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A Critical Evaluation of Micro-Credentialing and Stacking in Legal EducationJames, Nickolas

Published: 27/10/2018

Document Version:Peer reviewed version

Link to publication in Bond University research repository.

Recommended citation(APA):James, N. (2018). A Critical Evaluation of Micro-Credentialing and Stacking in Legal Education. Sino-AustralianLaw Deans Conference, Wuhan, China.

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Download date: 16 May 2020

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Thelinebetweencontinuingprofessionaldevelopmentandpostgraduatestudyisbeingblurredbytheemergenceof‘micro-credentials’andtheabilityto‘stack’themtoearncredittowardsatraditionalpostgraduatequalification.

Thispaperexamineshowmicro-credentialingandstackingworkwithinthecontextoflegaleducation,andcriticallyevaluatestheemergenceofthistrendbyidentifyingthesignificantbenefitsandchallenges.

Whilethereisreasontobeconcernedabouttheongoingcommodificationandvocationalisation ofhighereducation,theconclusionisreachedthatthedevelopmentisonbalanceapositiveone.

For mostlegalprofessionals,theirjourneyoflifelonglearning‘splits’followingadmissionintotwopathways,continuingprofessionaldevelopmentandpostgraduatestudy,withlittleornointeractionbetweenthetwo.

Continuingprofessionaldevelopment(CPD)maybemandatedorvoluntary,andistypicallycomprisedoflearningexperiencesthatare:• Relativelyshortinduration– fromaonehourseminartoaconferenceacross3or

4days• Practicefocused• Deliveredonlineorface-to-face• Notassessed

Postgraduatestudy(PS)isusuallyvoluntary(althoughnotetheemergingexpectationofPGstudyinsomeEuropeanfirms)andistypicallycomprisedoflearningexperiencesthatare:• Longerinduration – fromaonesemestergraduatecertificatethrougha2to4

semesterMasterstoa3-6yearPhD• Scholarlyandtheoretical• Deliveredonlineorface-to-face• Assessed

MICRO-CREDENTIALLINGANDSTACKING havethepotentialtobridgethegapbetweenCPDandPS.

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1. Whataremicro-credentialingandstacking?2. Whoismicro-credentialingandstacking?3. Whatarethebenefits?4. Whatarethechallenges?

Amicro-credential isa‘mini-qualification’thatdemonstratesthatapersonhasacquiredspecificskills,knowledge,and/orexperienceinagivensubjectarea.Micro-credentials tendtocovermorethanasingleshortcoursebutlessthanatraditionalqualificationlikeadiplomaoradegree.

Micro-credentialscansometimesbestacked intocredittowardsatraditionalqualification.

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The‘stacking’ofCPDshortcoursesintomicro-credentials,andmicro-credentialsintopostgraduatestudyintheformofagraduatecertificateoraMasters,lookssomethinglikethis …

This developmentiscontributingtothe‘unbundling’and‘rebundling’ofthelifelonglearningjourney,andablurringoftheboundariesbetweenprofessionaldevelopmentand postgraduatestudy.

Micro-credentials are rising inpopularityamonghighereducationinstitutions.Onceconsideredleading-edge,micro-credentialingisbecomingmorecommonplacedespitesomecautiousskepticism:https://evolllution.com/programming/credentials/microcredentials-on-the-outside-looking-in/

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Thefollowingaresomeoftheconceptsassociatedwithmicro-credentialingandstacking:

• Nano-degrees andmicro-masters:These are typesofmicro-credentials.Theyareshortprogramscomprisedofaseriesofundergraduateorpostgraduatelevelshortcourses,typicallydeliveredonline, andoftenentitlingthelearnertocredittowardsafulluniversitydegree.

• Bootcamps:Bootcamp-stylecoursesareshort, intensivecoursesthatusuallyfocusonasingletopicorskill.Theobjectiveisforthestudenttolearntheexactknowledgeorskilltheyneedintheshortesttimepossible,sotheycanquicklyapplywhattheyhavelearned.

• Verifiedcertificates:A verifiedcertificate certifiesthattheidentityofalearnerwhohascompletedanonlineshortcoursehasbeenverifiedusingawebcamandphotoID. Afeemaybepayablebythelearner. (Ifcompletion ofashortcourseisgoingtoentitlethelearnertocredittowardsauniversitydegreetheremustbeassurancethatthepersonenrollingisthepersonwhocompletedthecourse.)

