There is reason to believe that shorter, competency-based programs will play an important role in the university landscape in the coming years. As anyone working in university leadership has heard, non-degree programming is expected to play a big part in the future of higher education. Microcredentials – also known as micro-credentials (the hyphenation question has yet to be settled), nano-credentials, badges, certificates, alternative credentials, and probably several other names – were creating buzz before COVID-19. The pandemic has further fuelled momentum. While postsecondary leaders and governments are increasingly focused on microcredentials, it is not clear that they are fully on the radar for faculty.
