Mapping Microcredentials Across MOOC Platforms

Increasingly, older models of MOOCs as standalone courses are giving way to multi-course series, up to and including online degrees. Between a single course and a full degree, all the major MOOC providers have created at least one multi-course “microcredential”. This descriptive paper maps the microcredentials that currently exist, using data gathered from the MOOC platforms (e.g. Coursera, edX, Udacity, FutureLearn, and others). Data include price, length of program, availability of academic credit, and level of effort per week on over 450 unique microcredentials. This paper uses a two-step cluster analysis to group miocrocredentials across type, using factors including price, duration, and weekly effort. Grouping microcredentials across MOOC platforms is a first step to understanding what place these credentials might occupy in the overall landscape of higher education.