Originally published in Entrepreneur Magazine

By Shawn D. Terry

Venture-capitalist investment levels in education technology companies reached an all-time high in 2015 before cooling off in 2016. However, entrepreneurs and VCs looking for the next big thing in learning should take a good hard look at micro-credentialing, which could be the future of American higher education.

Micro-credentials, or “nano-degrees,” are already in place in some sectors. For example, a student seeking work in graphic design could take an intense 12-week course to learn Photoshop and Quark Xpress. Likewise, someone seeking a mid-career switch to marketing could take specific classes (online or in the classroom) to develop expertise in Hubspot or Salesforce.

Already, we see plenty of these kinds of courses on sites like Skillshare or Udacity, and via technology certifications. But the shift I see coming is much bigger. And it has the potential to disrupt the nation’s entire higher education market.

Imagine a scenario where an individual with perhaps 20 or 30 micro-credentials becomes much more marketable than someone with the traditional four-year liberal arts degree. That should provide an inkling of what this is all about.

Read the full article at https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/282337

Shawn D. Terry is a founder of Dallas-based middle market investment bank MHT MidSpan and is a co-head of the firm’s education group.