The Definitive Micro-credential Glossary of Terms

microcredential mondays
Written By Robert Bajor

The best way to align your organization is to create a common vocabulary. To foster a more inclusive and diverse micro-credential space, Micro-credential Multiverse offers this free glossary with terms and definitions to enhance understanding.

If you have suggestions for new terms or updates, please scroll down to find our submission form.

 

1

1EdTech

1EdTech is a member-based non-profit community partnership of leading education providers at all levels, government organizations, and edtech suppliers who collaborate to accelerate an open, trusted, and innovative digital learning ecosystem. They power learner potential by creating the foundation for a learner-centered and future-ready ecosystem where products work together to improve teaching and learning for all.

Definition Source: 1EdTech (added April 18th, 2024)

A

Accredible

Accredible is a leading digital credential platform that enables education and training leaders to increase learner engagement and drive program growth. Founded in 2013, Accredible has helped issue and verify 90 million career-advancing credentials.

To learn more, visit accredible.com.

Definition Source: Accredible (Added April, 2024)

Alignment 

An Open Badge can optionally align to educational or other standards, in which case the badge metadata will include the name, a URL, and a description representing the standard. The alignment information may be relevant to people viewing an earner's awarded badges or to a potential earner deciding whether to apply for the badge. 

Assertion 

Assertions are representations of an awarded badge used to share information about a badge belonging to one earner. Assertions are packaged for transmission as JSON objects with a set of mandatory and optional properties. 

More on assertion

An assertion is a JSON-structured representation of the data for a specific badge awarded. An assertion represents a single badge awarded to a single earner - it includes information about:

  • who earned the badge 

  • what the badge represents 

  • who issued the badge 

  • The assertion for a badge includes various data items required by the Open Badges Specification. 

Required data items in an assertion include: 

  • a unique ID 

  • the recipient 

  • the badge URL 

  • verification data 

  • the issue date. 

  • Assertions can optionally also include: 

  • the badge image (with assertion data baked into it) 

  • an evidence URL 

  • an expiry date. 

  • An assertion can be stored in a hosted file or a JSON Web signature. 

  • See the current assertion specification for full details. 

Assessment 

Assessment in a badging system can involve various optional stages. For example, a badge issuer can present badges that are available for earning, capturing earner applications via the issuer website. The earners can submit evidence in support of their applications, which the issuer will then review, comparing the evidence to the badge criteria (which is defined when the badge is created). If an application for a badge is successful, the issuer may then award it to the earner, creating an assertion and typically contacting the earner. 

Note: This is only an example of what an assessment process might look like in a badging system, but the issuer is free to choose a method that suits their community of earners. 

Australia National Microcredentials Framework

A nationally consistent framework for defining microcredentials across higher education, vocational education, and industry. Published by the Australian Government, Department of Education.

For more information, visit education.gov.au

Definition Source: Credential Engine (Added March 20th, 2024)

Award 

A non-technical term for issuing digital credentials/badges to recipients. It can also be used as a noun, i.e., share your digital award. 

Alternatives include: present, confer, and grant. 

B

Backpack 

A backpack stores badge award data on behalf of recipients, making it possible for those recipients to organize and manage the badges they have earned. Backpacks may allow sharing to social media sites as a means of transmitting information about the achievements that a learner has gained.

Example: The Badgr Backpack (Now Canvas Credentials). 

Backpack Connect 

Badge Connect API, released as Open Badges 2.1, brings the concept of a Federated backpack to the Open Badges ecosystem. The Badge Connect API addition to Open Badges allows badge recipients to easily move their Assertions between platforms to streamline the experience of earning and using Open Badges. 

Badge 

The term “badge” is typically used as shorthand to mean “Digital Badge,” “Micro-credential”, or “digital certification/credential”. However, when the term “badge” is sometimes used deliberately in reference to a “lower stakes” digital award that may be used to motivate recipients rather than recognize them more formally.

Badges can represent competencies and involvements recognized in online or offline life. Each badge is associated with an image and some metadata.

The metadata provides information about the badge and the evidence used to support it. 

More on Badge 

Earners can display their badges online and can share badge information through social networks. Issuers define badges and award them to earners. 

BadgeClass 

A badge class is a definition of an earnable badge, which may potentially be awarded to one or more earners. Badge issuers define each badge class using a JSON file - in which the fields describe what the badge represents. A badge class includes a link to the issuer organization JSON for the badge.

