Quality criteria for credential description
Building on the results of the OEPass and MicroHE projects, as well as the European Commission’s draft data model for a learning credential, this task force will develop a detailed comprehensive set of quality descriptors for credential documentation, i.e. classifications and typologies of properties such as the mode of study, methods of assessment, authentication means, grading schemes, etc. that are applicable in as many EU countries as possible.
Model Credit Recognition Agreement
European legislation is steering towards open degrees highlighting the increasing importance of the recognition dimension. However, the recognition of foreign degrees, not to mention sub-degree credentials, is still not common practice and there are no widely approved guidelines or mechanisms that would aid this recognition process. This ECCOE output will be a Model Credit Recognition Agreement, developed in collaboration with the legal departments of the participating universities, and which HEIs from all over Europe will be able to tailor for their own specific needs and legal requirements.
Online set of approved modules
The main aim of this output is to create an online catalogue of potential courses, MOOCs or modules for cross-institution recognition. These will be selected according to criteria agreed on by all partners. The task force will take both a supply-side and a demand-side approach, in that partners may both propose modules and also, more importantly, identify the needs of their institution as well as of those beyond the partnership. In this way, this output will contribute to the population of the overall ECCOE-System (the project’s digital credential portal) with quality-reviewed modules.
Technology enabled credentials
All circumstances, conditions and strands of activity leading to credential awarding have important underlying information, i.e. metadata, that are often hard to compare. The road to credential transparency and portability starts at designing a ubiquitous flexible solution and depends greatly on the endorsement of real-life users. Observing the needs of learners, HEIs and employers in equal measure, this output will take care of the technological side of converting existing/expanded EU standards and the quality descriptors produced by the first ECCOE output into machine-readable representations backed by an ecosystem of open technology standards.
ECCOE-System
The ECCOE partners believe that the documentation of non-traditional education and training achievements should be feasible using the same vocabulary and currencies that formal education uses (i.e., EQF level, learning outcomes, credit points awarded, etc.) building trust in these alternative qualification/skill/competence providers’ credentials. As the owner of their (digital) credentials, individuals should also have the freedom and power to share their achievements with anyone and by any means they wish. The ECCOE-System, building on existing open source code, will be an open credential repository benefiting education providers, students and workers.
You can access all project results previously described here
