The UT System has expanded its industry microcredential program with a goal of preparing every interested student at UT academic campuses – as well as faculty, staff and alumni – for the state’s workforce demands at no extra cost to them. With funding from Strada Education Foundation in 2021, the UT System provided seed funding to help its 8 academic campuses provide students no-cost access to industry credentials on the Coursera platform from several providers including Google, IBM and Meta. Encouraged by the success of its early pilots, the Strada Education Foundation granted the UT System $1.5 million to begin scaling its use of industry credentials within academic courses and co-curricular pathways. With approved funding the same year, the UT System allowed all of its nine academic campuses the ability to offer no-cost access to industry-credentials and with continued funding approved in 2025, the UT System now provides access to over 80 industry credentials on the Coursera platform to students, alumni, faculty, and staff across its 9 academic universities and 4 health research institutions.
Contact Information:
Serenity Rose King, Ph.D.
sking@utsystem.edu
Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Kelvin Bentley, Ph.D.
kbentley@utsystem.edu
Program Manager-Texas Credentials for the Future
UT System and Coursera: The most comprehensive industry-recognized microcredential program in the country
The UT System has expanded its industry microcredential program with a goal of preparing every interested student at UT academic campuses – as well as faculty, staff and alumni – for the state’s workforce demands at no extra cost to them. Today, students, faculty, staff and alumni from across UT’s nine academic campuses have access to the Career Academy on Coursera, which includes more than 35 entry-level Professional Certificates from leading companies such as Google, IBM, Microsoft and Salesforce. This is the most extensive industry-recognized microcredential program from a U.S. university system — and at no cost.
UT System becomes higher education’s largest ‘Grow with Google’ partner
Through Google’s largest university partnership to date and with the support of Coursera, UT institutions will embed Google career certificates into undergraduate degree programs and co-curricular experiences with options to receive university credit at no additional cost to students. These career certificates will serve as an important tool in positioning UT graduates for high-quality, in-demand jobs.
Strada awards $1.5 million grant in support of Texas Credentials for the Future
With funding support from the Strada Education Foundation, UT institutions are positioning its graduates for success and professional growth in the modern job market. Pairing a bachelor’s degree with a workplace relevant microcredential leads to graduates who are both broadly educated and specifically skilled – a winning combination for students and employers.
WORKCRED REPORTS: Integrating microcredentials into undergraduate experiences
Workcred partnered with the UT System to explore the benefits of adding microcredentials to degree programs at select UT institutions.
Texas Credentials for the Future in the News
- UTSA helps students gain career-ready skills with Adobe microcredentials, Adobe, 4/15/25
- Why the University of Texas System is offering microcredentials to students — for free, Higher Ed Dive, 2/26/25
- As University of Texas System Expands Free Online Certificates, Students Super-Charge Degrees, BestColleges, 10/14/24
- University of Texas System and Coursera expand micro-credential program partnership to include UT’s health institutions, Coursera, 10/1/24
- Texas Tea: Transforming Higher Ed with Workforce Micro-Credentials, ASU+GSV Summit 2024, 4/18/24
- A Texas-sized push for microcredentials, Strada Education Foundation, 3/13/24
- Two higher education systems join Credential As You Go, Yahoo! Finance, 12/11/23
- University of Texas System bets big on microcredentials, Inside Higher Ed, 9/14/23
- The Edge: A university’s push into microcredentials signals a widening mission, by Goldie Blumenstyk, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8/30/23
- University Of Texas, Coursera launch historic micro-credential partnership, Forbes, 8/2/23
- The Latest Campus Clinic: Cybersecurity, Inside Higher Ed, 6/27/23
- Google is seeking out Texas students, Spectrum News, 3/16/23
- UT System receives $1.5 million grant to expand microcredential initiative, UT System, 1/17/2023
- UT System teams up with Google for increased educational degree opportunities, The Daily Texan, 1/11/23
- Google, Texas universities to pump out more tech-savvy students, Austin Business Journal, 12/29/22
- UTEP offering Google Career Certificates to students, KFOX El Paso, 12/21/22
- Google Career Certificates now available for UT, Texas State University Systems, Dallas Innovates, 12/15/22
- University of Texas, Google team up on career training for students, Higher Ed Dive, 12/14/22
- UT Tyler announces partnership in UT System’s Grow with Google Initiative, The Gilmer Mirror, 12/20/22
- University of Texas System partners with Google to offer career certificates to students, KVUE ABC Austin (Online), 12/9/22
- UT and Google team up to offer students more opportunities, CBS Austin, 12/9/22
- University of Texas System partners with Google to offer career certificates to students, Fox TV West Texas, 12/9/22