Each time a badge is awarded to an earner, the badge issuer creates a badge assertion that includes a link to the badge class.

Three core data classes are associated with the Open Badge Specification:

  • Assertions

  • BadgeClasses, and

  • Profiles

A set of one expression from each of these categories may be constructed into a valid Open Badge.

More on BadgeClass 

Each data class is a collection of properties and values, and each defines which are mandatory and optional as well as the restrictions on the values those properties may take. They are published as JSON-LD for interoperability. If properties are included in JSON that cannot be mapped to JSON-LD terms defined in the object’s @context, they are not considered part of the badge object’s meaning. 

Badgr (Now Canvas Credentials)

Badgr (Now Canvas Credentials) is a suite of digital credentialing tools used to create, award, and store digital badges (also called micro-credentials, digital credentials, etc.) 

Bake, Baking, Baked Badge 

Badge baking is the process of embedding assertion data into a badge image.

C

Claim code (QR Code) 

A code created by an issuer and given to an earner when they earn a badge. The earner can take the code and claim the associated badge. 

More on Claim code 

Claim codes can be unique to the earner or multi-use; many different earners can use a code to claim the same badge. 

Collect, Collection 

Earners can collect awarded badges and display them in backpacks. In the Badgr backpack (now Canvas Credentials), earners can group badges into collections, deciding whether each collection is publicly discoverable. If a badge collection is designated as public by the earner, displayers can retrieve the badges within it, given the earner's email address. 

Competency 

Many digital badges and micro-credentials recognize discrete, often research-backed competencies. One way of thinking about a competency is by considering the “What” of the digital badge or “What is the learner demonstrating?” The competency is usually stored in the “description” property of the JSON schema. 

Competency-based 

Competency-based digital badges or credentials are generally considered “higher stakes” credentials in that the award is contingent on the demonstration of stated competencies. Many competencies are supported by industry research. 

Consumer 

The consumer is someone viewing a badge awarded to an earner. Examples could include colleagues, peers and potential employers. 

Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL)

The Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) is the family of linked open data standards built for making descriptions of credentials and related resources available as data for search, discovery, and cross-system interoperability. Developed and managed by Credential Engine.

Visit Credential Engine for more information

Definition Source: Credential Engine (added on March 20th, 2024)

Credly

Credly empowers organizations to recognize individuals for demonstrated competencies and skills officially. Their mission is to connect people to opportunity based on their talent and capabilities, and they believe in making meaningful achievements visible and unlocking access to a more diverse and qualified population. Credly is a digital credentialing technology provider, and its partners are building the currency for the global marketplace of knowledge and skills.

Criteria 

A definition of the requirements for earning a badge. In a badge class, the criteria is included as a URL. 

CSV

Forget it, just give me a CSV! This file type is often what’s used to transport data between systems since it’s so widely accepted. However, using CSVs in this way is often tedious and error-prone. Data standards can be an alternative to using CSVs.

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

D

Description 

Badges are accompanied by descriptions when they are listed, shared and displayed. Each badge can include a short tag-line, a description for earners and one for consumers. 

Digital Credential 

Definition 1:

This term is often used interchangeably with “digital badge” and “micro-credential. However, the term “credential” is often used to imply alignment with a particular, industry-aligned credentialing framework, learning outcome or certifying organization. 

Example: The Digital Promise Micro-credential Framework. 

Definition 2:

A digital credential is a web-based verification of an individual's knowledge, skills, and accomplishments, including course or program completion. Digital badges can be earned in a variety of learning environments.

Digital credentials are becoming the new building blocks of a system of verified learning.  To be widely adopted, digital credentials require valid and reliable assessments and a marketplace of recipients that rely on verified skill assertions (i.e., higher education institutions and employers). 

A 2023 report from Credential Engine cataloged more than one million credentials. Canvas Badges (formerly Badgr) and Credly are supporting the development of digital credential marketplaces that serve issuers (schools, colleges, and training organizations) and receivers (higher education institutions and employers). These marketplaces integrate with widely adopted learning management systems (such as Canvas) and distributed ledger learner record systems (such as Greenlight Credentials). Digital credentials are collected in learner records aligned with IMS or xAPI standards. 

