Micro-courses on offer at USQ
THE University of Southern Queensland will become the first institution in the state to run a full in-house trial of a new form of tertiary education for employed people.
The university will launch USQ Upskill in April, which involves what the industry has called micro-credentialing.
Executive Dean of business, education, law and arts Professor Barbara de la Harpe said unlike traditional university, micro-credentialing allowed professionals to complete short courses of 10 hours, earning awards that could be stacked into a full qualification over time.
“What we are offering is moving into the kinds of learning modules that people will need in the future,” she said.
“People can do bite-sized bits of learning and use them as credits.
“The product is aimed at professionals, not currently studying, and looking to update or upgrade their qualifications, or credential their current professional outcomes.
“As such, the main market being targeted will be an additional revenue stream.”
Micro-credentialing is not a new phenomenon in Australia, with universities like Deakin and RMIT offering short courses to expand people’s skill sets.
But Prof de la Harpe said what set USQ’s product apart from the others was that it was done internally, rather than through an external source.
“We’ve got the advantage of being an online university for so long,” she said.
“We’re also doing it inhouse, where as others have out-sourced their microcourses.
“We want to bring our academics with us on this journey.”
Prof de la Harpe said the goal of micro-credentialing was to help prepare employed people for the jobs of the future, without having to return to study full-time.
“There is a prediction that the number of hours that people will have to upskill is going to rise dramatically,” she said.
Courses will be available from March, with the first intake to start the following month.