Micro-Credentials at Scale: Inside NASH's 17-System Experiment | Dr. Kelvin Bentley

Higher education is under growing pressure to prove that a degree translates into meaningful career outcomes. Micro-credentials may be one way institutions can close that gap, but scaling them across entire university systems requires much more than simply giving students access to another online course. In this episode of *Signals in Higher Ed*, Darin Francis sits down with Dr. Kelvin Bentley, Director of the Community of Practice on Microcredentials at the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH), to explore what NASH is learning from a nationwide initiative spanning 17 higher education systems and more than 25,000 learners. Bentley shares lessons from his earlier work with the University of Texas System and explains how institutions are integrating industry-backed credentials from organizations such as Google, IBM, and Meta alongside traditional degree programs. The conversation examines the importance of faculty champions, system-level collaboration, work-based learning, learning and employment records, and giving students better ways to communicate what they know and can do. Francis and Bentley also dig into the question that will ultimately determine the value of micro-credentials: Do they improve employment outcomes, career readiness, retention, or advancement? As NASH prepares to study those outcomes across participating systems, the initiative could offer higher education a valuable blueprint for moving from isolated credential pilots to a more coordinated approach to career-connected learning. *Signals in Higher Ed:* https://www.marketscale.com/creator-hubs/signals-in-higher-ed/