MICROBOL recommendations to the EU public consultation on micro-credentials

MICROBOL has published its Recommendations for the European Commission’s consultation on “Micro-credentials – broadening learning opportunities for lifelong learning and employability”.

In this document, the MICROBOL project aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the main observations, challenges and solutions in relation to micro-credentials based on the outputs of the three MICROBOL Working Groups on Quality Assurance, Recognition and Qualifications Framework & ECTS. They provide recommendations to overcome challenges, highlighting the way forward for micro-credentials in general and giving a contribution to the consultation in the view of a EU Council Recommendation on micro-credentials.

The document not only provides specific recommendations to the three Bologna key commitments, but also gives recommendations on transversal topics, including the role of higher education in lifelong learning, a common standard for micro-credentials and digitalisation.

Goodbye from MicroHE

In November 2020, at the end of an unforgettable year of challenges and hardships, but also a year of remarkable demonstrations of resilience and people’s and organisations’ adaptation to extreme changes in the environment where we live and work, MicroHE has reached its contractual end. During the 36 months of our project’s implementation we have seen a lot of progress and promising initiatives in the area of micro-credentialisation – in higher education and beyond. This includes the launch of the European Skills Agenda, with its first implemented action, the new Europass platform, that is the most impactful uptaker of the MicroHE meta-data standard (as it is noted here). Another action of the European Skills Agenda, the European approach to micro-credentials, that will help to open up learning opportunities to citizens and strengthen the role of higher education and vocational education and training institutions in lifelong learning, is another high-level initiative that we helped shape by participating in expert consultations. We couldn’t be more proud of the influencing role our project played on European level.

Overall, while the MicroHE legacy lives on in other related projects that MicroHE partners continue working on, our official work has been completed. We would like to express our gratitude to all who have contributed to our success and share the list of our public deliverables to anyone who wishes to consult them. The microcredentials.eu website has now been taken over fully by the MICROBOL project, but you can still reach us by filling in this contact form.

MicroHE Users Guide

While most Higher Education practitioners are familiar with the Diploma Supplement that was designed as an aid to support the recognition of degree-level qualifications, until recently nothing similar existed for sub-degree qualifications, especially ones of those in the region of 5 ECTS. MicroHE has set out to fill this gap and produced a so-called Credit / Module Supplement, but, more importantly, also published a Users’ Guide to provide guidance to HE Institutions on how to use the credit/module supplement in combination with other European and national recognition and portability instruments to facilitate:

  • the award of micro-credentials,
  • academic recognition & portability of micro-credentials,
  • recognition of micro-credentials by employers and
  • accreditation of micro-credentials.

Micro-credentials Survey Report available

In 2020, a survey was created to determine the state of play of micro-credentials in the European Higher Eucation Area (EHEA). Members of the BFUG as well as the nominated representatives in the MICROBOL working groups were invited to submit their answers, and 35 countries responded with great success. This report presents the results of the survey, enriched by the input of the three MICROBOL working group meetings held in January 2021, and showcases the decisive points that the development and acceptance of micro-credentials in the framework of the Bologna Key Commitments entail.

The report of the survey can be viewed here.