Agree on a qualification
The partnership has to agree on a qualification for the joint micro-credential programme. Successive decisions have to be made: Justify the award to be recognized; Align with institutional qualification frameworks for continuing education; Define the type of qualification to be delivered; Award a joint qualification; Design a qualification supplement; Award a professional qualification. Guidelines Justify […]
Design the joint micro-credential curriculum
For the design of the curriculum of a joint micro-credential programme, successive joint decisions have to be made as the programme is co-owned and co-delivered by all partners in a distributed environment: Define the learning objectives of the curriculum; Design a coherent program in content and structure; Make the programme stackable; Define delivery modes; Align […]
Share a joint vision on the micro-credential programme to be developed
As a first step, partners have to develop a joint educational vision for the programme, consisting of: Investigate needs; Develop an academic and professional profile; Take into account the characteristics of the learners envisaged; Define the objectives and the unique selling point of the programme; Define the relationship with existing courses and programmes. Guidelines Investigate […]
Ensure cross-institutional support
The team leader and the team partners need institutional and faculty support, which is given by professional expert services in the partnership: Consult the educational programme administration; Find teaching and learning support; Seek support for Internationalization; Look for IT support; Get support from legal services; Request cooperation from the student administration Guidelines Consult the educational […]
Compose the micro-credential programme team: structure and tasks
The partners have to agree on the composition of the joint programme team: Initiate a strong leadership; Share tasks. Guidelines Initiate a strong leadership The success of joint micro-credential programme is largely dependent on the programme leadership and the programme team. The programme leader is a university staff member who assumes overall academic and managerial […]
Build the partnership
The creation of the partnership for the micro-credential programme is based on several criteria: Start with degree awarding and non-degree awarding partners; Shape an identity for the partnership; Benefit from mutual trust; Maintain an operational size. Guidelines Start with degree awarding and non-degree awarding partners The initiative for a joint micro-credential programme can be taken […]
Define the macro-objectives of the joint micro-credential programme
The macro-objectives of a joint micro-credential programme should fit the mission of the university and frameworks for continuing education and professional development, which may include different aspects: Align with the institutional mission, policies and strategies on continuing education and professional development; Adapt educational provisions for continuing education and professional development to the time horizon of […]
Align with European and national developments
The development of micro-credential programmes should be aligned with European and national initiatives: Develop an institutional strategy and qualification structure for continuing education and professional development; Align with the European Commission’s Proposal for a Recommendation to the Council of Ministers of Education on micro-credentials and the use the Bologna tools; Connect with national frameworks under […]
The design of a joint micro-credential programme: overview
Guidelines Designing and developing a micro-credential programme is a complex activity consisting of several steps align with European and national developments: connect with EU policies related to the European Commission’s Proposal for a Recommendation to the Ministers of Education on micro-credentials (European Commission, 2021); connect with national micro-credential frameworks under development; and take advantage of […]
A micro-credential programme: the concept
The concept These guidelines for micro-credential programmes are in line with the latest developments in EU policy developments in the field of micro-credentials and with recent practices. A European consensus is emerging on the concept of micro-credentials and further institutional and national frameworks will build on this foundation in the coming years. European developments Micro-credentials […]
