Undergraduate Microcredentials

A microcredential is a certification of an individual’s discrete learning and achievements. Microcredentials consist of one to four credit-bearing courses and have learning outcomes that are often aligned to a specific industry or to other professional needs and may be used to provide credit towards formal qualifications developed in formal partnerships between Wright State University and other organizations. Microcredentials may be earned in conjunction with degrees or can be earned by non-degree seeking students who wish to expand their professional expertise. All microcredential sequences must have specific learning outcomes, an assessment plan, and have an assessment report submitted in accordance with university guidelines. Microcredentials are designated by departments or academic units and will bear names and requirements that distinguish them from existing majors, minors and certificates.

Undergraduate microcredentials at Wright State University may be up to 12 credit hours. They may include non-credit-bearing trainings, which are subject to approval by the Provost, managed by the Office of the Registrar, and overseen by faculty of the microcredential’s designated unit. Fees for non-credit-bearing trainings will be arranged through the Office of Financial Operations, in consultation with both the Provost and Registrar.

Courses taken as part of a microcredential are subject to the same regulations on course grade replacement, probation, dismissal, etc. as courses taken in a degree program of study. If not otherwise prohibited, courses taken as part of a microcredential may be applied (double-counted) to a subsequent or concurrently awarded degree program of study without penalty. Conversely, courses taken as part of a completed two or four-year program may be counted towards a microcredential.

Microcredentials may be “stackable”: part of a sequence of credentials may be completed over time to build up a student’s qualifications and help students move along a career pathway and progress towards a degree.

Microcredentials that are not part of a degree program may not be eligible for financial aid.

Microcredentials are open to degree-seeking and non-degree-seeking students and have unique admission requirements established by the unit sponsoring the microcredential.

Accepted students may pursue a microcredential as (a) an exclusive non-degree credential, (b) a credential in conjunction with an associate or baccalaureate degree, or (c) a non-degree credential taken after the awarding of a previous associate or baccalaureate degree. In each case, the microcredential is awarded at the end of the semester after successful completion of the course sequence. Students must submit intent to complete microcredential through the documented process.

Before a microcredential may be approved or revised, the proposal must be reviewed by faculty in all departments and program units that may be affected by the proposed program. For instance, in cases where a microcredential’s course sequence is significantly similar to existing programs, or where courses specifically created for the microcredential have outcomes similar to existing courses in other units, scheduling/faculty/resource implications must be specifically addressed. Microcredentials that require new resources/staff or significant utilization of existing resources/staff must address sustainability and resource impact of the proposed microcredential. Fees for non-credit trainings associated with a microcredential must be determined in consultation with the Office of Financial Operations.

The requirements for microcredentials may vary considerably across departments or program units. In order to ensure consistency, those preparing and approving microcredentials must observe the following format guidelines and submit programs through the curricular approval process:

• Title. Title of microcredential
• Description. An undergraduate catalog description of the microcredential.
• Objectives. A clear statement of the objectives and student learning outcomes of the microcredential sequence and the method by which the achievement of the learning outcomes is to be assessed.
• Admission Requirements. Any admission requirements for applicants seeking the microcredential.
• Program Requirements. Specify course requirements, indication of whether the microcredential is to include any non-credit trainings, credit hour or course sequence requirements, instruction method, and any fees beyond those for tuition covering the credit bearing portion of the microcredential.
• Quality, Demand, and Oversight. Description of how the proposed microcredential meets its learning and training objectives, identifying which, if any, particular partnering industry or industries would benefit from the offering for the purposes of recruitment and marketing. The faculty body responsible for overseeing the quality of the microcredentials must be explicitly identified.