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EdX Offers Working Learners New Pathway to Bachelor's Degree

EdX has introduced a new MicroBachelors program designed to offer working learners job-ready skills in a credit-backed, stackable credential that can be applied toward a full bachelor's degree. The program is launching with two offerings: IT Career Framework from Western Governors University, recognized for credit by that institution, and Computer Science Fundamentals from New York University, pending recognition for credit by Thomas Edison State University.

MicroBachelors can be completed fully online within a matter of months and are priced between $500 and $1,500, or about $166 per credit. They are designed for "adults without a college degree who believe they need additional education to advance in their careers," according to a news announcement. The curriculum is created by academic institutions "with input from industry leaders," to ensure that students gain "immediately transferable skills for the workplace."

"EdX was founded on the mission to increase access to high-quality education for everyone, everywhere and MicroBachelors programs are the next step forward in fulfilling that mission," commented edX Founder and CEO Anant Agarwal, in a statement. "These programs are a significant step toward making a key academic milestone — the Bachelor's degree — accessible and doing so in a way that positively impacts the members of our workforce most at risk to be displaced by automation and other changes in the workplace. We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with our academic and industry partners to offer these programs that enable continuous, lifelong learning and promise immediately applicable skills and knowledge with a valuable credit-backed credential."

EdX has also created a MicroBachelors Program Skills Advisory Council, made up of foundations, corporations and academic institutions that will help identify the core skills and learning pathways to be covered by the program. The organization plans to expand the program with new MicroBachelors offerings in the future, as well as create new credit pathways that stack into full degree options with its university partners.

For more information, visit the edX site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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