The accelerated growth of digital credentialing in education

Digital credentials — typically issued by educational institutions, training providers or professional organisations — are more granular and flexible ways of representing an individual’s full scope of capabilities, compared to traditional degrees and certifications. 

According to the State of Digital Credentials report from Accredible, there’s been a notable increase in the number of credentials issued to learners in recent years. This swift growth is generally attributed to the convenience, portability, stackability and security that verifiable digital credentials offer learners, which give them a better opportunity to present a full picture to third parties of who they are and what they’ve accomplished. 

The value of lifelong learning

It’s critical for organisations in the education sector to motivate students to engage in continuous learning to help them stay relevant, skilled and adaptable in an ever-changing job market. As a matter of fact, Talent Accelerator reports that 82% of employees and 62% of HR directors believe there’s a need for workers to reskill or upskill at least once a year.

Persistent learning gives individuals the necessary skills to succeed in their field and role while helping to foster personal growth, enhance critical thinking abilities and promote innovation. Education providers are well suited to meet the increasing demands for continuous education, and by doing so, they can help students thrive in their careers and become lifelong learners. 

Let’s take a closer look at how higher institutions and university registrars can use digital credentials to encourage continued education among learners of all ages.

4 ways digital credentials can promote continuous learning

Here are four ways that organisations across the education sector can use digital credentials to influence learners to pursue a continued education:

• Offer digital badges for course completion: Digital badges are visual representations of achievements, skills or knowledge that individuals can earn by completing a course or specific learning objective. Badges can be displayed on students’ online portfolios or shared on social media. Giving learners a tangible reward and recognition for their efforts — that can be easily shared and verified as needed — is an effective way to improve engagement, retention and motivation.

• Provide personalised experiences: Simply put, a one-size-fits-all approach to learning doesn’t work. With digital credentials, organisations can provide tailored learning experiences that are tailored to each student’s individual needs and interests. This might involve customised learning paths or individualised feedback to help them recognise the immediate value of pursuing lifelong learning. 

• Introduce credentials for non-degree programs: Just as a universal approach to learning isn’t the best option for every learner, neither are traditional, full-degree programs. As an alternative, institutions and registrars can consider digital credentials for non-degree programs, such as workshops or short courses. This offers a more flexible learning experience, allowing individuals the opportunity to earn credentials for specific skills — without committing to a full-time degree plan. 
• Create a digital credentialing program: Organisations can also implement digital credentialing programs to provide students with a clear path toward their learning goals. With programs typically including a variety of courses to earn niche credentials, learners can complete relevant short courses and demonstrate a broader range of skills and knowledge. This is a surefire way for individuals to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly cutthroat job market.

While it’s clear that digital credentials are a powerful motivator for students to pursue education long-term, organisations need trusted partners and solutions that can help them take advantage of digital credentials effectively — and Digitary by Parchment can help. 

The Digitary by Parchment approach to digital credentials

Digitary by Parchment has provided the support needed by leading institutions across the globe with the Digitary platform, which promotes digital credentialing solutions and supports implementing micro-credentialing strategies in institutions through open badges. 

With Digitary by Parchment, your institution can take advantage of digital credentialing and badging solutions to:

• Engage candidates in continuous learning.
• Deliver a high-quality learning experience.
• Make training and education more accessible.
• Motivate and encourage alumni to return and re-skill.

In an ever-changing job market, digital credentials are the lifelong human capital currency that opens doors for learners. Ready to empower students of all ages on their lifelong learning journeys with digital credentials? Submit an enquiry to get started.

The accelerated growth of digital credentialing in education

Digital credentials — typically issued by educational institutions, training providers or professional organisations — are more granular and flexible ways of representing an individual’s full scope of capabilities, compared to traditional degrees and certifications. 

According to the State of Digital Credentials report from Accredible, there’s been a notable increase in the number of credentials issued to learners in recent years. This swift growth is generally attributed to the convenience, portability, stackability and security that verifiable digital credentials offer learners, which give them a better opportunity to present a full picture to third parties of who they are and what they’ve accomplished. 

The value of lifelong learning

It’s critical for organisations in the education sector to motivate students to engage in continuous learning to help them stay relevant, skilled and adaptable in an ever-changing job market. As a matter of fact, Talent Accelerator reports that 82% of employees and 62% of HR directors believe there’s a need for workers to reskill or upskill at least once a year.

Persistent learning gives individuals the necessary skills to succeed in their field and role while helping to foster personal growth, enhance critical thinking abilities and promote innovation. Education providers are well suited to meet the increasing demands for continuous education, and by doing so, they can help students thrive in their careers and become lifelong learners. 

