Is Micro-Credentialing the Educational Future for Learners?

Since transitioning away from nonprofit and education roles into SaaS technologies nearly a decade ago, I've often wondered if the correlation between having a university degree and job advancement has remained the same over time or whether it matters less and less. Coming up in the mission-driven world, your degrees showed learned expertise in a particular area and were a key to opening doors to advancement. Field experience certainly helped, but that piece of paper showing you spent 4+ years studying XYZ topic was the baseline credential.

That hasn't rang true since starting in the software world, and I'm curious if it ever will? The best engineers, product managers, SaaS marketers, business analysts, and success managers I've had the joy of working alongside were rarely using their university degrees on a regular basis, if they had them at all. What they all had, to varying degrees, were stacked certifications that required specific, demonstrable knowledge to obtain. Micro-credentials. Are they the future?

So let's start with some basic definitions: Micro-credentials, also known as digital badges, are certification types that demonstrate competency or proficiency in a specific skill or knowledge area. They are typically earned through short-term, focused learning experiences that may be offered by educational institutions, professional associations, or industry partners.

While micro-credentials have gained popularity in recent years, it's hard to say definitively whether they are the future of education. However, there are several reasons to believe that they will play an increasingly important role in the education landscape:

1. Flexibility: Micro-credentials allow learners to acquire specific skills and knowledge quickly and efficiently without committing to a full degree program. This makes them a popular option for professionals who want to upskill or reskill while balancing work and family obligations.
2. Industry Alignment: Micro-credentials can be designed and delivered in partnership with industry organizations, ensuring that they align with the specific needs of employers and the labor market.
3. Personalization: Micro-credentials can be tailored to individual learners' needs and interests, allowing them to choose the specific skills and knowledge they want to acquire.
4. Technology: Advances in technology have made it easier to design, deliver, and manage micro-credentials. Online platforms and digital badges can make credentialing more efficient and accessible.

Organizations like the Strada Education Network report that since 2020, the most popular option for American adults considering additional education or training is pursuing a “certificate, certification, or license.” Digital credentialing platform Credly reports that the number of organizations issuing industry and workforce credentials is up 83 percent since the pandemic. In publicly traded online education company 2U’s last fiscal year, “alternative credential” revenue surged 83 percent to $288 million. And Coursera’s IPO filing showed booming business in professional certificate offerings from both universities and companies.

The idea of corporations entering the education space is nothing new, but the proliferation of credentials across the world of work has been explosive. Unlike the traditional IT certifications of decades past, these new credentials are less focused on proprietary technologies related to a given tech vendor, and are more focused on broadly applicable tech skill sets such as IT support, cloud computing and digital marketing. In effect, many of the new company-issued credentials (whether they’re called certifications, certificates, badges or some other name) reflect competency or content mastery in specialized areas in the same way that traditional educational certificates and degrees do.

So what's the conclusion? What does my social media crystal ball have to say on the credentials vs. degrees? Overall, while micro-credentials may not replace traditional degree programs entirely, they are likely to persist as an increasingly important component of the educational landscape, particularly for learners seeking to upskill or reskill quickly in response to changing workforce demands.

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Follow-Up Request: If your business/organization uses Salesforce and sells non-degree, micro-credentialing, or continuing education courses, contact me via DM. I'd love to ask you a few questions about your experience, goals, and technology usage!