How micro-credential courses can save our arts, science and engineering degrees

The global tertiary education landscape is grappling with the repurposing of higher education in alignment with the demands of the knowledge economy and the consequent emergence of Industry 4.0 across varied contexts. In the present dispensation of the knowledge economy, knowledge and intellectual capital serve as the primary drivers of growth, productivity, and wealth rather than physical resources or manufacturing.

Consequently, the fast-changing knowledge economy and the advent of Industry 4.0, characterized by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and the Internet of Things, have led to a major skills gap owing to the inability of traditional education systems to contextualize quickly and adequately to meet industry’s immediate needs. This has resulted in a crisis among employers in scouting candidates with current skills in fields such as IT, cybersecurity, and data science.

While conventional degree programmes and campus social immersion initiatives such as clubs and societies provide broad foundational knowledge, social skills, recognised qualifications, and deeper academic exploration in humanities, sciences, or research fields, pairing a degree with concurrent micro-credentials increases job readiness. With rapid technological change and automation continually reshaping job roles, skills quickly become outdated, making lifelong learning essential for employability. This has necessitated the production of a workforce through repurposing the existing workforce by retraining, reskilling, or redeployment. The rate at which the skill deficit progresses cannot match the workforce supply generated through traditional degree programmes of three to four years’ duration.

Further, it is observed that smart American students skip progressing to tertiary education and exit directly from school into the workforce, as remarked by the CEO of Zoho, Sridhar Vembu. In the Indian context, students increasingly prefer professional courses with clear placement conversion potential for enrollment in Engineering and Arts & Sciences sectors.

Hence, to mitigate the skill deficit exponentially and appeal to those who aspire to enter the workforce directly, collegiate education must be refined, repurposed, and reimagined by offering specific competency-based short-term courses aligned with labour market needs. Accrediting agencies specifically incentivize the offering of value-added courses as extra credits in undergraduate programmes. However, mere conceptualization of schemes will not help solve the employability challenge in the higher education landscape.

A clear understanding of, and empathy toward, the objectives of such value-added courses, along with purpose-driven curriculum design, are pivotal to successful implementation. The present article explores the design of stackable micro-credential courses under value-added courses to revive the relevance of degree programmes in Arts and Science or Engineering colleges.

Micro-credentials and the reshaping of the higher education sector

Micro-credentials (MCs) are designated as competency-based learning models sweeping across industry and the higher education sector to foster professional development and employability. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business defines micro-credentials as certifications granted through assessed mastery of a specialised competency (AACSB, 2021). It is predicted that the global online degree market incorporating micro-credentials is likely to grow exponentially. Drawing on its own research, HolonIQ (2021) claims that micro-credentials are poised to play a vital role in reshaping the higher education landscape. Of the approximately US $36 billion spent globally on online degrees in 2019, nearly US $9.8 billion was expended on micro-credentials (HolonIQ, 2021b). In addition, the value of online degrees is expected to grow to US $74 billion by 2025, with micro-credentials accounting for a significant share (HolonIQ, 2021a).

What are micro-credentials

As per the European Commission (2020) definition used in Cedefop’s study, a micro-credential is proof of the learning outcomes that a learner has acquired following a short learning experience. These learning outcomes are assessed against transparent standards, and the proof is contained in a certified document listing the name of the holder, achieved learning outcomes, assessment method, awarding body, and, where applicable, the qualifications framework level and credits gained. Micro-credentials empower individuals to upskill or reskill knowledge and capabilities that are in high demand in the labour market and to prove and share those accomplishments with employers and other stakeholders.

A micro-credential is a certification that recognizes the achievement of focused, high-value learning outcomes or specific competencies, awarded by accredited professional bodies or higher education institutions that uphold standards benchmarked against industry practices. These short, competency-based, industry-aligned learning units empower learners with market-relevant skills and help bridge existing skill gaps. Micro-credentials can take various forms, including nano-degrees, Micro-Masters, certificates, digital badges, and institutional endorsements. They offer tangible evidence, often in the form of digital badges, of skills acquired, enabling employers to gain a more precise understanding of a candidate’s capabilities.

Although micro-credentials have entered the mainstream of higher education in recent years, elements such as standardized descriptions, quality assurance, industry recognition, stacking mechanisms, and global credit transfer for domestic and international portability remain underdeveloped. Evidence suggests that micro-credentials can lead to tangible career benefits, including increased confidence, pay raises, and promotions, particularly for entry-level employees.

