article in the Australian today

Open Universities Australia, which offers more than 2000 online study units that students can build into degrees, is entering the microcredentials market and offering universities funding and other support to develop courses.

OUA has partnered with Australian online education company OpenLearning, which will host OUA microcredentials on its new OpenCreds platform.

Microcredentials are short courses on specific topics, often focusing on particular skills in demand from employers, that can be completed in a few months or even a few weeks.

Under its new plan OUA and OpenLearning will offer support to universities to develop a short course from their new open microcredential development grants. Up to 30 grants will be made, each offering a one-off payment of $10,000 backed by $15,000 worth of learning design support from OpenLearning to create a microcredential.