Evaluating Priorities in the Implementation of Microcredentials in Latin American Universities through the Hierarchical
Analytical Process for Educational Flexibility

 

Humberto León Flores^1,*, Claudio Ruff Escobar², Natalia Daries Ramón³

¹University of Lleida, Bernardo O'Higgins University Spain

²Bernardo O'Higgins University, Chile

³University of Lleida, Spain

Emails: FloresHumberto@gamil.com; cruff@ubo.cl; ndaries@aegern.udl.cat

 

 

Abstract

This paper responds to the problem of establishing criteria priority for microcredential implementation in Latin American universities, a developing topic with great momentum and the need to professionalize traditional learning models. Amid rapid digital and labor developments, microcredentials emerge as an efficient way of certifying targeted skills and fostering adaptability to market demand. Still, implementation in higher education lacks a clear pathway of systematic substantiation. The state-of-the-art demonstrates that few mixed-method studies have attempted to prioritize institutional, pedagogical, and technological aspects of this endeavor. This paper applies the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to a criterion for criteria relative assessment as a method for qualitative and quantitative study. This approach assesses relative importance between seemingly equal criteria—digital infrastructure, teacher training, curriculum relevance, and external validity, for example—for better implementation within higher education systems. Results assess teacher training and platform interoperability as the two most important criteria for successful microcredential implementation. This study is relevant theoretically for multicriteria approaches to the assessment of learning flexibility and practically speaking, supports university administrative decisions for more adaptable, equity-driven and sustainable learning options.

Keywords: Microcredentials; Higher Education; AHP; Educational Flexibility; University Innovation; Prioritization, Latin America