by André Zampaulo, Ph.D.
Saint Louis University
Language programs in higher education are at a crossroads. Across institutions, traditional structures such as majors, minors, and general education requirements are shifting, often leaving language departments searching for new ways to remain visible, relevant, and sustainable. If you have ever wondered how to motivate students to enroll in lower-level language courses, or how to compete for space in increasingly rigid degree plans, you are not alone.
One innovative solution gaining traction is the use of academic micro-credentials. At Missouri’s Saint Louis University (SLU), the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures (LLC) in the College of Arts and Sciences has been pursuing micro-credentials that have become a powerful tool not only for recruitment and retention, but also for redefining the value of language study in a modern academic landscape.
Let’s explore how micro-credentials can transform language programs, offering practical strategies and examples for implementation.
1. Reframing Language Study: Why Micro-Credentials Matter Now
The shift away from traditional foreign language proficiency requirements has created a fundamental challenge for many language departments. At SLU, the introduction of a university-wide core curriculum in the fall of 2022 eliminated the foreign language proficiency requirement altogether. As a result, lower-level language courses no longer “counted” toward any requirement, thus removing a key incentive for enrollment. This is a scenario many institutions are facing today.
Micro-credentials address this gap by giving language courses renewed purpose. Instead of asking students to commit to a full major or minor, micro-credentials offer smaller, targeted academic pathways, typically requiring 6–9 credits. In addition, they are formally recognized on students’ transcripts.
Why does this work?
These micro-credentials address three areas that are important to students and academic institutions at this moment in the world of higher education:
- Flexibility: Students can engage with language study without overloading their schedules.
- Career Relevance: Micro-credentials align with specific professional goals.
- Motivation: Courses count for “something,” even outside traditional degree structures.
Most importantly, micro-credentials meet students where they are, particularly those pursuing STEM- or health-related fields, who may not find room for a full language program.
2. Designing Micro-Credentials That Attract Students
Not all micro-credentials are created equal. One of the most impactful strategies at SLU has been allowing each language program to design its own approach rather than enforcing a rigid, one-size-fits-all model.
As a result, two design models and approaches emerged in our department:
- The Single Credential Approach: Some programs, such as Chinese and Spanish, opted to create one streamlined micro-credential. This approach is simple, clear, and easy for students to understand.
- The Stackable Credentials Approach: Other programs, like French and German, developed multiple, stackable micro-credentials that can build toward a minor or a major, should the student want to choose this route.
Our dual approach reflects an important principle: Flexibility in program design increases participation and buy-in from faculty.
Key design strategies to consider:
- Include multiple entry points: Offer credentials at beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. This ensures accessibility for students with varying levels of proficiency.
- Keep pathways non-prescriptive: Allow students to choose combinations of courses that fit their schedules and goals.
- Align with career pathways: One standout example is our forthcoming “Micro-Credential in Spanish for Healthcare Professionals,” which targets students in pre-med, nursing, and other health science fields.
- Think interdisciplinary: Collaborations with other units and programs, such as psychology and data science, expand your reach and appeal to new student populations.
We label this as a “wide net” or “tentacular” approach: Instead of targeting only traditional language students, programs are designed to attract as many students as possible, regardless of major, career interest, proficiency level, or background.
3. Recruitment That Actually Works: From Passive to Proactive
Even the most well-designed micro-credential won’t succeed without intentional recruitment. One of the important aspects of our department’s model is how proactive and data-driven our recruitment strategy has been since July 2023.
Step-by-step recruitment strategies:
- Start with student data: Incoming student surveys reveal that hundreds of students express interest in taking a language course, but most never enroll. For example, survey data from the summer of 2025 showed that 76% of interested students had not signed up for a language course in the Fall 2025 semester. That gap represented a great opportunity.
- Personalize outreach: Rather than sending generic emails, recruitment efforts should focus on:
- Students’ academic interests
- Career goals
- Placement levels
Our messages also include tailored recommendations with an embedded YouTube video, explaining our programs and how students benefit from them.