Let’s take a closer look at how higher institutions and university registrars can use digital credentials to encourage continued education among learners of all ages.

4 ways digital credentials can promote continuous learning

Here are four ways that organisations across the education sector can use digital credentials to influence learners to pursue a continued education:

• Offer digital badges for course completion: Digital badges are visual representations of achievements, skills or knowledge that individuals can earn by completing a course or specific learning objective. Badges can be displayed on students’ online portfolios or shared on social media. Giving learners a tangible reward and recognition for their efforts — that can be easily shared and verified as needed — is an effective way to improve engagement, retention and motivation.

• Provide personalised experiences: Simply put, a one-size-fits-all approach to learning doesn’t work. With digital credentials, organisations can provide tailored learning experiences that are tailored to each student’s individual needs and interests. This might involve customised learning paths or individualised feedback to help them recognise the immediate value of pursuing lifelong learning. 

• Introduce credentials for non-degree programs: Just as a universal approach to learning isn’t the best option for every learner, neither are traditional, full-degree programs. As an alternative, institutions and registrars can consider digital credentials for non-degree programs, such as workshops or short courses. This offers a more flexible learning experience, allowing individuals the opportunity to earn credentials for specific skills — without committing to a full-time degree plan. 
• Create a digital credentialing program: Organisations can also implement digital credentialing programs to provide students with a clear path toward their learning goals. With programs typically including a variety of courses to earn niche credentials, learners can complete relevant short courses and demonstrate a broader range of skills and knowledge. This is a surefire way for individuals to maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly cutthroat job market.

While it’s clear that digital credentials are a powerful motivator for students to pursue education long-term, organisations need trusted partners and solutions that can help them take advantage of digital credentials effectively — and Digitary by Parchment can help. 

The Digitary by Parchment approach to digital credentials

Digitary by Parchment has provided the support needed by leading institutions across the globe with the Digitary CORE platform, which promotes digital credentialing solutions and supports implementing micro-credentialing strategies in institutions through open badges. 

With Digitary CORE, your institution can take advantage of digital credentialing and badging solutions to:

• Engage candidates in continuous learning.
• Deliver a high-quality learning experience.
• Make training and education more accessible.
• Motivate and encourage alumni to return and re-skill.

In an ever-changing job market, digital credentials are the lifelong human capital currency that opens doors for learners. Ready to empower students of all ages on their lifelong learning journeys with digital credentials? Submit an enquiry to get started.

Wodonga TAFE has now begun to issue digitally certified awards through My eQuals and is complementing these official awards with the recognition of micro-credentials and associated short courses through My eQuals to all students studying at Wodonga TAFE. My eQuals will enable verifying organisations such as employers and other industry partners to request students to share their verified records through My eQuals, as the trusted and official source of their awards from Wodonga TAFE.

Since the official go-live in October 2022, Wodonga TAFE’s Student Administration team has successfully issued close to 2000 documents. Of these issued documents – over 800 have been Statement of Attainments and the remainder Certificates and the academic transcripts that accompany the Certificate.

The inclusion of My eQuals at Wodonga TAFE has several benefits, including the guarantee of the integrity and authenticity of the student’s documents. Students are also able to authorise sharing of their documents with employers and other training providers where required. This removes the need for copying and certifying of training records and enables easy verification of the student’s education claims. 

Wodonga TAFE’s Team Leader of Student Administration, Melissa Wise said “it is wonderful to see the project come to fruition, and the successful uptake by the TAFE’s students. It is great to be able to provide our students with secure documents and allow them the flexibility to share them with others as they need”

Jay Segeth, My eQuals Program Director at HES said, “HES and the My eQuals community are really excited for Wodonga TAFE to join the evolving network and enable their institution to issue verified academic records that maintain the integrity of their issued credentials.” 

“Digitary and Wodonga TAFE have worked extremely collaboratively over the past few months in establishing a My eQuals instance for Wodonga TAFE to start servicing their students with digitally certified awards. Understanding that Wodonga TAFE was keen to alleviate document fraud and enable a secure and streamlined system for Wodonga TAFE to utilise and issue to their students, we feel has been effectively achieved throughout this project,” says Daniel Hibbert, Director at Digitary by Parchment.

Wodonga TAFE joins over 74 education providers already serviced by the My eQuals solution, with more than 2.1  million students registered across Australian and New Zealand universities and training providers. A focus on security is critical to the platform’s success, with My eQuals data stored in Australia, using advanced cryptographic hardware and banking-level security. 

