These can then be stacked towards an MSc,” Bell offered by way of example. Expanding on a query from an audience member, he said: “From the day you sign up for the first module, there’s a five-year limit on reaching the master’s level and a one-year limit on achieving the relevant postgraduate award.” Engaging faculty Bell also spoke about the importance of faculty engagement with its digital education strategy and micro-credential suite of programmes. “We know faculty are pressured in all sorts of different directions. At institutions such as Cranfield, they’re expected to research, teach and do executive education, which could mean flying out to different parts of the world. So, we do ask a lot of our faculty. [For this reason], we worked closely with them during the pandemic, helping them through the issues of delivering online, making sure they understood what could and probably should be done in that space. We built a great relationship with just about every member of faculty who we work with and that’s been beneficial, because they’ve wanted to work with us on this programme and that’s helped us to drive it forward,” he said. One approach that proved particularly effective was working with faculty to identify how the development of new digital content could be used on a broader basis than the micro- credential modules alone. “On the back of this approach, we doubled the number of faculty champions who were happy to promote the programme’s vision, speaking to other faculty members and helping bring them on board,” Bell enthused. Offering a different learning experience In another of the day’s headline sessions, director of MBA programmes at Birmingham
with fees that are acceptable for someone to pay on a credit card, so we’ve already started to have an impact across our entire institution.”
Personalised pathways to a range of qualifications
Each of the stackable modules on offer at Cranfield is structured into three tiers of learning. The bronze and silver tiers are fully asynchronous, allowing people to dip in and out of the content and progress through modules as and when they want. The ensuing gold element is synchronous, taking place over two half-day live online sessions and giving students the ability to interact with faculty and fellow learners. Ilka Ellis, learning designer at the school, outlined the approach behind the tiers further. “The bronze level is the breadth of the subject; it’s the key frameworks, with some initial ‘mini cases’, that help you understand how these concepts are applied in industry. The silver level offers greater subject depth, looking at bigger case studies and getting people to really think about the applications in their organisations. “The gold level is where you need the discussion and to be challenged. That’s very difficult to achieve in the asynchronous space, so we made a conscious decision to allow learners to connect with faculty and peers in real time.” At each and every tier, there is also an emphasis on producing impact for the individual, as McCormick explained: “We have a design for impact philosophy at Cranfield that stems from a piece of work one of our colleagues did for their PhD. Essentially, it states that our courses must be designed with impact in mind and that learners must be able to use what they’ve learned. This is something that we have tried to thread through the content, even at bronze level.” Modules can then be stacked to achieve a postgraduate award in the first instance, followed by a postgraduate certificate on completion of three postgraduate awards. An MSc is available to those who complete six postgraduate awards to achieve a postgraduate diploma and then submit a thesis. “If you want to do a postgraduate award in leadership and organisational behaviour, there are two modules that you can sign up for that link together, with an integrated assessment at the end.
“Students who are interested in micro-credentials want a different kind of learning experience”
Business Impact • ISSUE 1 • 2024 28
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