Micro-Credential FAQs

Micro-credentials are efficient and effective ways to demonstrate new skills and provide resume-ready proof of your capabilities. They can zero in on technical skills that are currently in-demand in your workplace. They can also help you build professional skills that transcend industries and softer skills such as communication or conflict resolution.

Micro-credentials are both the skill and the validation of mastering that skill. That validation—whether as a digital badge, MOOC, or micro-award—can be added to professional profiles to help working and aspiring professionals stand out.

The duration varies. Generally speaking, at Post University, your micro-credentialing opportunity comes within a course. Learning the skills and information is a product of taking the class. Earning the actual micro-credential for display on your resume or online profile could be a matter of a 30-minute exam and assessment. Your advisor can help you determine approximately how long it might take to earn your chosen micro-credential. 

At Post, our micro-credential opportunities focus on building new skills or enhancing your current skill set. From technical and industry-specific skills to “soft” or professional skills, each micro-credential opportunity is designed so it could make an immediate impact for your career and your future.

Short answer: Yes! Long answer: A micro-credential that is relevant to your industry or the career path you wish to pursue demonstrates to employers your dedication to self-improvement and excellence. They can be earned before you complete your degree and provide useful skills that you may apply immediately. They can sometimes be combined, or “stacked,” to fulfill specific certificate requirements. They look good on a resume. Their value is both for short-term skill-building and long-term career-building. So, are micro-credentials worth it? Absolutely.

While there are a number of entities who can and do issue micro-credentials, cautious professionals should look past the digital badge to the core expertise of those who issue it. At Post University, we looked to the requirements of the industry to guide us with developing the micro-credential opportunities that are embedded in our skill-building courses. Then, upon fulfilling relevant requirements, such as an exam, those same leaders validate this learning with distinctive recognitions, such as a digital badge for your LinkedIn profile.

At Post, the education for a micro-credential embedded in a course for your degree is likely covered by tuition. However, there may be an additional fee assessed by an industry partner in order to grade and award the micro-credential. For more ad hoc micro-credential opportunities—courses taken outside of a degree plan—the pricing will likely be the same: course tuition cost plus assessment price from industry partner. Please contact your advisor to go over specifics.

In addition to the skill-building value micro-credentials have to offer for your career, they could have an even greater (and longer) impact on your education and your career prospects if they stack. Certain micro-credentials can be “stacked” together, in certain programs, to demonstrate deeper knowledge and broader skills in a given domain. These stackable micro-credentials provide immediate real-world skills-value while also giving you the ability to prepare for more success in the future.

At Post University, we have partnered with dozens of recognized industry expert associations and groups to provide more than 130 micro-credential opportunities for building skills in a number of industries. These opportunities cover a gamut of professional areas—healthcare, business, IT, emergency management, and more. We offer micro-credential opportunities like:

• Social media in emergency management
• Decision making and problem solving
• Writing a resume
• Designing infographics
• Nonprofit management
• Family resilience
• CompTIA IT
• Financial accounting
• Research for pitch decks
• Building teams
• CPA test prep
• And more