About Wodonga TAFE

Wodonga TAFE is proud of its reputation as a leading provider of vocational education and training, offering education and training programs to individuals and industry, locally and nationally. For further details visit www.wodongatafe.edu.au 

About My eQuals

My eQuals is the official tertiary credentials digital platform for the higher education sector, students, and verifiers. It is a Pan-Pacific solution providing easy, secure access to certified, official qualification records for Australian and New Zealand universities and their learners. For further details visit: www.myequals.edu.au 

About Digitary

Digitary was launched in Dublin, Ireland in 2005, and has grown to become the leading online platform for certifying, sharing, and verifying academic credentials. Learner-centric since the very start, Digitary enables millions of learners to access their verified achievements and to share them with others securely, quickly, and easily. Digitary is now used by organisations in over 135 countries. For further details visit www.digitary.net 

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AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT:

Jared Press, Manager, Brand, Marketing and Communications –jpress@wodongatafe.edu.au
Jay Segeth, My eQuals Program Director,  HES – jsegeth@hes.edu.au
Daniel Hibbert, Commercial Director, Digitary by Parchment – daniel.hibbert@digitary.net 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Jared Press, Manager, Brand, Marketing and Communications, Wodonga TAFE – jpress@wodongatafe.edu.au
Marni MacGilp, Manager, Portfolio Marketing, Digitary by Parchment – marni.macgilp@digitary.net

Europe and the UK

When it comes to educational attainment by learners in the United Kingdom, these individuals had the fifth highest average score in Europe, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings. Within this category, the country was outperformed only by Ireland, Poland, Finland and Estonia. 

This growth in performance is promising for the state of education in this region and is slated to persist with continued efforts from the government. In fact, the Institute for Fiscal Studies reports that education spending is now the second-largest element of public service spending in the UK behind health — representing about 4.5% of national income.

The state of application rates in the UK

Despite concerns over COVID-19, applicants for students studying at home were up by 2.1% in 2020 and 5.1% in 2021, according to research from the UK Parliament. This increase was driven by a larger number of 18-year-olds in the population and higher application rates in this age group. Applications from other overseas students saw record level increases in 2020 and 2021. 

How many international students studied in the UK in 2020-2021?

In 2020-2021, there were 605,130 international students studying at UK higher education institutions, per a report from the Higher Education Statistics agency. Among these students, 152,905 were from the EU and 452,225 were non-EU learners — with Chinese students making up the largest group at 143,820 students in the 2020-2021 school year.

This represents a trend of considerable growth from the 485,645 international students pursuing their degrees in the UK in the 2018-2019 school year, according to Study UK. 

How many adults hold a tertiary degree in Europe?

According to education statistics from Eurostat researchers in 2021, 41% of the EU’s population aged 25-34 years had completed tertiary education. This portrays a clear gender difference, with 47% of women aged 25-34 completing tertiary education compared to 36% of men. 

Moving forward, the EU Member States have set a target of increasing the share of the EU population aged 25-34 who have completed tertiary education to 45% by 2030. The push for higher education from the government will prove to be an incredible boon to the education sector in this region. 

Australia and New Zealand

What is the market size of the Online Education industry in Australia?

The Online Education industry is characterised by education courses or units with at least 80% of the content delivered online. Recent years have seen an accelerated entry into the industry, as education institutions benefit from the greater accessibility and reliability of the internet and mobile technology — helping them attract, engage and retain more students. 

The market size of the Online Education industry was $8.4 billion in 2022, according to IBISWorld. With technological advancements, calls for flexible learning and the increasing penetration of mobile and smart devices, this growth is anticipated to continue. 

International student enrolment in Australia 

As a result of travel restrictions during the pandemic, the number of international students in Australia fell dramatically. According to ICEF Monitor, overall enrolments fell by 17% to 570,626 in 2021. Falling international enrollment worldwide inevitably had far-reaching effects on institutions after the pandemic — particularly on institutional revenue. 

However, the same report found the market in Australia is beginning to recover, with the number of visas granted to international students up by 34% in December 2021 versus December 2020. 

The United States

The growth of verified credentials

Verified credentials are an open standard for digital credentials — representing information found in physical credentials. With institutions increasing their digital strategies to provide an unparalleled learning experience, these digital credentials are a trend that’s anticipated to endure. 

According to a 2020 report from Forbes, the pandemic, along with evolving technology, accelerated a shift towards verifiable digital credentials in the United States, with a 70% increase in enrolment in short-term credential classes. 

The state of educational technology (EdTech) in the U.S. 

As demand for online learning grows, a larger investment of education spending is going to EdTech solutions. The global EdTech and smart classroom market size was valued at $88.82 billion in 2021, per a report from Fortune Business Insights. The market is now projected to grow to $319.65 billion by 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8%.