Institutions’ websites often advise learners that their alternative credentials can be shared in a number of ways, including:

  • A link, PDF or QR code. (QR code linked to a credential can also be shared).

  • On social and professional networks and platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

  • Through a unique link sent via email or embedded on a resumé, website, or email signature. 

Because of the evolving and sometimes conflicting terminologies used in computer science, computer security, and cryptography, the term "digital credential" has multiple meanings. For example, sometimes passwords or other means of authentication are referred to as credentials.

Related Terms

  • Digital certificates

  • Digital learning records

  • Microcredentials

  • Verifiable digital credentials

Example

Stanford Online offers two types of digital credentials: a badge for a completed course, and a certificate for a completed program. The digital credential will allow learners to:

  • Share accomplishments with their network.  The digital badge or certificate can be easily displayed on a LinkedIn profile or other social platforms, as well as career sites, online resumés, in email, or as part of a digital signature.

  • Verify their credentials to employers. Stanford Online credentials are 100% authenticated and secure, so they provide immediate verification of a credential, speeding up employer verification processes.

  • Communicate the scope of acquired expertise. Because a digital badge will include a course overview and a list of core competencies and skills, it will show a detailed explanation of the work done to attain a certification.

References

Definition Source: Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (added January 21st, 2025)

Digital Credential Ecosystem / Marketplace

Digital credentials are similar to digital badges in the sense that they create opportunities for learners and workers to demonstrate qualifications, skill sets, claims, or achievements through digital certificates or documents. They are building blocks of verified learning. Digital credentials are verified and awarded through the digital credential ecosystem.

Issuers include schools, colleges, and training organizations. Receivers include workers and employers. An ecosystem or marketplace of schools, training programs, institutions, industries, employers, and career pathways allows for the issuing, awarding, and verification of these digital credentials and gives them validity.

The ecosystem includes open standards and ensures that individuals can operate and transfer their skills across systems, so that they may have more career opportunities. Digital credentials allow for more detailed definitions and specific assessments of skills. With the digital credential ecosystem, learners can demonstrate their experiences to employers looking to upskill their teams.

  • 1EdTech/IMS Global Learning Consortium/: The digital credentials ecosystem is based on open standards that show the whole learner at every step of their journey, ensure interoperability across systems, and open the doors to opportunity today and tomorrow. An education-to-employment ecosystem [is] when institutions and employers collaborate, learning outcomes and skills are aligned so a learner's credentials can be verified and matched instantly to the right job. Today's digital credentials are how educators award achievement, learners stack their experiences, and employers find the perfect match and upskill their teams.

  • McClennen & Vander Ark, GETTINGSMART: Digital credentials are becoming the new building blocks of a system of verified learning. Compared to courses, credentials typically have a smaller grain size allowing for more detailed definitions and more specific assessment of skills and capabilities. To be widely adopted, digital credentials require valid and reliable assessments and a marketplace of recipients (i.e., higher ed and employers) that rely on verified skill assertions. A 2021 Credential Engine report cataloged nearly one million credentials suggesting strong early adoption. Badgr and Credly are supporting the development of digital credential marketplaces of issuers (schools, colleges, training orgs) and receivers (employers, higher ed). They integrate with widely adopted learning management systems (like Canvas) and distributed ledger learner record systems (like Greenlight Credentials). Digital credentials are collected in learner records aligned with IMS or xAPI standards.

Ecosystem Relationship

Education and employment ecosystems allow education institutions and employers to collaborate so that learning outcomes are aligned. This means an individual’s credential can be more effectively verified. Digital credential ecosystems require reliable assessments and rely on verified skill assertions.

Types/Examples

  • Credly is a badging platform and network of 3,000+ certification, assessment, and training providers and employers which issue their credentials. Credly provides a range of tools for digital badging to include creating badge templates, showing live job postings to their users to help connect them with relevant job opportunities. and analyzing issued badge performance with in-depth data analytics. The network has resulted in a catalog of 90,000+ learnings, including 95% of the top IT certifications.

  • A badging platform, Badgr is a suite of digital credentialing tools used to create, award and store digital badges (also called microcredentials, digital credentials, etc.). A key feature of the platform is its learning pathways functionality.  A Badgr pathway allows administrators to map out the connection between different badges. 

