Micro courses are an ideal way to upskill

Short online courses have been rapidly introduced in response to the COVID-10 pandemic.

Short online courses have been rapidly introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Never has a major innovation in the higher education system been introduced so quickly.

As the COVID-19 crisis hit, the need for people to retrain to find new jobs after the crisis was recognised. The federal government responded with an offer to universities and independent higher education providers to fund short six-month courses in areas where jobs were likely to be available during the recovery. They would be offered at discount rates — either $1250 or $2500 — and, given the nature of the pandemic, would be online.

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Universities and other higher education providers quickly got to work, even while they battled with the financial and teaching impacts of COVID-19.

Today, nearly eight weeks after the courses were announced on April 12 by Education Minister Dan Tehan, 277 courses are available to students in areas such as nursing, teaching, health, IT, engineering and science.

Thirty-seven institutions have risen to the challenge of providing the courses. Some have already started, while others will begin later this month or in July. The largest number are in the health field (75), with 63 in education, 55 in IT, 28 in engineering areas, and 22 in the sciences. Details of all courses are at courseseeker.edu.au.

There are two main types of course available: an undergraduate certificate and a graduate certificate. For students they offer the advantage that an undergraduate certificate can form part of a diploma or bachelor degree, and a graduate certificate can form part of a graduate diploma or master degree. Effectively it means a student can do six months of a longer qualification at a discount price.

While the courses are an immediate response to coronavirus, they are likely to have a permanent impact on the structure of higher education in Australia.

The courses are examples of micro-credentials, a relatively new word which describes a “micro” tertiary education qualification which gives a learner essential skills for a job in a short period of time.

They are very suitable for people in the midst of their career who find they need to learn about a specific area to remain up-to-date with the changing skill requirements of their job.

It’s part of a shift toward a post-school education in which people no longer learn everything they need to know in a one-off degree, but learn in smaller chunks as and when required.

“I really think the future of education is the dipping in and out,” said Geraldine Mackenzie, vice-chancellor of the University of Southern Queensland, which is ­offering 20 short online courses.