The U.S. is leading the global investment in EdTech with Holon IQ reporting $8.3 billion in funding in the U.S. — up from $2.5 billion in 2020. This is typically attributed to the reduced cost of online learning material and rising investments in the education sector.

Key statistics for Open Badges in the United States

Open Badges are a type of digital badge or credential that’s used to visually symbolise learning accomplishments. They can be awarded for any definable academic achievement and earned in a number of learning environments. 

As of 2020, the total number of all Open Badges issued to date, across the globe, stood at 43,363,239. This represents an 82% increase in total badges available to be earned and an 80% increase in issued badges. 

The U.S. represents a large portion of Open Badge distribution, according to 2020 findings from IMS Global which reported the total number of available badges to be earned from issuers in the United States at 381,561 — in comparison to the 475,000 available badges to be earned worldwide. 

India

With the highest number of universities worldwide, India is a huge segment of learners to keep in mind. Data from Statista found an estimated 5,288 universities in India — followed by the United States with 3,216 universities and Indonesia with 2,595 estimated institutions.

The growth of online learning in India and the Asia-Pacific region

According to the World Economic Forum, India saw 13.6 million learners enrol in online learning in 2021. At the country level, they’re now only topped by the United States — which saw 17.3 million students take advantage of online learning opportunities. 

This growth is being driven by supply, the demand for more flexible and convenient learning environments and macroeconomic conditions — including higher internet penetration, the reduced cost of online education and the greater availability of quality education in the region. 

However, regionally, the Asia-Pacific region saw the biggest growth in online student presence with 28 million new online learners enrolling for 68 million courses, followed by North America, Europe and Latin America. 

The rise of EdTech in the Asia-Pacific region

While the U.S. is currently the leader in EdTech investment and use, the Asia-Pacific region is positioning itself to be close behind. 

This region is not only seeing the rapid adoption of online learning but is now also the fastest-growing region worldwide in the adoption of EdTech — growing at a CAGR of 17.5% and rising from $17.6 billion in 2019 to $64.5 billion by 2027, per a report from TechHQ. 

According to Statista, the EdTech market in Japan alone is projected to grow to nearly 362.5 billion Japanese Yen (approximately $2.6 billion) by 2027.

How Digitary supports education institutions navigating learning today

The education sector today is characterised by digital solutions that are aimed at empowering both learners and institutions towards more successful outcomes — for the ultimate benefit of both parties. If your institution is ready to take advantage of tech solutions that can help your institution compete in a fiercely competitive educational environment, Digitary can help. 

The Digitary by Parchment solution allows institutions to take advantage of digital credentialing solutions with ease. Today, Digitary is a trusted partner to over 150 leading institutions worldwide, enabling millions of people to share their verified digital credentials and academic achievements online securely, quickly and easily. Our platform ultimately aims to help education providers streamline some of their most arduous processes while keeping institutions on pace with the technological expectations of learners, while improving the overall learning experience in the long run.

If your organisation is ready to leverage powerful digital solutions that can lead to more successful outcomes for your institution and its learners, contact us today for more information or get started.

What are digital badges?

Before taking a closer look at the true value digital badges can bring to the higher education sector, it’s essential to understand what they are and the intention behind them. Digital badges in education are essentially electronic symbols used as micro-credentials to declare and document achievement or skills mastered in different learning settings. This digital badging system has become a credible way for learners to establish portfolios and express knowledge — ultimately used in both academic and professional settings.

Why are higher education institutions adopting digital badging?

As higher education institutions navigate unprecedented learning environments and stiff competition, they’re constantly in pursuit of strategies that not only remove barriers to academic achievement for learners but also provide the flexibility needed to keep student achievement, engagement and enrolment elevated across the long term. As a result, digital badges have been increasingly introduced as a powerful technique to accomplish these institutional objectives while promoting lifelong learning along the way.

The digital badges market in the education sector is ultimately being driven by key factors including:

• The rise of eLearning and distance education: eLearning and distance learning opportunities have shown significant growth over the last decade, which was only accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The increased adoption of online learning: Global disruptions also lead to an expedited adoption of online learning methods, along with the digital tools needed to promote successful outcomes. 
• The growing demand for greater accessibility and flexibility: Learners across the globe are in pursuit of learning opportunities that allow them to individualise their education and complete work at their own pace.
• The trend toward gamification: Gamification is being widely introduced as a strategy to improve learner engagement. This includes reward systems, such as open badges, to drive learner motivation, engagement and satisfaction long term. 

