SU hosts micro-credentialing forum, create network for ‘stackable’ courses

Participants and organizers pose after the whole-day seminar on Micro-credentialing: Navigating the Future of Professional Development.
Participants and organizers pose after the whole-day seminar on Micro-credentialing: Navigating the Future of Professional Development.
Aric Lim, flanked by Dr. Dave Marcial (left) and Dr. Earl Jude Paul Cleope, receives Certificate of Recognition for speaking at the onsite event. Lim spoke about Canvas Credentials, a digital online badging for higher education.
Aric Lim, flanked by Dr. Dave Marcial (left) and Dr. Earl Jude Paul Cleope, receives Certificate of Recognition for speaking at the onsite event. Lim spoke about Canvas Credentials, a digital online badging for higher education.

In keeping with the latest trends in education and technology, the Silliman University (SU) Dr. Mariano C. Lao Global Studies Center (GSC)hosted the seminar on “Micro-Credentialing: Navigating the Future of Professional Development,” at the Dr. Mariano & Lina Lao Activity Center on February 8.

The seminar aimed to create a network and build institutional partnerships to establish stackable courses and institutionalize partner collaborators and schools for equivalencies.

“This [micro-credentialing] is really an important topic today,” Dr. Earl Jude Paul L. Cleope, Silliman University (SU) Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), stressed in his opening message as he welcomed to the seminar all 280 participants and 92 schools in person and via Zoom combined.

Organized by GSC, the seminar included key partners such as the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (UBCHEA), Philippine eLearning Society (PeLS), Asian University Digital Resource Network (AUDRN), and Canvas by Infrastructure.

What are micro-credentials?

Monchito Ibrahim, vice president for both Analytics and AI Association of the Philippines and UP System Information Technology Foundation, who spoke at the seminar via Zoom, wrote, “There is no standard definition of a micro-credential,” in his weekly column, TECH4GOOD, for Manila Bulletin.

In the realm of educational opportunities, individual learners leverage micro-credentials for diverse purposes, including educational advancement, employment, reskilling, upskilling, enjoyment, or personal growth.

These credentials, whether pursued for professional development or personal enrichment, serve as versatile tools for learners seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills.

Micro-credentials can be characterized either as stand-alone or stackable, offering learners the flexibility to customize their educational pathways. Notably, these credentials are distinguished by their smaller volume, manifested in reduced study durations or study loads.

This compact format allows for a more targeted approach to skill acquisition and study topics, catering to specific learning objectives.

Additionally, the inherent flexibility in the delivery of micro-credentials further reinforces their adaptability to diverse learning styles and preferences.

Building a network

Micro-credentials (or “microlearning,” “nanodegrees,” “microbachelor’s”) have not really taken off in most colleges and universities that offer traditional learning systems and degree programs in the country, although the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) has begun conversations about the possibility of integrating them into their curricula.

In SU, however, things are just starting to pick up speed. It can be recalled that in December 2023, GSC, through Dr. Marcial, launched its project titled, “Design and Implementation of Micro-credentialing in Higher Education in the Philippines,” with funding from the UBCHEA.

“This seminar is a jumpstart to our primary objective, which is to put up or set up a micro-credential network,” Dr. Marcial said during a quick interview before the event started.

The morning sessions comprised informative recorded videos on micro-credentials, two Zoom lectures, and an on-site talk on Canvas Credentials.

The afternoon sessions, on the other hand, focused on the application aspect of the seminar, with an onsite talk on “Micro-credentialing in Higher Education with Canvas Credentials” by Aric Lim, Solutions Engineer for Canvas and a Zoom lecture on “Future Proofing the Micro-credentials Program” by Dr. Juan Robertina Macalde, Manager of the Learning Development and Implementation Office of SEAMEO INNOTECH.

Via Zoom, Ibrahim talked about “The Promises of Micro-credentials.” He noted that more than 40% of tech companies employ non-college degree holders, particularly those who have finished senior high school or those who had several years in college but didn’t finish, a stark contrast from years back when companies used to hire college or university graduates.

Other speakers were Dr. Joane Serrano, UPOU Dean of Faculty of Management and Development Studies who talked about “Micro-Credentials: Definition and Role in the Global Landscape”; and Dr. Peter Sy, associate professor in UP Diliman and Project Director of MICRCASA 2023-6, a project funded by the European Union (EU), who spoke on “Micro-credentials and the Academe.” Both were pre-recorded messages aired during the event and were also played back in December 2023.

Sy pointed to a huge gap in Artificial Intelligence (AI) training among fresh university and college graduates, emphasizing the need for rapid skill acquisition because industries maintain that it takes at least six months to train fresh graduates with industry-related skills.

Looking forward

The initiative aims to create policies, frameworks, and implementation guidelines, along with the development of an online information system dedicated to micro-credentialing. In the coming year, pilot courses will be introduced, offering participants credential certificates and badges.

Specifically, the project aims to provide grants to faculty scholars attending upskilling, reskilling, and retooling programs leading to a credential MA program. The MA program, titled MA in Education in Educational Technology, will form part of the pilot courses designed for micro-credentials. The overarching goal of this project is to foster faculty development.

“This project that Silliman is leading is anchored in the idea that we wanted to upskill, retool, and reskill our faculty,” Dr. Marcial said in his closing message.

“We want to provide quality education so that our students will be ready [for] the workforce,” he added. (PR)

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