  • GreenLight is a database of consensually shared and synchronized documents across multiple sites, institutions, or geographies, accessible by multiple people within the GreenLight Ecosystem. It allows transactions to have public "witnesses." The participant at each node of the network can access these uploaded documents shared across the network and own an identical copy. Any changes or additions to the ledger are reflected and copied “to all participants in seconds or minutes. This distributed ledger stands in contrast to a centralized catalog, which is the type of ledger that most companies use. A centralized ledger is more prone to cyber-attacks and fraud, as it has a single point of failure.”Through blockchain, a decentralized ledger of all transactions across a peer-to-peer network, participants can confirm transactions without a need for a central clearing authority. Through distributed ledger technology, GreenLight Credentials empowers individuals to own their credentials awarded from high schools, colleges and universities, and employers. GreenLight Credentials ensure transparency and compliance while reducing administrative overhead and regulatory burden.

  • The Wellspring Project brings institutions and employers together to drive the use of digital credentials across the board, automate the matching of credentials with education and opportunities, and empower individuals to find jobs.

  • In December 2022, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) issued the “Implementation of the IMS Global Comprehensive Learner Record Standard: A Practical Guide for Campus Personnel” – a guide to help registrars, admissions officers, student affairs professionals and campus IT personnel as they implement and share Comprehensive Learner Records (CLRs).  

See Also

Definitions & Use of Key Terms & Concepts in Incremental Credentialing from Credential As You Go.

Digital badge: A digital badge (aka e-badge) is a digital representation of individuals’ achievements, consisting of an image and metadata uniquely linked to the individual’s skills. Digital badges have an issuer (institution that testifies), an earner (learner), and a displayer (site that houses the badge). Badges can be displayed, accessed, and verified online.

Digital platforms: A digital platform is a technology-enabled software solution, an interactive online service that allows exchanges of information, tools, and resources. Three main types of platforms serve components of the learn-and-work ecosystem: (1) learning platforms, (2) business and workforce development platforms, and (3) career navigation platforms.

References

Definition Source: Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (added January 21st, 2025)

Digital credential framework 

Many digital credentials are supported by discrete frameworks, which has been aligned to the open badges specification. Many of these digital credential frameworks are based on industry standards or research-backed practices. 

More on framework 

Generally, these frameworks are developed by content/domain experts who have developed the content or coursework culminating in digital credential awards. For example, the Digital Promise micro-credential framework consists of a competency, key method, method components, research and resources, and evidence section (submission guidelines and evaluation criteria). 

Digital Wallet

“An individual’s key to a skills-based talent marketplace “

“People using wallets will be able to be recognized not just for the formal degrees they receive, but for all of their skills, whether they acquire them through formal or informal learning experiences, online or self-taught training, or workplace experiences. When people share the skills stored in their wallets with talent platforms and applicant systems, employers can search for workers with specific skills profiles that match their needs with full confidence in the reliability of these credentials.”

Definition Source: Jobs for the Future (JFF) (added February 7th, 2024)

Displayer 

A badge displayer accesses badges that are publicly available and displays them in an online context. The process involves verification. 

E

Earner (or Learner)

An individual who has met the necessary requirements to earn a badge, micro-credential, or other digital Badgr (Now Canvas Credentials). Badges are awarded by issuing organizations or individuals, also referred to as issuers. 

EDI-Based Standards (EDI)

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a format that has been around forever to transport business documents between organizations across industries and is complementary to the other file formats here. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

European Learning Model (ELM)

Multilingual Data Model for the Interoperability of Learning Opportunities, Qualifications, Accreditation, and Credentials in Europe. Developed by the European Commission. 

For more information, visit europa.eu

Definition Source: Credential Engine (Added March 20th, 2024)

Evidence 

Digital badge applications sometimes require the pursuant to collect and submit evidence before their competence can be assessed and the digital badge/credential awarded. Evidence refers to submitted proof that an earner meets the criteria for a badge they are applying for. Evidence may take the form of a link to text, images, and other media. 

More on Evidence 

In many cases, the evidence is assessed by a content expert affiliated with the issuing organization. The award pursuant may receive their award after the assessment, or they may receive tailored feedback from the issuing organization. For more on assessment, see assessment. 

F

File Formats

JSON (pronounced Jason or Jay-sawn) and his cousin, JSON-LD, are locals at the data standards bar, and you’ve got to know them. The following are all file formats used for storing and transporting (serializing) data. Many of our open data standards are expressed in one or more of these. 

