The Arizona Education Association is excited to partner with Augustana University to offer no-cost graduate credit — including up to nine credits toward a master’s degree — for the successful completion of NEA Micro-Credentials. This partnership provides AEA members with the ability to earn graduate credit for 1-credit-hour courses and potentially secure salary increases from their district.
The AEA's Certification Bank includes more information to get started, browse micro-credentials, and manage your certifications. To log in, you'll need to create an account. However, you can view the library without an account by clicking "Browse our Micro-Credentials Library."
What is a Microcredential?
An NEA micro-credential is a 15-hour competency-based and job-embedded professional growth opportunity that awards certification badges. They are organized into Microcredential stacks, and within each microcredential, there are resources to explore, opportunities to self-reflect, and a project that allows you to apply your new learning.
How are they currently used?
Some districts already accept the micro-credential badges in their original form as part of their salary advancement plan, pay-for-performance plan, or evaluation system. However, not all districts do.
If your district doesn’t formally recognize non-college credit professional growth for salary advancement, this opens the door for you to regain agency over your own salary advancement through this partnership with Augustana University.
How can I earn graduate credit for completing a Micro-credential?
Augustana University is now the exclusive crediting institution for Micro-Credential graduate credit in partnership with the AEA. Upon completion of a course, educators can register for credit.
When registering, you will be asked to upload your electronic badge for each course. The cost for transcribing the course to earn 1 graduate credit for each course is $50. You may register for credit for more than one course at a time.
Can the credits earned be used towards a Master’s degree?
Yes, students interested in Augustana’s Master of Education degree are able to transfer in up to 9 credit hours of graduate credit, including 1-credit courses completed through NEA’s Microcredential program. To learn more, visit the Master of Education page.
Where do I start?
- Complete a micro-credential project and submit it for assessment.
- Once you are awarded the micro-credential badge, submit it to Augustana University to be transcribed as a college credit. In order to do that:
- Identify the Stack(s) from which your course(s) are found.
- Identify the name of the course.
- Have your electronic badge available to upload as a .pdf or .jpeg. This is available for download from our Microcredential dashboard after it is awarded.
- Have a credit card available for payment.