5 micro-credentialing best practices you need to know | D2L

Micro-credentials are becoming an increasingly useful part of the learning mix for associations.

They offer members a way to build and demonstrate specific skills without committing to a long-form qualification, while giving associations the opportunity to create more flexible, targeted and relevant professional development.

But the value of a micro-credential depends on more than its length or the badge attached to it.

To be meaningful, it needs to be focused on a clear competency, relevant to the learner’s role, designed around practical outcomes and supported by evidence that demonstrates what the learner has actually achieved.

In this article, AFA Partner D2L explores five practical principles for designing stronger micro-credential programs, including measuring competency rather than time, encouraging peer collaboration, connecting learning to real work, keeping programs focused and using data to understand impact and improve over time.

Micro-credentials are attracting a lot of attention these days. Learners like them because they’re quick and focused. Organisations like them because they add “stickiness,” getting employees excited about professional development and keeping members invested in the learning programmes associations have to offer.

But for something that seems so small, getting started with micro-credentials can feel confusing.

This article will look at five best practices your organisation can leverage to start using micro-credentials.

What is a micro-credential?

A micro-credential is a representation of a competency or achievement that’s earned through a short, focused programme. To receive one, learners need to demonstrate that they’ve met a set of requirements that could be tied to either one of two benchmarks:

• Progress: Does the person need to complete a specific activity or module?
• Performance: Does the learner need to submit an assessment to show their mastery of a skill?

Each micro-credential also needs to contain important information about how the learner achieved it, the evidence that backs it up, and who issued it in order to make it easier to verify and validate in the future.

When it comes to what your micro-credentialing programme should look like, the answer depends on what your goals are for it. One of the benefits of micro-credentials is that they’re flexible. They can be used for one-off qualifications that are finished in a week or as part of a larger stacked programme that takes a year or more to finish. They can target soft skills like communication, management, or leadership or technical ones like getting people up to speed with new or updated software.

What’s important is that each individual micro-credential can be achieved in no more than a few weeks and is geared to building a specific skill.

5 things to remember when implementing micro-credentials at your organisation

Whether you’re starting from scratch or want to revamp an existing micro-credentialing programme, there are a number of best practices you can lean on to help you get started.

1. Measure competency - not time spent learning

On the one hand, you want micro-credentials to be fun, because from the learner’s perspective, that’s one of the appealing things about them. They only require a few hours or weeks of a person’s time. Plus, at the end, people get a badge they’re able to share with their networks through social media platforms.

At the same time, micro-credentials need to be aligned with your learners’ and your organisation’s goals. That can be key to helping move the needle on professional development in meaningful, real ways and driving lasting engagement and growth with the programmes.

2. Encourage collaboration with peers

One thing that’s important to remember about adult learners is that they’re often coming to the table with years of real-world experience. Building collaboration into learning and training experiences can be valuable because it shows them that you respect the knowledge and expertise they already have and it gives them a chance to share it.

3. Relate the content to the learner’s job

Adults are selective, solution-oriented learners. The more applicable learning can be to what they want or need to do in their roles, the more appealing it will be to them.

Read more from Kiara Graham, a learning strategy consultant with D2L, on how to use design thinking to create L&D programmes that meet the needs of workplace learners.

4. Keep programmes focused

One of the hallmarks of micro-credentials is that they put a laser focus on a specific skill or competency. Don’t lose sight of that.

5. Lean into programme data

Ultimately, you want to make sure your micro-credentialing programmes are having an impact on both your organisation and its learners. You can pull insights from a variety of sources, including learner surveys and your learning management system. This can help shine a light on the impact your programmes are having today and open the door to future improvements and iterations.

For associations, micro-credentials can create a valuable bridge between learning, capability and member engagement.

They can help members build practical skills in smaller, more accessible steps, provide visible recognition of achievement and create clearer pathways through an association’s broader learning offer.

The opportunity, however, is not simply to create more short courses.

The stronger question is whether each micro-credential represents a skill or capability that matters, whether learners can apply it in practice, and whether the association can demonstrate the value of completing it.

For association leaders, there is a useful question to consider:

If a member earns one of our micro-credentials, can they clearly explain what they can now do that they could not do before?

If the answer is unclear, the program may need more focus.

Start with the competency, connect it to the learner’s real-world needs, design opportunities to apply and share learning, and use data to understand whether the program is creating the intended outcome.

Micro-credentials can be small by design, but their value should not be small.

Done well, they can strengthen professional development, create new pathways for engagement and help associations demonstrate a more tangible connection between learning and capability.

A big thank you to AFA Partner D2L for sharing these practical insights and continuing to contribute to conversations about learning, professional development and member value across the association community.

Read their full article here.

About D2L

D2L supports associations and other organisations to create and deliver flexible learning experiences through its Brightspace learning platform, supported by services, expertise and ongoing customer success. AFA is proud to have D2L as part of our partner community and to share their expertise with the broader association sector.