How to Build a Financially Sustainable Microcredential Portfolio

Professional, continuing, and online (PCO) education units have long been a source of growth and innovation for their institutions. Today, microcredentials have taken center stage as a potential growth opportunity for three reasons: leaders believe that shorter format credentials are the future of higher education, their cabinets or boards expect them to build out a microcredential portfolio, or they feel pressure to keep up with other institutions making similar bets.

Before establishing a portfolio of offerings, some PCO leaders first push for a shared definition of microcredentials. In fact, some leaders have argued that the absence of a singular definition is what prevents their institution from making progress. Based on interviews with Canadian and Australian leaders where provincial or national frameworks exist, this is not the case. Those leaders felt their definitions were too broad to be productive references. Furthermore, they encountered the same resistance to growing microcredentials as American institutions do.

Evergreen—and new—internal headwinds

In building microcredential programs, PCO leaders face the traditional barriers to academic innovation, such as developing new policies and processes. However, leaders also face new challenges. The most acute challenges are the higher-than-expected upfront costs and unpredictable revenue.