When ChatGPT was unveiled to the public in November 2022, it created an immediate demand for AI skills. The problem? There were no programs out there to cater for the increased demand.
That’s because new degrees can take years to go from concept to first intake. It left universities and business schools playing catch up, frantically putting together new AI-focused curricula that would start to meet that demand.
In the interim, microcredentials are helping fill the gap. Shorter, more focused and with less time required to launch than diplomas or certificates, they have become the format of choice for AI courses in particular.
“One of the most visible growth drivers [of microcredentials] has been AI‑enabled leadership and innovation,” says Stephen Flavin, executive director of Executive Education at Babson College.
Focus on time efficiency
The school’s suite of executive courses, which fall under the title Babson On‑Demand, allow students to “take classes and earn credentials on their own time, at their own pace,” according to Flavin. He believes the “hands-on, practical, and immediately applicable” nature of the program reflects the demands of modern learners.
This positivity around microcredentials at Babson appears to be reflected across learners as a whole. According to research from Coursera, 91% of students believe microcredentials will help them succeed in their job, while 85% say it improves their job prospects. Almost 30% said they received a pay increase as a result of a microcredential, and 21% earned a promotion.
Meanwhile, a 2024 report from the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) found that 62% of business schools now offer “some type of non-degree credentials,” including microcredentials. That figure rises to 72% in Europe and 79% in Canada.
The affordable price point of these courses also helps. The microcredentials at Babson start from $300 - a fraction of the $120,000 that the school’s two-year, full-time MBA costs, for example. While there’s no question that an MBA can be a transformational degree for many people, it’s equally easy to see the appeal of microcredentials for many others.
“I think it depends on the person, but certainly entrepreneurship is absolutely suited to microcredentials,” says Scott Morris, program lead of the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) Entrepreneurship Certificate.
Hyper-focused curriculum
The Entrepreneurship Certificate isn’t intended to support a side hustle. It’s aimed at already-established businesses who want to achieve $50 million or $100 million in annual revenue, according to Morris.
The people in charge of these types of businesses are unlikely to have the time to pursue a traditional degree. A microcredential like this aims to boil the key concepts down to the absolute essentials.
"The life of an entrepreneur is very difficult,” Morris continues. “They're juggling a lot of different things. They're typically working very long hours. And so we try to make that easier for them by not burdening them with required classes that may or may not apply to their business."
The condensed nature of the program means that it takes place over the course of 16 weeks, with students meeting 12 times over that period.
The program sits alongside UMSL’s wider range of executive courses, which include several leadership microcredentials. "It (microcredentials) is certainly an area of interest in the St. Louis region here,” says Morris. “And we're seeing it spread to other universities and colleges."
At places like UMSL, microcredentials are more than just a badge on your LinkedIn profile. When targeted at the right audience, they can be every bit as beneficial as longer diplomas or even entire degrees.
So will these mini-qualifications ever supplant the traditional degree? After all, they’re affordable, can be hugely beneficial for your career, and allow you to study exactly what you want, when you want, with no unwanted modules or unnecessary extra expenses. Flavin, however, is unsure.
“From Babson’s vantage point, short‑form credentials are not replacing traditional degrees, but they are reshaping the learning ecosystem,” he affirms, adding that at Babson, learners use them as a flexible alternative to traditional degrees, a way to rapidly upskill, or as an entry point into longer forms of study.
