What are Micro-credentials
Making Learning Visible. Translating Skills into Opportunities.
Micro-credentials are a new generation of qualifications that make learning visible and translate knowledge, skills, and competencies into credentials that are meaningful to learners, employers, and society. They complement traditional degree programmes by recognising focused learning achievements through flexible, high-quality learning experiences.
At İzmir University of Economics, micro-credentials are designed to help learners develop and demonstrate specific knowledge, skills, and competencies. Each achievement is recognised through trusted, verifiable digital badges that support academic, professional, and personal development.
Definition by the Council of Higher Education (CoHE)
"A micro-credential is a small-scale qualification related to higher education that is acquired through short and flexible learning pathways in a specific field or subject, verified through assessment and evaluation processes based on learning outcomes, and supported by quality assurance."
Key Characteristics of Micro-Credentials at IUE
Focused and Flexible
Each micro-credential concentrates on a clearly defined set of learning outcomes, enabling learners to develop specific knowledge, skills, or competencies through targeted and meaningful learning experiences.
Stackable
Micro-credentials can be combined to create broader learning pathways, allowing learners to progressively develop more advanced competencies over time.
Verifiable
Every micro-credential is issued as a digital badge containing transparent metadata, including learning outcomes, assessment methods, competencies achieved, and issuing information, making achievements easy to verify and share.
Quality Assured
All micro-credentials are developed, assessed, and periodically reviewed through the University's quality assurance processes to ensure academic integrity, consistency, and relevance.
Built on Trust and Transparency
The IUE micro-credential ecosystem is founded on the principles of quality, transparency, trust, and international compatibility. Our micro-credentials are developed in alignment with national and international frameworks, including:
- Turkish Qualifications Framework (TQF)
- Council of Higher Education (CoHE) Micro-Credential Framework
- European Qualifications Framework (EQF)
- CEDEFOP
- Digital Credentials Commons (DCC)
Through this approach, IUE micro-credentials provide learners, employers, and other stakeholders with trusted, transparent, and internationally aligned digital credentials that recognise meaningful learning and support lifelong learning and employability.