How could autonomous colleges and universities redeem this?

Apart from universities, autonomous colleges can leverage the entitlement granted by the UGC as a revenue stream by offering certificates (digital badges), diplomas (nano-degrees), and postgraduate diplomas (micro-degrees) through Schools of Continuing Education or Centres for Lifelong Learning using the college’s name. If these courses are accredited by the NSDC or benchmarked against industry standards through MoUs with relevant industries, they may qualify for GST exemption of 18%. Unfortunately, many autonomous colleges are unaware of these entitlements and remain constrained by university-prescribed conventional courses that have not been revised for decades.

Autonomous Colleges of Education can consider replenishing the decline in enrollment by repurposing their expertise in association with edtech industries, offering microcredentials using customized instructional design modules and mapped to edtech industry portfolios, thus creating sustainable revenue streams.

How do we design micro-credentials

Micro-credential course design demands the selection of specific competencies or learning outcomes that are in demand in the labour market but have yet to be integrated into academia. A key feature is the translation of authentic industry practices into modules by meticulously mapping them with graduate attributes, programme outcomes, and course outcomes, particularly when academic integration and scalability into stackable micro- or nano-degrees are envisioned. Purely industry-designed micro-credentials may not include such academic mapping.

Micro-credentials can also be co-designed with overseas universities through strategic partnerships, creating academic pathways and foundational courses for learners seeking cross-disciplinary mobility from undergraduate to postgraduate studies abroad. Well-structured MoUs may include provisions for tuition fee waivers or exemptions for co-created and mutually accredited micro-credentials.

Beyond academic and career pathways, micro-credentials can be offered for learners aspiring toward entrepreneurship, mapped to portfolios such as Incubation Manager, Startup Coach, Innovation Lead, or Venture Analyst. Engagement with professional bodies, industries, and accreditation agencies such as NSDC is essential to benchmark content against professional standards. Stackability from digital badges (30 hours) to nano-degrees (diploma) and micro-degrees (PG diploma) should be planned carefully, keeping the National Credit Framework (NCrF) and qualification framework level 5 in view.

Learning outcomes and competencies must be aligned with proposed academic progression and job or entrepreneurship pathways. Micro-credentials may be delivered through synchronous, asynchronous, or offline modes, depending on the competencies targeted. In the Indian context, credit allocation under the NHEQF distinguishes between theory, practical, and experiential learning, while NSQF-aligned courses assign one credit to 30 hours of learning without such distinctions.

New age evaluation rubrics for micro-credentials

Micro-credentials employ varied assessment methods, including quizzes, assignments, micro-capstone projects, digital badges reflecting competency milestones, work-integrated learning, reflective practice journals, design sprints or hackathons, problem-based case files, micro-defenses through viva voce, digital portfolios, simulation-based tasks, infographic creation, submission of logs or reports as evidence of practice, and final tests conducted online or in proctored settings. In some cases, universities also recognize prior learning and assess it using the same rubrics for certification.

Quality assurance of micro-credentials

Quality assurance plays a significant role in conceptualizing, designing, and implementing micro-credentials in colleges and universities. Autonomous colleges may pursue international accreditation through well-defined MoUs with overseas universities via twinning or dual-degree programmes. However, micro-credential design must address key questions related to competency mapping, authenticity of industry practices, accreditation and benchmarking, portfolio development, personalized learning, stackability, pathway alignment, and the role of Professors of Practice in translating industrial experience into teaching and learning.

Instructional design

Following course design, effective implementation requires skill and cognitive profiling of students based on learning goals and interests using psychometric assessments integrated into Learning Management Systems and Learner Experience Platforms. LXPs combine social media features with virtual learning environments to support AI-driven personalized learning, heutagogy, and self-paced learning. This inclusive approach motivates diverse learners through completion-type and mastery-type badges.

Learning analytics derived from learners’ digital activity traces help optimize learning environments, while social learning analytics examine knowledge acquisition in collaborative, informal contexts. Currently, edtech companies play a major role in designing such courses in collaboration with industries and universities. Autonomous colleges and state universities must understand the foundational requirements for designing micro-credentials, integrate Gen Z perspectives, and reimagine higher education for resilience. Without strengthened industry-academia engagement, higher education risks redundancy beyond institutional boundaries.

(The author currently serves as the Principal and Secretary of Madras Christian College, Chennai)

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