Experiences of microcredentials in Canada: perspectives, possibilities, and a case for national data collection

ABSTRACT

Interest in and the development of microcredentials has accelerated over the past decade and especially since 2020, in Canada and internationally. This research paper reports on findings of a study conducted in 2022 that focused on students’ expectations and experiences of microcredentials. Acknowledging continued investment in microcredentials alongside challenges with national higher education data collection in Canada beyond degree-oriented programming, the case is made that microcredential data could and should be collected at a national level.

KEYWORDS:

• Microcredentials
• micro-credentials
• continuing education
• higher education
• skills
• training
• national data collection
• student experience

JEL:

• I23
• I25
• I28

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Canadian Association for University Continuing Education (CAUCE) Research Fund.