Developing Holistic Skill Sets: Evaluating the Use of Microcredentials in Higher Education

Abstract

As a primary source of emerging talent, post-secondary institutions are positioned at the forefront of education and skill development. Today, university graduates face a new challenge as employers look to skill-based hiring methods. However, challenges remain in defining, evaluating, and presenting global health-related professional and transferable skills in a way that is understood by students, institutions, and employers. Microcredentials, typically represented by online icons, graphics, or badges indicate the successful completion of a learning experiences from an accredited institution. As such, research suggests that microcredentials offer graduates the opportunity to validate their transferable skills and present them in meaningful ways when emerging into the labor market. This study designed, implemented, and evaluated a microcredential project in the Master of Science Global Health (MSc GH) program as an approach to consolidate, evaluate, and credit transferable skills (i.e., international collaboration and incisive decision-making). Employing the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework along with the feasibility outcome from the Implementation Outcomes Taxonomy, this study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the use of microcredentials within the MSc GH program at McMaster University. The results of this study demonstrate that the inclusion of microcredentials into the broader curriculum may enhance the learning experience by providing students with an opportunity to reflect, consolidate, and be credited for their transferable skills. Further, the data presented in this thesis will provide future curriculum developers and educators with new insights on how to build and incorporate successful microcredential programs to support graduate students through their transition to the labor market.