---
title: "Short courses vs microcredentials: The mistake that’s confusing the entire education sector"
description: In this opinion piece, Oppida CEO Bianca Raby explains why it matters to know that short courses vs microcredentials are not the same thing.
image: https://blog.oppida.co/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Terminology-matters-5.png
---

 10/06/2021

# Short courses vs microcredentials: The mistake that’s confusing the entire education sector

[ Bianca Raby ](https://blog.oppida.co/author/bianca-raby)

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Short courses vs microcredentials: The mistake that’s confusing the entire education sector

5:05

![short courses vs microcredentials](https://22642683.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/22642683/hubfs/short%20courses%20vs%20microcredentials.webp?width=1200&length=1200&name=short%20courses%20vs%20microcredentials.webp)

*In this opinion piece, Oppida CEO [Bianca Raby](https://biancaraby.com/) explains why it matters to know that [short courses](https://oppidalearning.thinkific.com/courses/designing-digital-learning) vs [microcredentials](https://oppidalearning.thinkific.com/bundles/ld-practitioner) are not the same thing.*

Jordan B. Peterson’s 10th rule for life, from his 2018 book [***12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos**,*](https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/books/) is: **Be Precise in Your Speech**. Peterson philosophises that chaos emerges in a household, bit by bit. This is what happens when we don’t pay attention to the small things. Chaos. 

This rule came back to me this week, when I saw—yet again—an article which claims to be speaking about microcredentials (in the title) but is actually talking about short courses (in the content). 

**Short courses and microcredentials**** are not the same thing and it matters that the education sector knows why!**

Let me explain. 

## Short course—TYPE 1

When a program is chopped up into pieces, learners enroll in individual courses (some institutions call them subjects). These courses build (stack up) towards being recognised for completing the program. Or, sometimes, each course is recognised as having its own value.

Then, when a course (or subject) is chopped up into pieces, learners are enrolling in modules.

So, when a university is offering you a smaller learning experience that can count towards a larger certification or accreditation you are getting a ‘short course’. 

More often than not, these have **not **been purposefully designed to be done independently. They are just ‘chopped’ out of larger offers. They are mostly used to generate leads for full programs as they have a lower financial and time commitment barrier to entry. 

![short courses](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/short%20courses.webp?width=600&height=338&name=short%20courses.webp)

## Short course—TYPE 2

A second type of short course is one that is purpose-built to address an industry need or is [launched](https://blog.oppida.co/how-to-optimise-an-online-course-launch-strategy) by an entrepreneur. 

For example, RMITOnline offers a range of industry-relevant courses as ‘short courses’. These are standalone experiences and they will often [issue a badge](https://oppida.co/colossyan). They have Learning Outcomes, Learning Objectives and Assessment tasks. They have been built as a linear learner journey to teach specific skills or knowledge. 

**This is not a microcredential. **

**![short course](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/short%20course.webp?width=600&height=338&name=short%20course.webp)**

## What is a microcredential then?

A microcredential is purposefully designed for the learner to be able to demonstrate their **competency**. Learners use them to verify, validate and attest that specific skills and/or competencies have been achieved. 

They are built around evidence submissions… which can be tied to objectives set out by the credential designer. The tasks outlined for the evidence submissions are usually driven by industry and what someone with this ‘credential’ would have to demonstrate practically to be competent. It is based more on competency, rather than knowledge.

A good microcredential offering will also be accompanied by the opportunity for the candidate to undertake other learning journeys to support the evidence submissions and plug any knowledge/[skills gaps](https://blog.oppida.co/competency-gap-between-academia-and-industry) the learner may have. However, it is not a course *per se*. It’s more of a series of learning bites that [align](https://blog.oppida.co/constructive-alignment-in-instructional-design) directly to submission tasks (a.k.a.—competencies that make up the credential).

Oppida is currently building a microcredential in [Learning Design](https://oppida.co). So one of our evidence submissions for budding [learning designer](https://blog.oppida.co/learning-designer-role)s is to develop [learner personas](https://blog.oppida.co/the-value-of-creating-learner-profiles) and use them to inform some design elements of a fictitious (or real) course they are building. This is an actual task all our learning designers must achieve with [our customers](https://oppida.co/success-stories).

![what is a microcredential](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/what%20is%20a%20microcredential.webp?width=600&height=338&name=what%20is%20a%20microcredential.webp)

## Short courses and microcredentials in summary 

A microcredential empowers each individual enrolled on it to demonstrate competency…. not just click through a course, skip to the assessment task and hope it’s relevant to the real world! There should be no requirement to actually do any ‘learning’ controlled by the designer of the credential to get a credential. This part should be optional. If you can demonstrate it, we will give you the elephant stamp. Simple!

The education sector’s confusion of terminology between short courses and microcredentials means that even Australia’s [**Macquarie Dictionary**](https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=micro-credential) has mis-defined microcredential as:

> a certificate awarded for successfully completing a short course, usually in a specific or work-related skill, either online or by attending lectures, conferences, etc.
> 
> Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2020. Accessed online.