• Digitalbadges:Adigitalbadgeisavalidatedindicatorofaccomplishment,skill,quality,orinterest.Itisusuallydelivered automaticallybyanonlineplatformuponcompletionofashortcourse,andcanberetainedanddisplayedbythelearnerinadigitalportfolio.

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Digitalbadgesareanelementofthegamification ofeducation.

Gamificationistheincorporationintoanynon-gamecontextofsomeoftheelementsofgameswiththeobjectiveofmotivating‘players’tocontinue‘playing’.Ithasbeenhappeningforalongtime:allocatingmarks,promotingcompetition,andawardingprizes are allexamplesofthegamificationofeducation.Ifaninstructorhasincorporatedintotheircourseopportunitiesforstudentchoice;orprovidesopportunitiesforimmediatefeedback,socialconnection,orcollaborativeproblemsolving;orsetschallengesforstudentsandoffersrewardsforcompletingthem,theyhavegamifiedtheirteaching.Byincorporatingtheseelements,theyareinfluencingstudentbehaviourandstudentlearningusinggamingstrategies.

Awardingdigitalbadgesuponcompletionofonlinetasks,modules,coursesandprogramsaresimplyanew,andsuccessful,wayofgamifyingthelearningprocess.Considertheappealofleaderboardsandtrophiesinonlinegamingandyouwillunderstandwhydigitalbadgesareseenasaviablewaytomotivatelearnersandenhancetheirengagementwithacourse.

Aswithanypedagogy,gamificationdoesnotautomaticallypromotestudentengagement,andgamificationhasits critics,butthereisanincreasingliteratureinsupportofitseffectivenessasatooltopromotestudentlearning.

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Theleadingindependentproviders ofmicro-credentialsareCoursera,edX,Udacity,FutureLearn andKadenze.Somemicro-credentialsleadtocredittowardsuniversityprograms,othersdonot.(Thisisareflectionofthefactthatapathwaytopostgraduatestudyisimportantforsomelearnersbutnotforothers.)

Source:https://www.class-central.com/report/moocs-microcredentials-analysis-2018/:1. CourseraSpecialization - Somepotentialtoreceiveuniversitycreditforprogramsassociatedwith

particulardegreeprograms(e.g.theiMBA fromtheUniversityofIllinois)2. edXXSeries - Nofor-creditoptions3. FutureLearn Program - Someincludeoptionstoearnuniversitycredit4. edXProfessionalCertificate - Atleast2offersomeoptionforprofessionalsofacertain

backgroundtoearncredit5. Kadenze Program - Someincludeoptionstoearnuniversitycredit6. UdacityNanodegree - Nofor-creditoptions7. edXMicroMasters - AlmostallMicroMasters includeoptionstoearncredit(orbecomeeligiblefor

acceleratedcompletion)towardsparticularmaster’sdegreeprograms8. CourseraMasterTrack - AllMasterTrack programsincludeanoptiontoearncredittowardsa

particulardegreeprogram9. CourseraProfessionalCertificate - TwoofthethreeProfessionalCertificateprogramscurrently

availableofferoptionstoearn credittowardsadegree10. FutureLearn GraduateCertificateandGraduateDiploma- Bothofthesemicrocredentials are“for-

credit”intheAustraliansystemofpostgraduatecredentials

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Some universitiesarethemselvesmovingintothisspace.

A2016reportbyPearsonandUPCEA, DemographicShiftsinEducationalDemandandtheRiseofAlternativeCredentials,indicatedthat64percentofthe UShighereducationinstitutionssurveyedseealternatecredentialingasafuturestrategyandrevenue-generatingopportunity,withoneinfiveinstitutionssurveyedalreadyofferingsomeformofalternativecredentialing.Somehighereducationinstitutionsarepartneringwiththird-partyproviderswhileothershavechosentogoitalonewithalternativecredentialinginitiatives.

InAustralia,universitiesnowofferingtheirownMicroMasters programsincludetheUniversityofQueensland,DeakinUniversity,CurtinUniversityandtheUniversityofAdelaide.

Whataboutthesmallerprovidersofprofessionaldevelopmentprogramsandcourses?

There isgoingtobeincreasingpressure forthemtopartnerwithlargerprovidersanduniversitiestocreatepathwaysfromtheircoursesintopostgraduatestudy.

