Abstract:

While micro-credentials remain widely discussed and observed analysing their development, issuing, storage, quality, and validity aspects, the question of the institutional readiness to start the process of implementing digital micro-credentials stays less discussed. Few institutions adjust their organizational procedures and routine to mainstream a seamless implementation of micro-credentials. The implementation of digital micro-credentials needs to be digitalized and not manual, at least when mainstreaming is in mind.

For this reason, it is important to adjust the systematic institutional readiness to implement micro-credentials in higher education. Following a national research project with theoretical literature analysis and expert interviews about institutional preparedness to offer and implement digital and micro-credentials for open online learning the following steps for higher education institutions were identified:
(1) making strategic decisions
(2) implementing transparent internal procedures,
(3) professional development of academic and non-academic staff,
(4) preparing digital credential metadata template,
(5) adjusting virtual learning environment
(6) updating course descriptions.

The implementation of the discussed steps need to be adjusted internally to achieve compatibility among organization‘s strategic decisions, clarity of internal procedures, staff development, metadata template preparation and adjustment of virtual learning environment and learning opportunity descriptions.

The paper will share a real experimental case of prototype micro-credential creation in a university virtual learning environment alongside with its issuing in European Europass Digital Credentials Infrastructure.

Keywords:

micro-credentials, institutional readiness, higher education