If we, the education sector, continue to send mixed messages through the way we use terminology in our speech and writing, if we interchange terms and confuse the [educational design](https://oppida.co/online-course-development) process, what hope do we have to offer better solutions to the skills crisis we know the global market is facing? Every seasoned educator knows all the ‘problems’ with the system and feels the weight of them. I believe we all have an opportunity to be a small part of the solution by just following Jordan’s advice: be precise in your speech. 

Read more about alternatives to higher education and microcredentials in [**this Oppida blog post**](https://www.oppida.co/blog/alternative-models-to-higher-education/).

![microcredentials](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/microcredentials.webp?width=600&height=338&name=microcredentials.webp)

 

[Educational design terminology](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/educational-design-terminology)

## Related posts

[![digital learning skills gap](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Oppida%20Learning-%20Newsletter02_Oppida%20Learning%20promo-%20PE%20News%20article.png?height=200&name=Oppida%20Learning-%20Newsletter02_Oppida%20Learning%20promo-%20PE%20News%20article.png) ](https://blog.oppida.co/digital-learning-design-skills-gap)

[Working in educational design](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/working-in-educational-design)

## [Close the digital learning design skills gap in weeks—not years (new fast-track path for educators)](https://blog.oppida.co/digital-learning-design-skills-gap)

[Oppida Team](https://blog.oppida.co/author/oppida-team) 

 16/08/2024

A recent FE News article highlighted the UK's risk due to a lack of digital skills, with 18% of...

[ Read more ](https://blog.oppida.co/digital-learning-design-skills-gap)

[![optimise an online course launch strategy](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Online-course-strategy-re-boot-1.jpg?height=200&name=Online-course-strategy-re-boot-1.jpg) ](https://blog.oppida.co/online-course-launch-strategy)

[Online education delivery](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/online-education-delivery)

## [Optimise your online course launch strategy in 8 steps (and avoid the mistakes that cost you time and sales)](https://blog.oppida.co/online-course-launch-strategy)

[Bianca Raby](https://blog.oppida.co/author/bianca-raby) 

 17/05/2021

At Oppida, we believe in raising the bar, especially in our own courses! We’ve made new higher...

[ Read more ](https://blog.oppida.co/online-course-launch-strategy)

[![agile thinking](https://blog.oppida.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Agile-thinking-1-1-scaled.jpg?height=200&name=Agile-thinking-1-1-scaled.jpg) ](https://blog.oppida.co/agile-thinking-in-online-course-design)

[Educational design terminology](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/educational-design-terminology), [Online course design](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/online-course-design), [Online education delivery](https://blog.oppida.co/tag/online-education-delivery)

## [How agile thinking transforms online course design (and makes it easier for your whole team)](https://blog.oppida.co/agile-thinking-in-online-course-design)

[Bianca Raby](https://blog.oppida.co/author/bianca-raby) 

 5/07/2021

Ever heard of Agile thinking? In start-up terminology, ‘implementing best practices’ often means...

[ Read more ](https://blog.oppida.co/agile-thinking-in-online-course-design)

![](https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=7635628&fmt=gif)