Overtime,therearegoingtobeefforts…totrytoorganizemoreofthesenon-institution-deliveredcredentialsystemsinwaysthatintegrateandconnectwithexistingsystems.Inotherwords,we’refindingwaysfornon-institutionaleducationproviderstobetterlinkcertifications,certificate,degrees,industry-drivenqualificationsandneweffortslikebadgesandothertypesofcredentialing,withtheexistingcredentialecosystem.– ‘Movingfrom“AlternativeCredentials”toanIntegratedCredentialEcosystem’, https://evolllution.com/uncategorized/moving-from-alternative-credentials-to-an-integrated-credential-ecosystem/.

Thebenefitsofmicro-credentialingandstackingforlearnersinclude:• enhancedcoherenceintheirlifelonglearningjourney;• improvedaccesstohighereducation;• maximisationofoutcomesfromtheirparticipationinCPD;• enhancementoftheiremployabilityandpromotionprospectsbyprovidingevidenceoftheir

masteryofspecificskills;and• formalrecognitionandrewardingofawiderrangeoflearningexperiences.

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Thebenefitsofmicro-credentialingandstackingforCPDprovidersinclude:• enhancementoftheircredibilityandrigour;and• accesstonewmarkets.

Thebenefitsofmicro-credentialingandstackingforuniversitiesinclude:• theunlockingofinstitutionalexpertisebymakingitavailableinsmaller‘chunks’;• enhancementoftheirrelevance,authenticityandabilitytoaddresscurrentskillgaps;and• thecreationofnewpathwaystopostgraduateeducation.

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Thesignificantchallengesassociatedwithmicro-credentialingandstackinginclude:• thecostofdigitalbadgingandverificationplatforms;• inconsistenciesbetweenmicro-credentialingplatformsandpathwayarrangements;• thenegotiationofagreementsbetweenCPDprovidersanduniversities;• difficultiesdemonstratingthatCPDisdeliveredandassessedappropriately;• thecostdifferentialbetweenCPDcoursesandpostgraduateprograms;• ensuringgenuinecohesivenessandconsistencyinthelifelonglearningjourney;• maintainingbothacademicrigourandtheperceptionofacademicrigour.

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Thisfinalchallengeisasignificantone, andonethatinfactincreasesasmicro-credentialingandstackingbecomesmorewidespread.

Micro-credentialing andstackingislikelytobecriticisedasleadingtothecommodificationandvocationalisation ofhighereducation.

BythisImeanthetransformationofeducationalexperiencesinto(1)productstobeconsumed,and(2)experiencesthatfocusprimarilyifnotentirelyuponenhancementofthelearner’semployabilityandabilitytoengageinproductivework.Enhancingemployabilityisofcourseanimportantobjectiveofengaginginlearningbutitisnottheonlyobjective(contrarytowhatsomecontemporarypublicdiscussionoftheroleofuniversitiesmightsuggest).Teachingandlearningisacentralelementoftheendeavourtopreserve,enhanceandtransmithumanknowledgefromonegenerationtothenext.Itsgoalsincludenotonlyhelpingthelearnertogetajobbutalsohelpingthelearnercontributetothepublicgoodandfacilitatingapositivetransformationoftheself.

Postgraduatestudyhastraditionallybeencharacterisedbyaprolongedandimmersiveengagementwithafieldofknowledge.Ifmoreandmorepostgraduatestudyiscomprisedof‘bootcamp’stylelearningexperiences,i.e.short,intensivecoursesthatfocusuponthedevelopmentofpracticalskillsandthefastacquisitionofcurrentknowledge,thereisadangerthatsomethingofvaluetoourcommunitywillbelost.

Ofcourse,thisassumesthatallpostgraduatestudywillbesubsumedbymicro-credentialingandstacking,andthisisunlikely.Therewillstillbelearnerswhoprefertoengageinpostgraduatestudyinthetraditionalway,andmanyofthelearnerswhochoosetoearnapostgraduatequalificationviamicro-credentialingandstackingarelesslikelytobeoneswhowouldotherwisehaveenrolledinanLLMorPhDandmorelikelytobelearnerswhowouldneverhaveundertakenpostgraduatestudyatall.

Andthat,inmyview,makesthisdevelopmentapositiveone.

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