilla Open Badges organization (www.openbadges.org). They are a cross industry consortium attempting to define the standards by which badges — e.g. micro-credentials — are issued by authorized organizations, and how individuals can display those badges with appropriate linkage back to both the issuing organization and the standards by which the badge was defined. A few organizations have adopted this open badges standard, including Pearson, edX, Educational Testing Service (ETS), and others. However, we are still at a very early stage of digital badges for consumer consumption and more work needs to be done in the sector to bring awareness. We recognize that there is a need to get involved now to help shape the future of education in ways that could bring positive disruptive change to how education is attained, and dare I say, “be accredited,” to individuals, leading to improvements in lifelong learning attainment. In addition, with the adoption of eventual standards, the industry can move towards competency-based experience recognition, which will allow higher education to recognize these badges and utilize them to appropriately give new students “credit” for skills attainment. This could reduce the number of courses and credits students might have to take to attain a full degree, thereby reducing the overall cost of tuition, while also increasing the retention, persistence and improving graduation rates for the largest population of degree seekers — e.g. non-traditional students. This also happens to be the population that today experiences worse completion rates than traditional students. We have all seen the rise of competency based learning models, but I believe
the real way to scale competency up to its full potential is to also adopt microcredentialing, or badging, models that give us a way of assessing competencies that don’t depend only on taking numerous assessment tests each time you want to move forward with your education. I believe these two trends, while they might seem to be disruptive to higher education, can actually be a benefit to higher education and future students if adopted and managed correctly as part of an institution’s higher education strategy. This strategy just needs to be changed to recognize a combination of skills attainment at the course or even learning objective level, combined with adding in the attainment of credentials along your higher education journey, so that you constantly gain career-readiness benefits that are cumulative, not just a zero-sum game based on whether you attain the full degree or not. Achieving a degree, once the status quo, is unsustainable in today’s day and age for individuals who want to both gain
employment and maintain employment, because people have to constantly learn, relearn, and communicate skills throughout their career. The emerging landscape of education demands a 360-degree approach to the overall learning experience. Adopting this approach to education would create a quality workforce that not only benefits employers, but also the overall economy. As we know, a quality, educated workforce adapts more quickly to change, which in turn promotes sustainable economic growth through the constant innovation necessary to respond to change. Eric Dirst is President, Online Services at the DeVry Education Group. DeVry Education Group is the parent company of the following institutions: DeVry University, Keller Graduate School of Management, Ross University School of Medicine, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Becker Professional Education, Chamberlain College of Nursing, Carrington College, DeVry Brasil (Fanor, Ruy Barbosa, Area1, FBV, FAVIP) and American University of the Caribbean.
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SouthEast Education Network
Winter 2015/2016
101