  • JSON is a lightweight data-exchange and file format that is easily understood by computers and humans alike. He’s about 22 years old. (see additional definition below, under “JSON”)

  • JSON-LD’s suffix means Linked Data (LD). Enables a network of standards-based, machine-readable data across the web. At 12 years old, he’s the always-online Zoomer version of JSON. JSON-LD is RDF in JSON.

  • RDF, stands for Resource Description Framework which models “triples”: a subject, an object, and their relationship. Each piece has a URL. It’s fabulously versatile. “The sky is blue,” “Tony is no longer friends with Rebecca,” and “Candidate submitted application” are all triples. RDF is most commonly expressed in the Turtle format, which is compact, stackable, and human-friendly, like a turtle. As mentioned, RDF can also be serialized (expressed) in JSON-LD, among other formats. RDF is a type of graph database. RDF Schema (RDFS) powers up RDF to enable the representation of ontologies. And if that doesn’t cut it for you, you need OWL. 

  • OWL, which stands for Web Ontology Language, are complex languages for taxonomies and classifications built on RDF. 

  • XML Extensible Markup Language is a language and file format similar to HTML that describes data with tags that you must define yourself. It’s hierarchical, which is a key limitation compared to the anything-goes relationships between data possible with RDF. It came out around the same time as RDF. 

  • SKOS, the Simple Knowledge Organization System, is built on RDF/RDFS. SKOS underlies one of our competency framework standards, ESCO. 

  • YAML If you don’t like looking at code, you’re going to love YAML (pronounced YAH-ml). Since it came out after XML, RDF, and many others, it stands for Yet Another Markup Language. It can parse other formats into a human-friendlier layout and may be a better route than JSON for that reason. 

  • EDI-based standards, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is a format that has been around forever to transport business documents between organizations across industries and is complementary to the other file formats here. 

  • CSV Forget it, just give me a CSV! This file type is often what’s used to transport data between systems since it’s so widely accepted. However, using CSVs in this way is often tedious and error-prone. Data standards can be an alternative to using CSVs.

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

G

Guided Pathways

As noted at the Guided Pathways Initiative site at the Center for Community College Research (CCRC) at Teachers College, Columbia University, “Guided Pathways is a “whole-college redesign model designed to help all students explore, choose, plan, and complete programs aligned with their career and education goals efficiently and affordably. Hundreds of colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms to improve student completion rates, close equity gaps, and increase enrollments in an increasingly competitive environment.”

The movement seeks to streamline a student’s journey through college by providing structured choice, revamped support, and clear learning outcomes— with the aim to help more students achieve their college completion goals. The reform recognizes that the current self-service model of community colleges leads many students to unintended dead ends or unforeseen detours in the form of excess or out-of-sequence credit. 

The guided pathways model is comprised of 14 different practices. There are four pillars of guided pathways: 

  1. Clarify pathways to end goals

  2. Help students choose and enter pathway.

  3. Help students stay on path.

  4. Ensure students are learning. 

One reason Guided Pathways is so challenging to implement is the lack of clarity around what it is —the pillars outline broad principles but leave the specifics of implementation up to interpretation by the colleges.

Types/Examples

Nearly 400 community colleges are implementing guided pathways reforms as part of formal national or statewide initiatives in 16 states, while many other colleges are doing so on their own. Colleges support and encourage students exploring their own interests and aspirations. 

2024 Research Studies 

The CCRC released two evaluations of the guided pathways model in March 2024. As reported in Inside Higher Ed, the two studies offer insights about the ways colleges are implementing guided pathways and which combinations of reforms appear to be linked to early academic momentum for first-time college students.

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Study:  Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the study tracked how 30 community colleges across 17 states adopted guided pathways as part of a national initiative launched in 2015 by AACC, as well as tracking student outcomes.

The AACC study found that guided pathways take time and coordination to implement—colleges generally took at least 5 years to put a guided pathways model in place. Of the 30 colleges that participated:

  • 11 implemented most of the model at scale by 2021, reaching at least 80% of programs or at least 80% of entering students

  • 12 were in the process of scaling up practices at the time

  • 6 had started mapping out programs and redesigning onboarding experiences but had not scaled up reforms to developmental education in math.

