Title: Case Review of using Micro‑credentials and ePortfolio to improve employability skills in Higher Education
Author Name: Amy Johnson
Selected Case (Published Article):
Maina, M.F., Guàrdia Ortiz, L., Mancini, F. et al. A micro-credentialing methodology for improved recognition of HE employability skills. Int J Educ Technol High Educ19, 10 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00315-5
1. Introduction
The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to shortages in skilled workers. Recent research reveals that in the USA, there is a serious shortage of skilled workers in computer-related jobs (McGreal, 2022). Similarly, in Canada, 30% of employers are unable to hire skilled workers, and in Europe, it is a staggering 40% (McGreal, 2022). At the same time, employers are beginning to question whether college graduates have the necessary skills to succeed in the workplace (Selingo, 2017). Even though employers still believe in the need for higher education, according to one survey, they want continuous lifelong learning and more credential pathways. (Gallagher, 2018).
Micro-credentials along with open badge standards are poised to fill this gap. Broadly defined, micro-credentials are digital representations, often in the form of digital badges, showing mastery of specific competencies or skills. To earn micro-credentials, learners complete activities and assessments to satisfy the requirements set by the issuing organization. The digital badges contain metadata about the name of the issuer, date issued, competencies achieved, and other pertinent information. Micro-credentials can be used in many different ways, such as to increase intrinsic motivation of learners (Ellis et al., 2016), for faculty professional development (Yu, 2015), in IT upskilling (Bell, 2022), and in workplace just-in-time training (DeakinCo, 2017).
Here is a brief introductory video on micro-credentials, sometimes called digital credentials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRuExahaWPY
2. Overview of the Case
A methodology called Employability Skills Micro-credentialing (ESMC) was developed by researchers and tested at three East African universities in 2020. The project involved using digital micro-credentials and a competency-based ePortfolio to make employability skills visible to prospective employers. The participants included 13 lecturers, 169 students, and 24 employers. Students were selected from 11 bachelor programs in Education, Law, Management, Mathematics, Social Work, Nursing, Informatics and others. Each student was assessed in 2 to 4 employability skills referenced from Ornellas’ (2019) employability skills taxonomy. The assessed skills were creative thinking, communication and interpersonal skills, and problem-solving.
3. Solutions Implemented
There were two articulation stages in the research (Figure 1). In Articulation 1, following the design principles of inquiry, reflection, integration and outcomes assessment in the Catalyst Framework (Eynon & Gambino, 2017), students were asked to articulate their skills in written, visual and verbal form for lecturers to assess. They examined their curricular and extra-curricular experiences to find evidence of the employability skills. A rubric allowed students to self-assess their skills development, followed by a reflective narrative to provide justification and presentation of the evidence. Lecturers provided formative feedback to students throughout the process and the employability skills were then assessed using the rubric.
In Articulation 2, students reviewed and personalized their ePortfolios in order to effectively communicate their employability skills to employers. This involved writing short bios to highlight achievements, recording a 3-5 minute videos to communicate to prospective employers, and customizing their ePortfolio profiles with photos and other evidence. Employers then appraised the students’ presentations and the evidence curated in their ePortfolios.
4. Outcomes
The students reported that the inquiry and reflection process helped them to make connections between employability skills in their courses and in non-curricular experiences. It increased their awareness of what the expectations are in the labor market and enhanced their self confidence in presenting themselves to employers. Further, they improved their communication skills by creating their own digital profiles and testimony videos. Working towards the micro-credentials has helped students develop a new perspective of their educational journey.
The lecturers reported positive outcome in formative feedback and continuous assessment in helping students identify the best evidence for their skills. Students were able to fine tune their submissions, in contrast to traditional assessments. Lecturers also reported conceptual changes to their course design to integrate employability skills into activities and assignments, as well as opportunities for reflective learning. In addition, the communication between lecturers, employers and students during the process enabled academia to understand the demands of the labor market and therefore to enhance the curriculum.
Employers commented that the badges and attached evidence provided a focused view of the students’ skills, above and beyond what is visible in transcripts and resumes. They were better able to see the strengths of the candidates and match the organizational goals and job requirements with the graduates’ qualifications and personal interests. They valued the university-endorsed badges as access points to the students’ contextualized evidence. In addition, some pointed out the benefits of the digitalization of credentials, which allowed students to be more visible to companies searching for candidates for a given position. All the employers agreed that the use of digital badges and ePortfolios provided advantages in the hiring selection process.
5. Implications
The research presented in this case provided a strong argument that a methodology of awarding micro-credentials for employability skills and ePortfolios to showcase evidence could very well improve graduates’ success in employment. The positive feedback from employers shows their willingness to accept micro-credentials, as long as there is sufficient evidence of the students’ achievements. The research also brought awareness to academia of the gap between graduate readiness and labor market expectations so that curriculum can be redesigned accordingly. In my opinion, the greatest benefit is in the students themselves, as they take ownership of their own educational journey and apply the process of inquiry, reflection and integration in all of their learning. Looking forward, if micro-credentials are being developed not just for employability skills, but other work competency skills, then much investment is needed in higher education institutions to design and integrate a micro-credentialing system. At the same time, employers must be educated to understand and value the micro-credential as much as they do the traditional credentials of transcripts and degrees. The question of badge portability is being addressed by the development of the Open Badge standard which is in draft version 3.0 (1EdTech). The future pathway for connecting skills and achievement to employment opportunities will predictability involve the use of digital micro-credentials.
6. References
1EdTech (2022). Inventing a Better Way to Connect Skills and Achievements to Employment Opportunities. Retrieved: Dec 4, 2022. https://www.imsglobal.org/article/inventing-better-way-connect-skills-and-achievements-employment-opportunities
Bell, Natalia, Liu, Michelle, Murphy, Diane. (2022). A Framework to Implement Academic Digital Badges When Reskilling the IT Workforce. Information Systems Education Journal, v20 n1 p36-46 Feb 2022.
Eynon, B., & Gambino, L. M. (2017). High-impact e-portfolio practice: A catalyst for student, faculty, and institutional learning. Stylus
Gallagher, S. R. (2018). Educational credentials come of age: A survey on the use and value of educational credentials in hiring. Northeastern University. https://cps.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Educational_Crede ntials_Come_of_Age_2018.pdf
Maina, M.F., Guàrdia Ortiz, L., Mancini, F. et al. A micro-credentialing methodology for improved recognition of HE employability skills. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 19, 10 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00315-5
McGreal, R., Olcott, D. (2022). A strategic reset: micro-credentials for higher education leaders. Smart Learn. Environ. 9, 9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40561-022-00190-1
Ornellas, A., Falkner, K., & Edman Stålbrandt, E. (2019). Enhancing graduates’ employability skills through authentic learning approaches. Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, 9(1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1108/heswbl-04-2018-0049
Selingo, J.J. (2017). The future of degree: How Colleges can survive the new credential economy. The Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/us/en/fles/The-Future-Of-theDegree-2017.pdf
Yu, L., Dyjur, P., Miltenburg, J., & Saito, K. (2015). “Micro-Credentialing: Digital Badges in Faculty Professional Development”. In Preciado Babb, P., Takeuchi, M., & Lock, J. (Eds.). Proceedings of the IDEAS: Designing Responsive Pedagogy Conference, pp. 82-89. Calgary, Canada: Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. Retrieved from http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/50862