As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas. And now, micro-credentials are also having a big impact.
The University of Texas System, which spans nine academic campuses and enrolls approximately 240,000 students, is expanding its partnership with microcredentials provider Coursera. The initiative, announced last month, is Coursera's largest and aims to reach 30,000 students with at least one course by 2025.
Microcredentials are small, buildable units that help students earn certifications in in-demand skills, such as cybersecurity. These are not new. The State University of New York has been running a massive program since 2018, and Spelman College recently made headlines for bringing in nearly $2 million in revenue with its own certificate program.
UT's partnership with Coursera, which works with universities to offer online courses and certificates, began in December 2022. 3,000 students participated in the pilot program and completed more than 6,000 courses.
“They're voting as soon as they enroll in the first place. That's an impressive sign of interest, even just in the first semester,” said UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. “Everything we hear from students, employers and others is that they welcome this as an additional resource to prepare for the market.”
UT doubles down
The program is part of Texas Credentials for the Future, an initiative between the University of Texas System and the state. It started as a task force funded by a Strada Education Foundation grant to fund the embedding of microcredentials into degrees by 2025.
“Employers are saying, 'We need people with better skills,' and universities are saying, 'We have them,' and they speak a different language.” Manager Kelvin Bentley said. “With microcredentials, getting out of the silo and back to the table and finding the best way to prepare students for the working world becomes part of an ongoing conversation.”
Bentley's ultimate goal with this grant is to have 30,000 students take the program by 2025, whether it's a single course or an entire microcredential. Bentley said the grant focuses on equity and aims for his 22,000 of the participants to qualify. students of color. Graduate students and alumni are also expected to participate.
The success of the microcredentials pilot program at UT led to a $2 million investment from the University of Texas Board of Regents in July and an expansion by Coursera in August. Google also joined the partnership and provided students with 500 licenses to access Google's career certificates.
Obtaining the certificate requires approximately 4 to 6 months of work, consisting of 3 to 6 hours per week. 35 Microcredentials are primarily focused on technology. Certification topics include Digital Marketing Activities with Google, Cybersecurity with IBM, Social Media Marketing with Meta, and Bookkeeping with Intuit.
Scott Shireman, global head of Coursera for Campus, said part of the reason for the focus on technology is because of the high demand for technology employees. Coursera also aims to diversify its offerings, including a focus on the healthcare industry.
Coursera was founded in 2012 as a platform for massive open online courses known as MOOCs. We eventually pivoted and launched a microcredentials program in 2022, partnering with governments and universities.
The course can be used as a stand-alone certificate or count toward a four-year degree. For example, the University of Texas at Dallas' School of Business offers additional course credit if you also complete a certificate in a skill such as IT management.
Officials from Coursera's Shireman University and the University of Texas emphasized that the partnership is not meant to replace degree programs, but to complement their existing offerings.
“What UT is doing is making it part of the education. It's not one or the other,” said Jim Fong, chief research officer at the Association for University Professional and Continuing Education. “What fits into a degree is a whole bunch of smaller learning modules. They're trying to make things stackable. If people work together and collaborate, the long game plays out and both sides can win. ”
The next step in education?
Mass adoption of microcredentials has been slow, but the COVID-19 pandemic, looming enrollment cliff and waning trust in higher education are prompting institutions to seek solutions. .
“The world tends to change slowly and then all at once. [institutions] said Frederick Hess, director of education policy research at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. “They're aware of concerns about declining enrollment and are looking at whether college is worth it. Microcredentials are a potential solution to all of this.”
And while they criticize universities for producing too many graduates who cannot meet their needs, they are also innovating in the workplace.
“I think one of the biggest trends in higher education over the past decade has been Google and the metas of the world getting involved and saying, ‘There’s a workforce gap.’” We We’re going to help,” Shireman said. “It was made in America at this moment.”
There are many things to consider when considering large-scale deployment of a certificate program. Hess said there needs to be a way to monitor the quality of microcredentials, ensure skill acquisition, and figure out the best way to track and stack badges.
“The most difficult thing is how do you find people who have completed the course and document that they have these skills,” Hess said. “This will address a real concern, but to make it happen we need to understand the mechanics of developing a coherent strategy.”
But Fong advised traditional institutions to rely on innovation, as viable alternatives have emerged in the past few decades.
“We have to diversify our traditional student revenue elsewhere,” Fong said. “Awarding them a certificate along the way seems very practical to me. It is essential that higher education institutions focus on innovation, because they are Because they put all of them in one basket and have successfully protected it. But they are no longer in a position to protect it if they want to survive or thrive in the future.”
