Workshop presentation at Innovation in Higher Education Conference, Athens, Thursday 20th October, 2022.

1. The Positioning of University Micro-credentials
Rory McGreal, Mark Brown, Don Olcott Jr. & Tim Read
https://www.deviantart.com/tag/loneranger
Athens, 20th October 2022

2. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Some images fair dealing or fair use

3. • Are micro-credentials right
for my university?
2. What type of leadership and
internal structures are required?
3. What business models and
development strategies are required?
1. If so, how do you plan to
strategically position them?
2022

4. 1. How do you plan to strategically position them?

5. 1. How do you plan to strategically position them?
Greece
EU
Average
What are your strategic drivers?

6. 1. How do you plan to strategically position them?
Where do they fit?

8. 2. What type of leadership and internal structures are required?

9. Laissez-faire
Transactional
Transformative
Effectiveness
Engagement
Who should be leading?
?
2. What type of leadership and internal structures are required?

10. • Mainstreams
• Part of normal work
• Strong alignment to
macro-credentials
NEW
STRUCTURES
WEAKNESSES
ESTABLISH A PROFESSIONAL AND
CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIT
WHAT ARE
YOUR
OPTIONS?
S O
W T
CREATE A COMPLETELY SEPARATE
STANDALONE BUSINESS UNIT
INCORPORATE INTO A CENTRAL ONLINE
EDUCATION SUPPORT UNIT
INTEGRATE INTO THE NORMAL FACULTY
STRUCTURES AND DELIVERY MODEL
STRENGTHS
CURRENT
STRUCTURES
• Less flexibility
• Added workload
• Limited disruption
to normal business
• Greater coordination
• Builds on current
expertise
• Reduced burden placed
on academic staff
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
• Less flexibility
• Added workload
• Limited disruption
to normal business
• Specialist services
• Clear business owner
• Common business and
resource allocation model
WEAKNESSES
STRENGTHS
• Faculty disconnect
• Leveraging industry links
• Weaker nexus between
research and teaching
• Greater flexibility
• Adopts a commercial
business model
• Easier to establish
return on investment
WEAKNESSES
STRENGTHS
• Little cross subsidisation
• Outside of normal business
• Loss of academic
ownership
H3 Innovation
H1 Innovation
H1 Innovation
H2 Innovation
How do you decide?
2. What type of leadership and internal structures are required?

12. 3. What business models and development strategies are required?

13. https://www.icde.org/publications-and-resources
How well are they informed by
the literature?
3. What business models and development strategies are required?
Fixed
Core

14. (Presant, 2020)
3. What business models and development strategies are required?

15. Sole Unit Sole Institution Peer Consortium NGO Led Industry Led OPM Led
What models are you using or
plan to implement and how
successful are they?
3. What business models and development strategies are required?
(Presant, 2020)
Other

16. • What are the risks?
• What could possibly go wrong?
• Do you need to plan for an exit strategy?
And…
3. What business models and development strategies are required?

18. Final comment…

19. Final comment…
Entangled micro-credential discourses…
Brown, 2022

20. Thank you
Rory and Mark