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      "description": "Short courses vs microcredentials: The mistake that\u2019s confusing the entire education sector",
      "articleBody": "<span id="hs_cos_wrapper_" class="hs_cos_wrapper hs_cos_wrapper_widget hs_cos_wrapper_type_module" style="" data-hs-cos-general-type="widget" data-hs-cos-type="module" ><!-- error rendering module tag: no name provided --></span>\n<p><em>In this opinion piece, Oppida CEO <a href=\"https://biancaraby.com/\" rel=\"noopener\">Bianca Raby</a> explains why it matters to know that <a href=\"https://oppidalearning.thinkific.com/courses/designing-digital-learning\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">short courses</a><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\"> vs </span><a href=\"https://oppidalearning.thinkific.com/bundles/ld-practitioner\" rel=\"noopener\" style=\"font-weight: bold;\">microcredentials</a> are not the same thing.</em></p>\n<!--more-->\n<p>Jordan B. Peterson\u2019s 10th rule for life, from his 2018 book <a href=\"https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/books/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><strong>12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos</strong>,</em></a> is: <strong>Be Precise in Your Speech</strong>. Peterson philosophises that chaos emerges in a household, bit by bit. This is what happens when we don\u2019t pay attention to the small things. Chaos.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>This rule came back to me this week, when I saw\u2014yet again\u2014an article which claims to be speaking about microcredentials (in the title) but is actually talking about short courses (in the content).&nbsp;</p>\n<p><strong>Short courses and microcredentials</strong><strong> are not the same thing and it matters that the education sector knows why!</strong></p>\n<p>Let me explain.&nbsp;</p>\n<h2 id=\"h-short-course-type-1\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Short course\u2014TYPE 1</h2>\n<p>When a program is chopped up into pieces, learners enroll in individual courses (some institutions call them subjects). These courses build (stack up) towards being recognised for completing the program. Or, sometimes, each course is recognised as having its own value.</p>\n<p>Then, when a course (or subject) is chopped up into pieces, learners are enrolling in modules.</p>\n<p>So, when a university is offering you a smaller learning experience that can count towards a larger certification or accreditation you are getting a \u2018short course\u2019.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>More often than not, these have <strong>not </strong>been purposefully designed to be done independently. They are just \u2018chopped\u2019 out of larger offers. They are mostly used to generate leads for full programs as they have a lower financial and time commitment barrier to entry.&nbsp;</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://22642683.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22642683/short%20courses.webp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"short courses\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 600px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\"></p>\n<h2 id=\"h-short-course-type-2\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Short course\u2014TYPE 2</h2>\n<p>A second type of short course is one that is purpose-built to address an industry need or is <a href=\"/how-to-optimise-an-online-course-launch-strategy\" rel=\"noopener\">launched</a> by an entrepreneur.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>For example, RMITOnline offers a range of industry-relevant courses as \u2018short courses\u2019. These are standalone experiences and they will often <a href=\"https://oppida.co/colossyan\" rel=\"noopener\">issue a badge</a>. They have Learning Outcomes, Learning Objectives and Assessment tasks. They have been built as a linear learner journey to teach specific skills or knowledge.&nbsp;</p>\n<p><strong>This is not a microcredential.&nbsp;</strong></p>\n<p><strong><img src=\"https://22642683.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22642683/short%20course.webp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"short course\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 600px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\"></strong></p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-is-a-microcredential-then\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a microcredential then?</h2>\n<p>A microcredential is purposefully designed for the learner to be able to demonstrate their <strong>competency</strong>. Learners use them to verify, validate and attest that specific skills and/or competencies have been achieved.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>They are built around evidence submissions\u2026 which can be tied to objectives set out by the credential designer. The tasks outlined for the evidence submissions are usually driven by industry and what someone with this \u2018credential\u2019 would have to demonstrate practically to be competent. It is based more on competency, rather than knowledge.</p>\n<p>A good microcredential offering will also be accompanied by the opportunity for the candidate to undertake other learning journeys to support the evidence submissions and plug any knowledge/<a href=\"/competency-gap-between-academia-and-industry\" rel=\"noopener\">skills gaps</a> the learner may have. However, it is not a course <em>per se</em>. It\u2019s more of a series of learning bites that <a href=\"/constructive-alignment-in-instructional-design\" rel=\"noopener\">align</a> directly to submission tasks (a.k.a.\u2014competencies that make up the credential).</p>\n<p>Oppida is currently building a microcredential in <a href=\"https://oppida.co\" rel=\"noopener\">Learning Design</a>. So one of our evidence submissions for budding learning designers is to develop <a href=\"/the-value-of-creating-learner-profiles\" rel=\"noopener\">learner personas</a> and use them to inform some design elements of a fictitious (or real) course they are building. This is an actual task all our learning designers must achieve with <a href=\"https://oppida.co/success-stories\" rel=\"noopener\">our customers</a>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://22642683.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22642683/what%20is%20a%20microcredential.webp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"what is a microcredential\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 600px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\"></p>\n<h2 id=\"h-short-courses-and-microcredentials-in-summary\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Short courses and microcredentials in summary&nbsp;</h2>\n<p>A microcredential empowers each individual enrolled on it to demonstrate competency\u2026. not just click through a course, skip to the assessment task and hope it\u2019s relevant to the real world! There should be no requirement to actually do any \u2018learning\u2019 controlled by the designer of the credential to get a credential. This part should be optional. If you can demonstrate it, we will give you the elephant stamp. Simple!</p>\n<p>The education sector\u2019s confusion of terminology between short courses and microcredentials means that even Australia\u2019s <a href=\"https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&amp;word=micro-credential\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>Macquarie Dictionary</strong></a> has mis-defined microcredential as:</p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>a certificate awarded for successfully completing a short course, usually in a specific or work-related skill, either online or by attending lectures, conferences, etc.</p>\n<cite>Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2020. Accessed online.</cite></blockquote>\n<p>If we, the education sector, continue to send mixed messages through the way we use terminology in our speech and writing, if we interchange terms and confuse the <a href=\"https://oppida.co/online-course-development\" rel=\"noopener\">educational design</a> process, what hope do we have to offer better solutions to the skills crisis we know the global market is facing? Every seasoned educator knows all the \u2018problems\u2019 with the system and feels the weight of them. I believe we all have an opportunity to be a small part of the solution by just following Jordan\u2019s advice: be precise in your speech.&nbsp;</p>\n<p>Read more about alternatives to higher education and microcredentials in <a href=\"https://www.oppida.co/blog/alternative-models-to-higher-education/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>this Oppida blog post</strong></a>.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://22642683.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/22642683/microcredentials.webp\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"microcredentials\" style=\"height: auto; max-width: 100%; width: 600px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; display: block;\"></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>",
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