Helping students unlock career opportunities with micro-credentials in higher education
5 min read
Updated: Mar 20
Across industries, creative thinking has emerged in the workplace. Employers need people who can solve problems, think creatively, and communicate innovations in new ways. As a creative company, Adobe has both an opportunity and responsibility to make sure that the next generation is equipped with skills to meet these changing industry demands.
When I was teaching high school and college, my top priority was to bridge disciplinary and career skill gaps to help students learn deeply while also setting them up for a wide array of career opportunities. As new technologies like generative AI emerge, employers big and small are seeking graduates with the creative skills to adapt to this rapidly changing business landscape.
That’s where alternative credentials come in. At Adobe, we offer many different types of credentials, from micro-credentials to professional certifications in essential digital and creative skills to help students stand out to employers. Shorter stackable micro-credentials can be particularly helpful in higher education to teach and showcase a number of specific skills that often aren’t taught in schools today. Through our Adobe Creative Skills program for college students, we offer twelve self-paced courses that teach the most in-demand skills, from using generative AI, to presentation design and delivery, to editing short social media videos that pop.
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With input from industry leaders and our Adobe Creative Campus partners, we have designed these courses to both supplement traditional coursework as well as provide practical opportunities to put the newfound skills to work. At the end of each short (1-3 hour) micro-credential course, higher ed students earn a digital certificate and badge they can include on their resume and LinkedIn profile to showcase skills and stand out to employers.
Last year, two dozen Adobe Creative Campuses embraced the micro-credentials program, experimenting with different ways to encourage student participation — integrating them into curriculum and course modules across departments as well as first-year experience programs, career services, and student clubs. At the end of the first pilot year there are now over 20,000 college students supplementing their coursework and college experience by acquiring additional creative skills for the job market.
Some schools cleverly used existing infrastructure and communication channels to introduce micro-credentials to a wide audience. Indian River State College drove awareness via a prominent pop-up notification that appeared whenever students logged into their learning management system (LMS). Others incorporated micro-credentials as part of courses. Seton Hall University has launched Adobe’s micro-credentialing courses campus-wide and integrated them into various academic programs. Many instructors have embedded these skill-building courses into their curricula to enhance student engagement, improve academic outcomes and digital literacy skills, and boost career readiness.
As part of the Texas Credentials for the Future strategic initiative, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) took a proactive, top-down approach. Faculty, teaching assistants, and Adobe Student Ambassadors were encouraged to promote micro-credentials in classes across higher ed departments and disciplines. After all, learning how to communicate across media, deliver presentations, and use generative AI are key skills for every student, not just traditional design students.
One of our biggest advocates of alternative credentials at UTSA is physics and astronomy professor Dr. Chris Packham. He believes that digital literacy and creative thinking are especially important in science, where students need to question information, brainstorm theories, and present findings effectively. For Professor Packham, Adobe’s micro-credentials are a way for students to gain the skills that will not only help them engage and excel in the classroom, but also in their careers.
“I don’t just want to see a bunch of assignments coming in on Word or Excel,” explains Dr. Packham. “Since UTSA is an Adobe Creative Campus, I encourage students to take advantage of their access to Adobe tools to find more innovative ways to respond to assignments. Micro-credentials qualify those creative and problem-solving skills that employers will expect, even from future scientists.”
One former Adobe Student Ambassador at UTSA, Jocelyn Espinoza, recently graduated with a degree in psychology and marketing. She highlighted her micro-credentials for social media and generative AI on her resume. These skills helped her quickly land a job as assistant center director at Mathnasium where she handles the location’s social media accounts and supports lead generation.
“I like that the Adobe Creative Skills courses were self-paced lessons that focused less on product features and more on specific tasks, like creating viral social media,” says Espinoza. “Having the badges demonstrates that you’ve achieved a skill more than just listing it on your resume.”
At the University of Utah, associate director of Learning Experience Innovation and Outreach, Holly Johnson, led her team to test many different approaches to micro-credentialing, from creating marketing campaigns to incorporating them in undergraduate business curriculum. Johnson had an idea to nurture creativity by making the presentation skill course a requirement for students entering the popular Social Impact Challenge sponsored by the Eccles School of Business. Students learned about design, colors, and presentation skills, giving them confidence in their creativity before designing and presenting a website as part of the competition.
“Micro-credentials teach foundational skills that students can put on resumes for internships and jobs,” says Johnson. “It’s also important that they come from Adobe, a highly respected name in creativity. We think that all students can be creative, and having Adobe on their resume helps build confidence in their own capabilities, regardless of their field.”
As a former educator, I’m inspired to see these new levels of pedagogical innovation and campuses being increasingly committed to setting students up for life-long success, including opening new avenues of career and economic opportunity. Now that these micro-credentials are available to every Adobe Creative Campus, we’re expanding our engagement efforts to encourage faculty and academic leaders to continue to innovate in the ways they can integrate micro-credentials into courses, workshops, competitions, clubs, and other campus programs. Not only will this offer students better results during their academic careers, but it will also give them in-demand skills to build their confidence and stand out to employers across industries.
Learn more about the Adobe Creative Skills courses and how to unlock transformative career opportunities with micro-credentials courses here.
Interested in becoming an Adobe Creative Campus? Visit the webpage to learn how colleges and universities worldwide are empowering students in all disciplines with the opportunity to learn essential digital skills to succeed in the classroom and beyond.