What Are Stackable Credentials, and How Can You Build Programs Around Them?

September 25, 2024 |

In today’s rapidly changing job market, higher education institutions face increasing pressure to prepare students for successful careers. With rising tuition costs, increased scrutiny of the ROI for college degrees, and a growing emphasis on skills-based hiring causing institutions to rethink their educational models, one of the most promising innovations that has risen to fore is the concept of stackable credentials. But what are stackable credentials, and how can institutions go about creating programs that offer these credits to students?

Defining Stackable Credentials

Stackable credentials offer a flexible approach to education, allowing students to earn smaller, more modular credits that can be combined to achieve a larger degree. There are three main types of stackable credentials that institutions can offer:

Vertical Credits: These credits build upon each other, leading to a student possessing more and more advanced qualifications. For example, a student might earn a certificate in data analysis, followed by a certificate in data visualization, and ultimately stack those credits to earn a degree in data science.

Horizontal Credits: These credits add breadth and depth to a degree track. For instance, a marketing student might earn a micro-credential in social media marketing or content creation to complement their core degree program.

Value-Added Credits: These credits specialize in a particular area of study. A nursing student might earn a certificate in pediatrics to focus on providing care for children.

Regardless of whether you're offering horizontal, vertical, or value-added stackable credits, these credits center around building a set of unique and marketable skills.

Determining What Type of Stackable Credentials to Offer

The importance of aligning higher education programs with job market demands cannot be overstated. Therefore, the first step to building a stackable credential program is to identify which skills or areas of study you want to design your program around. You can leverage resources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and regional job demand analyses to gain invaluable insights into high-growth jobs, and the skills required for those roles. It’s also worth your time to identify popular online course providers and look to see which programs they are offering.

You should also be sure to reach out to local businesses and industry leaders. Especially if you are a regional institution, you want to be sure the credentials you offer are aligned with local industry needs. You want students to graduate and land roles locally, as this is one of the metrics that defines your program as successful and will draw more learners in the future.

Building a Curriculum Around In-Demand Skills

Building a curriculum around in-demand skills requires a strategic approach that integrates multiple components. Once you’ve identified high-demand skills, you need to build courses that offer those skills. Engage current faculty members and local industry leaders in this process; you can leverage their expertise to design relevant course content.

Don’t know where to start? Start with micro-credentials that focus on specific competencies. These short, focused courses are 10-40 hours in length and can serve as steppingstones towards larger qualifications. You can keep your eye on demand for courses and begin to build out your micro-credential offerings until you’ve eventually created a full course. As you plan, consider creating curriculum trees, as these can illustrate how courses, skills, and credentials interconnect and enable educators and students to understand which pathways are available to them when it comes to skill acquisition or degree completion.

Additionally, it’s important to maintain an iterative feedback loop with employers to continuously adapt and refine the curriculum based on emerging trends and skills in the marketplace. This holistic approach not only enhances student employability but also strengthens partnerships between educational institutions and the workforce.

Putting the Successful Program Infrastructure in Place

As institutions strive to enhance their offerings and meet the evolving needs of students and employers, it’s important they have the necessary technology in place to manage and promote these programs. Solutions like Campus Marketplace powered by Jenzabar enable you to manage micro-credentials and alternative learning pathways. Campus Marketplace in particular integrates e-commerce functionality with academic planning tools and is designed to facilitate corporate learning and stackable credentials.

Campus Marketplace also offers institutions additional tools, like program marketing from enrollment marketing experts Spark451, a Jenzabar company. Through Campus Marketplace, institutions can leverage partnerships from online course provider MindEdge and find vetted faculty with Prof360.