The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), has begun work on a comprehensive institutional policy on micro-credentials, in a move aimed at strengthening graduate employability, expanding lifelong learning opportunities and responding to emerging skills demands.
The four day workshop, holding from October 5 to 8, 2026, is part of a Commonwealth wide initiative led by COL to help countries and higher education institutions develop credible, flexible and quality assured frameworks for micro credential learning.
The initiative will see NOUN management, academic and professional staff, the National Universities Commission (NUC), COL representatives, resource persons and other stakeholders develop and consolidate the university’s institutional micro credential policy, while laying the groundwork for pilot micro-credential courses.
Speaking at the opening of the workshop, NOUN Vice-Chancellor, Professor Uduma Oji Uduma, represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Professor Chiedu Mafiana, described the initiative as a significant step towards redefining flexible and technology enabled learning at the university.
“Today we’re not simply opening another workshop. We are taking an important step towards shaping the future of flexible lifelong and technology enabled learning in the National Open University of Nigeria,” he said.
Uduma said micro-credentials would enable NOUN to expand access to learning, respond more quickly to emerging skills requirements, improve employability and support lifelong learning.
He stressed, however, that the university’s ambition should extend beyond offering short courses to establishing a credible micro-credential system built on quality, relevance, flexibility, scalability, recognition and sustainability.
Representing COL, its Adviser, Higher Education, Professor Jane-Frances Agbu, said the workshop marked the first phase of the organisation’s engagement with NOUN, with a second phase expected to focus on developing micro-credential courses.
Agbu said the NOUN initiative forms part of COL’s broader Commonwealth wide work on micro-credentials, which includes regional consultations, national policy development and institutional pilot programmes aimed at strengthening the connection between policy and practice.
“The value of micro-credentials rests not simply on their short duration or flexibility,” she said, adding that their credibility depends on a clearly articulated policy framework.
She noted that rapid technological advancement, digital transformation, artificial intelligence and changing employment patterns were making continuous learning increasingly important.
According to her, micro-credentials can provide practical pathways for upskilling, reskilling, professional development and lifelong learning, particularly as workers increasingly need to learn, unlearn and relearn throughout their careers.
The NUC also reaffirmed its support for the initiative. Dr Fumilayo Morebise, who represented the NUC Executive Secretary, Professor Abdullahi Yusuf Ribadu, said the Commission was working with COL to advance Nigeria’s micro-credential agenda.
“The micro-credential has been a major burning issue. And NUC, as a responsive commission, we don’t want Nigeria to lag behind,” she said.
Morebise explained that the emerging national framework and guidelines would provide the basis for institutional implementation, with NOUN serving as one of the pilot institutions.
She added that lessons from the institutional pilots would help strengthen the national guidelines ahead of wider implementation.
The workshop is also examining the findings of an institutional readiness assessment conducted at NOUN. The assessment identified opportunities and gaps in areas including policy and governance, quality assurance, staff capacity, digital credentialing, industry recognition, recognition of prior learning, credit transfer and stackability, assessment integrity, artificial intelligence and technical infrastructure.
The outcome of the workshop is expected to provide NOUN with the policy foundation for a sustainable institutional micro-credential ecosystem that can serve learners and employers while contributing to Nigeria’s broader human-capital development efforts.
The initiative also positions the university as a participant in the wider Commonwealth effort to promote trusted, flexible and relevant micro-credential provision in response to the changing demands of education, technology and the labour market.