- Meet with students one-on-one: Personal advising sessions with faculty are key. Faculty create customized academic roadmaps showing how a micro-credential (or a minor or a major if it is the case) can fit seamlessly into a student’s degree plan, with university core requirements embedded.
- Be visible: Our successful recruitment approaches require consistent presence in:
- Academic fairs
- Orientation events
- Advising offices
Positioning also matters, both figuratively and literally. Being visible at entry points (e.g., near event entrances) increases engagement with both students and parents.
- Partner with advisors: Building relationships with advising teams across the university ensures that micro-credentials are recommended as viable options for students, in addition to majors and minors.
These strategies reveal a critical mindset shift:Recruitment is no longer passive. It requires the same level of intentionality and strategy as student enrollment management across the university.
4. Retention Through Community and Identity
Recruitment gets students in the door, but retention keeps them engaged. Micro-credentials, by nature, are shorter and, arguably, more flexible than majors and minors. That means that language departments must be deliberate about building a sense of belonging quickly.
Our effective retention strategies include:
- Community events: Monthly gatherings like our “Polyglot Cafés,” allow students not only to practice their language skills with other students and instructors, but also do crafts and hang out in our department.
- Welcome experiences: Early-semester events establish connection with and create community among new students.
- Department identity: Celebrations such as our “LLC Day” create a venue for our current students to bring other students to our department, get to know our instructors, and explore our various language programs that can benefit their careers.
These initiatives create a shared identity among students who might otherwise see their language coursework as peripheral.
The goal here is simple: Help students feel like they are part of something, even if they are only completing 6–9 credits with us.
5. What the Data Show: Real Outcomes After Two Years
The results from LLC’s innovative approaches to curriculum, recruitment, and retention provide valuable insights for other institutions considering this model.
Enrollment growth:
- AY 24–25: 56 new micro-credential students
- AY 25–26 (as of March 2026): 72 new micro-credential students
This growth occurred alongside increases in our overall recruitment efforts. In AY 23-24, LLC recruited 160 new students (only majors and minors). In AY 24-25, our recruitment efforts led to 277 new program declarations (majors, minors, and micro-credentials). In AY 25-26, as of March 2026, we have now reached 285 new program declarations (majors, minors, and micro-credentials).
A new student population
Perhaps the most significant finding is that micro-credentials attracted students who would not have otherwise enrolled in language courses:
- About two thirds of our micro-credential students are not majors or minors.
- Many are juniors and seniors with limited room in their schedules.
This represents an entirely new market—students who want targeted, career-relevant language skills without committing to a full program.
No negative impact on majors or minors
A common concern is whether micro-credentials “compete” with traditional programs. Our data and experience suggest otherwise:
- There is no evidence that students choose our micro-credentials instead of our majors or minors.
- Several students have found that they can pursue both micro-credentials and majors or minors simultaneously.
We have thus found that micro-credentials have expanded our audience rather than restricted it.
6. A Strategic Opportunity for Language Departments
Micro-credentials are more than a trend. They are a strategic response to structural changes in higher education.
They allow language departments to:
- Reclaim relevance in curricula without foreign language requirements
- Attract new student populations
- Provide flexible, career-aligned learning pathways
- Strengthen enrollment without increasing program length
Most importantly, micro-credentials shift the narrative from Why should I take a language? to How can language skills enhance my degree and career?
If your program is facing declining enrollments or struggling to justify lower-level courses, now may be the time to explore micro-credentials.
Start small:
- Identify 2 to 3 courses that could form a micro-credential.
- Align them with a clear career pathway.
- Pilot targeted recruitment with a specific student group.
Then iterate, expand, and refine.
The future of language education may not rely solely on majors and minors but rather on how creatively we design pathways that meet students where they are. Micro-credentials can offer a creative way forward.
André Zampaulo (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) is a Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University (SLU). He leads 20 faculty members and supervises over 15 academic programs, with nearly 500 students pursuing majors, minors, and micro-credentials. In addition to managing the department’s fiscal operations, he is responsible for evaluating faculty annually, overseeing tenure and promotion cases, building annual course schedules, and providing data-driven approaches to curriculum development and student recruitment and retention to ensure continued excellence and sustainable growth.
