Micro-credential programs are strengthened with student feedback

A comprehensive workshop aimed at evaluating and developing the micro-credential programs conducted at our university was held with the active participation of students enrolled in the program. During the meeting, which lasted approximately two hours, students' experiences with the programs, areas of satisfaction, and aspects that need improvement were discussed in a multidimensional manner.

At the opening of the workshop, Prof. Dr. Ali Murat Alparslan gave a presentation on the micro-credential approach. In the presentation, Alparslan emphasized that universities should no longer be structures that merely transfer knowledge; instead, they should offer a personalized, diversified, liberated, and experiential-participatory learning ecosystem, stating that micro-credentials are one of the fundamental building blocks of this transformation.

Following the presentation, a feedback survey was conducted via a digital platform regarding the micro-credential programs carried out this term. While students frequently emphasized the flexible structure of the programs, their application-oriented content, and the contributions to their personal development, they also provided detailed and constructive feedback for further development of the programs.

In the later part of the meeting, students had the opportunity to share their views and suggestions verbally. In this section, suggestions particularly focused on diversifying learning processes, increasing application areas, and strengthening digital support mechanisms came to the forefront. It was stated that student feedback provides an important roadmap for the sustainable development of micro-credential programs.

Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Oğuz Gürsoy, who chaired the meeting, emphasized that our university is one of the pioneering universities in Turkey regarding micro-credential programs. Gürsoy stated that these programs hold strategic importance for the university due to their employment-sensitive structure and skill development-focused approach, and expressed that the system will be further strengthened with the feedback received from students and will continue to be developed with a continuous improvement approach.

Additionally, the workshop was attended by Education and Teaching Development Coordinator and Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences Prof. Dr. Perihan Ünüvar, Deputy Coordinator and Deputy Director of the Institute of Educational Sciences Assoc. Prof. Dr. Derya Can, Micro-Credential Coordinator Dr. Lecturer Elvan Mutlu, Faculty of Education Lecturer and Micro-Credential Working Commission Members Dr. Lecturer Funda Uysal, Dr. Lecturer Esra Çakar Özkan, and Dr. Lecturer Hatice İnal, Deputy Secretary General Mesut Türkmen, and Head of Student Affairs Department Hüseyin Kahraman.

At the end of the meeting, it was stated that the views and suggestions of the students will be directly taken into account in the design of the micro-credential programs for the next term; the university will continue to strengthen its learning-teaching approach with an understanding of a participatory, flexible, and development-oriented educational ecosystem.