According to Valuates Reports, the global digital badge market is projected to reach $365.1 million by 2028 — growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.1% from 2022 to 2028. This emphasises the anticipated longevity of micro-credential-based digital badges in the education sector. 

Potential uses of digital badging in higher education

A digital badge system can inevitably help unify the representation of successful learning outcomes in higher education. A purposeful and comprehensive system can introduce learners to new pathways toward academic achievement and serve as a catalyst for these students to explore additional educational experiences. 

While open badge use is anticipated to grow in popularity in institutions across the globe, it’s important to note that standards are still being developed to promote consistency with the implementation and recognition of skills — whether soft skills or technical skills. This means higher education institutions should keep micro-credentials’ potential value in mind, alongside what they can offer today. 

As universities experiment with digital badging strategies, here are a few possible opportunities for these micro-credentials:

1. Assessment

The badge system provides a valuable framework for consistency with courses and evaluations. Digital badges, by nature, are used to certify the assessment and skill mastery of learners. However, well-designed badges can also provide a form of assessment for institutions to gauge what learners are interested in and engaging with most — aligning learning goals with outcomes.

2. Peer review and feedback 

Institutions can leverage open badges to generate valuable peer discussion feedback. This may, for example, become a fundamental badge course component to encourage communication while learners progress. Furthermore, digital badges can be used to monitor student performance, where institutions or instructors can provide individualised feedback — promoting improved outcomes moving forward.

Earned micro-credentials are also easily shared over social networks. Learners benefit from the opportunity to share their academic achievements with friends, family and their professional network, while institutions inevitably reach a wider audience with authentic endorsements. 

3. Professional development

As the popularity and use of digital credentials and open badges continue to grow, potential employers can use them to validate skills and knowledge. Higher education institutions can leverage badges as a tool to teach soft skills such as communication, time management and problem-solving — which will prove highly valuable for students as they enter the professional workforce. 

Considering an SHRM report stating three out of  four employers say they have a hard time finding graduates with the soft skills their companies need, prospective students may be eager for  this opportunity for professional development, especially alongside evidence. 

The benefits of digital badges — for both learners and institutions

With the growing use of digital badges in higher education institutions across national networks, several key parties stand to benefit as a result. Digital badging systems aid learners by:

• Providing recognition for acquiring a new skill or completing an online course.
• Allowing a potential employer or hiring manager to easily see and verify competence.
• Motivating students to develop new skills.
• Encouraging lifelong learning with opportunities for continued education and professional development.

As institutions introduce micro-credentialing strategies, students also have the unique opportunity to share any digital badge of competency with ease. This is not only a bonus for communications with alternative institutions and potential employers but also loved ones who can see digital badges that are shared on their social media sites.

While open badges and micro-credentials provide clear advantages to learners, higher education institutions are another key beneficiary of these solutions. By introducing this modern credentialing strategy, institutions can:

• Provide more flexible learning opportunities: Digital badges, and micro-credentials as a whole, are helping institutions offer alternative pathways to academic achievement. This not only supports unique learning needs, but also improves accessibility. As a result, institutions can drive enrollment — particularly amongst international students who might require more flexible learning options.

• Promote greater student mobility: As higher education universities progressively introduce micro-credentialing approaches for student learning, they’re ultimately promoting student mobility long term — where an open badge or digital credential has the potential to be recognised by another higher ed institution. 

• Drive student engagement and motivation: Badges awarded for knowledge and specific skill acquisition can have a positive impact on intrinsic motivation — considering a study from Forbes that found the introduction of open badges drove engagement and motivation in learners. 

• Improve course completion rates: A digital badging system’s inherent flexibility, along with the potential to improve learner engagement, will help institutions drive course completion rates moving forward. 
• Keep pace with competitors: In an increasingly digital world, higher education institutions are in need of advanced technological solutions to keep pace amid fierce competition. 

Introducing systems for digital credentialing with ease

The major shifts in the education sector in recent years have required higher education institutions to evolve to effectively accommodate these new forms of learning and workforce needs. In fact, research from Educause found that 13% of universities are actively engaging in the digital transformation — with 32% of these institutions working to develop a digital transformation strategy. With these trends projected to continue, it will be essential for higher education institutions to consider how digital technology can refine their processes and reputation.

Digitary by Parchment supports  education institutions in their pursuit of robust digital solutions by enabling millions of people to share their verified digital credentials and academic achievements online — securely, quickly and easily. Working with over 150 leading institutions across the globe, solutions from Digitary by Parchment are designed to help legitimate education providers give their learners an unparalleled experience.

Learn more about how Digitary CORE solutions can help your institution keep pace with digital trends in the education sector or submit an enquiry to get started.