Micro-Credentials in Higher Education: A Systematic Review for Quality Aspects

Quality assurance and accreditation is regarded as a significant facilitator and a barrier at the same time in the integration of micro-credentials in higher education. Micro-credentials can be used to complement and enhance education, training, lifelong learning and employability ecosystems without changing the nature of higher education and vocational training systems. Therefore, it is important to establish quality assurance and accreditation criteria to build trust in micro-credentials, facilitate their understanding and recognition, ensure their validity and reliability, and support the sustainability of micro-credentials. This study aimed to systematically analyze the literature, related reports and documents published between 2020 and 2024 to explore how the quality assurance of micro-credentials can be established. A total of 26 articles and 40 reports were thematically analyzed, generating free codes grouped into 22 categories and four themes: (1) integration into the higher education ecosystem and recognition, (2) institutional responsibility and capacity for change, (3) external quality assurance, and (4) challenges related to quality assurance and accreditation. The study examines key quality assurance aspects for integrating micro-credentials into higher education and highlights considerations for providers.