Colleges that fully scaled up guided-pathways practices saw notable increases in several student success outcomes 5 years after implementation. Key findings:

  • Increased number of students earning at least 12 credits in their first term and at least 24 credits in their first year.

  • First-year students at the colleges completed college-level math and English courses at higher rates than before they started implementing these models compared to those at colleges that didn’t fully scale up practices.

  • While early academic momentum metrics increased across all student groups at the colleges, the gaps between racial and ethnic groups did not close.

National Science Foundation Study: The second study examined early student success metrics at 62 community and technical colleges between 2010-2020 in Tennessee, Ohio, and Washington—all with statewide guided pathway initiatives. The study examined the association between guided pathways practices and fall-to-fall persistence, college credits earned in the first year, college math credits earned in the first year, and STEM credits earned in the first year. Key findings:

  • There is substantial variation in the adoption of guided pathways reforms across the states and across community colleges within the states over time.

  • The study could not establish a causal relationship between guided pathways adoption and student outcomes, however, there were significant positive associations between the statewide adoption of guided pathways reforms and early student outcomes in Tennessee. The observed improvements in that state are likely the result of concurrent reforms—guided pathways and others—implemented simultaneously, rather than of guided pathways reforms alone.

  • There was no evidence of improved student outcomes in Ohio or Washington following the launch of statewide guided pathways initiatives.

  • Complementarities among adopted practices within and across areas of practice—rather than the adoption of individual practices or the intensity of adoption—were thought to drive larger improvements in early academic success across the three states.

Alternative Terminology

  • Degree pathways

  • Credit pathways

  • Pathways

History

The 2015 book, Redesigning America’s Community Colleges (Thomas Bailey, Shanna Smith Jaggars, Davis Jenkins) spearheaded the movement for colleges to undertake wholesale restructuring of their programs and student supports. Since the book's publication, there has been growing evidence on how to effectively implement guided pathways, promote equity, and measure impacts on students.

See Also

References

https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/publications/redesigning-your-college-guided-pathways.html

https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/research/guided-pathways.html

https://learnworkecosystemlibrary.com/subcategory/stackable-credentials/

Minaya, V., and Acevedo, N/ (2024, March). Whole-College Reforms in Community Colleges: Guided Pathways Practices and Early Academic Success in Three States. CCRC Working Paper No. 136

Definition Source: Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (added January 21st, 2025)

I

Identity 

A badge assertion includes information about the identity of the earner. This information typically comprises the earner email address. Badge displayers can check earner email addresses against the assertion email to verify that a badge was awarded to the person claiming it. 

Issue (See also: Award)

Connect a badge to a person - technically, this is the act of awarding the badge to the earner. This may happen when an earner makes a successful badge application. Badges can also be issued by submitting claim codes, or directly by the issuer to the earner email address. 

Issuer 

Person or organization who creates/ offers badges and issues them to earners. Issuers can be individuals or organizations. 

Interoperability

Because there are so many types of credentials, and so many organizations and individuals issuing, receiving, and sharing credentials, interoperability is essential for wallets to become ubiquitous. To understand interoperability, think about the ways people access the internet. Despite differences in software and hardware, a variety of device types manufactured by countless companies are capable of accessing the internet because they all conform with certain technical standards. These standards define URLs—the locations of websites, HTTP—the protocol that makes it possible to view websites, and HTML and CSS— which provide instructions to web browsers so that they will display content and images as intended.

Definition Source: Jobs for the Future (JFF) (added February 7th, 2024)

J

JSON 

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a lightweight data-interchange format. It’s easy for humans to read and write, and it’s easy for machines to parse and generate! 

JSON-LD

JSON-LD’s suffix means Linked Data (LD). Enables a network of standards-based, machine-readable data across the web. At 12 years old, he’s the always-online Zoomer version of JSON. JSON-LD is RDF in JSON. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

K

Key Method 

Some digital credentials include a key method section of their framework and is the means by which (or methodology) an award pursuant demonstrates their competence. 

More on Key Methods 

Generally, the key method can be referred to as the “How” of a micro-credential or digital badge. In other words, “How will the award pursuant demonstrate the competency in question?” 

L

Learning Pathway 

Definition 1:

A structured sequence of micro-credentials designed to guide learners through a specific learning journey and skill development process. (Submitted by Julia Stotts, July 27th, 2023)

Definition 2:

A structured and sequenced series of educational experiences designed to enable learners to acquire a set of skills or competencies.

