For the past academic year, Javaria Asif, a third-year engineering student at McMaster University, has been working on an extra-curricular project aimed at enlivening the urban landscape in Hamilton, Ont. She and her five-member team, coached by upper-year students and faculty, collaborated on a weekly basis with local government and non-profit groups.
Leading the charge on micro-credentials is Ishwar Puri, McMaster’s engineering dean, who sees them as a valuable tool to produce well-rounded graduates with technical knowledge, soft skills and a social conscience. “We really want to recast engineering as the liberal arts degree for the 21st Century,” he says. “We have to find a way to align that aspiration with the content that students take.”
At Western University, where six academic units were involved in the ecampusOntario pilot projects, officials weigh next steps with caution. “We are in the early days for micro-credentials at all in higher education,” says John Doerksen, vice-provost of academic programs.He describes the micro-credential movement as “a really important initiative,” but says questions remain on how to describe, authenticate and digitally store the skills represented in a badge or micro-credential.
Also in September, all engineering students will be eligible to earn micro-credentials, based on hands-on extra-curricular activities vetted by the faculty. The activities will need to meet defined learning outcomes in areas including research, creativity, working in diverse groups, entrepreneurship and social consciousness.
“We wanted to use an open source platform,” says Puri, with employers able to “instantly verify” information about a student’s achievements. “Most of our students, like most adults, who want to go back for training already have degrees,” says Chang School director Marie Bountrogianni. “But things change technologically, and otherwise, and people need to upskill.”
Oh do eff off