Relevant to: students, faculty, staff.
Introduction
Information on what Microcredentials are, how they differ from traditional degrees and certificates, and their benefit to students.
What are microcredentials?
Microcredentials (also known as “micro credentials” or “micro-credentials”) are credentials that verify, validate, and attest that specific skills and/or competencies have been achieved. As defined by the State University of New York’s policy on microcredentials, they differ from traditional degrees and certificates in that they are generally offered in shorter or more flexible timespans and tend to be more narrowly focused. The key two distinctions of microcredentials are that they are: a) portable (i.e., they have value outside of the awarding institution to an employer or other institution of higher education) and b) stackable (i.e., they can stack with other microcredentials or courses towards the next higher credential, such as certificate or degree). Please note that microcredentials can be either non-credit-bearing, or credit-bearing. The award of a credit-bearing microcredential (based on a single course or a group of courses) will appear on the student’s transcript. Some microcredentials are associated with digital badges that can be used by students to post and share their achievements on “LinkedIn”, “Facebook”, “Instagram” and other platforms.
To learn more about the College’s microcredentials, please read our Undergraduate Micro-Credential Policy and Graduate Micro-Credential Policy.
The list of undergraduate microcredentials can be found here.
The list of graduate microcredentials can be found here.