Each step in the pathway is intentionally crafted to build upon previous learning experiences, and is often validated through assessments or micro-credentials.

The pathway aims to guide learners from a starting point to a defined outcome, aligning with the specific needs and goals of employers or other recognizers in a given economic or professional context.

Learning and Employment Record (LER)

A learning and employment record is a digital record of learning and work experiences that can be linked to an individual and combined with other digital records for use in pursuing educational and employment opportunities.

  • Short Introduction Video to LERs: Introduction to LERs

    • Video Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Center for Education and Workforce

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

Learning and Employment Record (LER) Awarder

Learning institution, organization, or agency responsible for designing digital credentials and validating skills against a skills framework

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

Learning and Employment Record (LER) Holder

Individual’s with a wallet that contains digital credentials that comprise their learning and employment records

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

Learning and Employment Record (LER) Registry

A database that holds credential information such as jobs and skills titles, descriptions, and functions. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

Learning and Employment Record (LER) Reviewer

Entity that reviews an individual’s credentials to verify trust.

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

Learning and Employment Record (LER) Transmitter

Also known as an issuer (See definition for “Issuer” above), this is the organization that delivers a credential to an individual’s digital wallet (see definition for “digital wallet” above).

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

M

Metadata 

a set of data that describes and gives information about other data. In many cases, when the word Metadata is used within the context of digital badging/credentialing, it is in reference to the data that combines with the badge image (the BadgeClass) to produce a digital credential. Includes name, description, and links to other important details like the badge's criteria, evidence and issuer information. The metadata for an awarded badge is defined in a badge assertion. 

Micro-credential 

Definition 1:

Micro-credential is one of many interchangeable terms to describe digital credentials/badges. Often, micro-credentials are “higher stakes” because they usually conform to a specific framework and are recognized by traditional credentialing organizations or certifying bodies. 

Definition 2:

A certification of assessed learning that is additional, alternate, complementary to or a formal component of a formal qualification.

Definition 2 Source: Emeritus Professor Beverley Oliver, Making micro-credentials work for learners, employers and providers, Deakin University. (Link to Whitepaper)

Micro-credential Multiverse

A US-based strategic advising, consulting, and project management firm specializing in system-wide transformations that unite learning experiences and career opportunities.

Definition Source: Micro-credential Multiverse (Added March 20th, 2024)

MyCreds Canada

Specifications for secure digital wallets for sharing transcripts and credentials, built on PESC standards. Managed by the Association of Registrars of the Universities and Colleges of Canada.

For more information, visit mycreds.ca

Definition Source: Credential Engine (Added March 20th, 2024)

O

On-Demand 

Micro-credentials and digital credentials/badges are usually provided through the web, therefore they are available to an award pursuant so long as the website/platform is available and they are connected to the internet. 

Open Badges v2.0 and v3.0

Specifications to assert a verifiable achievement. Assertions are specific to one earner and are a claim that the earner has made a particular achievement with metadata about the achievement, the issuer, and the earner, including possible evidence that provides support for the claim. Managed by 1EdTech.

Definition Source: Credential Engine (Added March 20th, 2024)

Open Badges Displayer 

A badge displayer accesses badges that are publicly available and displays them in an online context. 

Open Badges Specification 

The Open Badge specification is a way of organizing badge data resulting in the badge being open and interoperable. Any digital badge/credential that is “Open Badges Compliant” (conforms to the Specification) can be transferred to any other system that recognizes and implements this specification. 

Open Data Standard 

Open data standards are agreements that establish a consistent way to create, use, and share data. They are useful across all industries and enable vast improvements in data quality and collaboration. Imagine if every building you walked into used a different kind of electrical outlet and you had to constantly struggle with adapters that never quite worked right. A world built using open data standards is one that communicates, collaborates, and operates more seamlessly behind the scenes. 

  • Ideally, open standards are free/low-cost, consistent, create portable data, are openly-governed, interoperable, useful, and structured

  • Open data is data made available, typically on the web, for the public to use, such as government data like anonymized census information. Open data standards are just the formats being made available, not the data itself. Often open data uses open standards to enhance its usability.

Examples of Open Data Standards and Models include:

  • CASE

  • CTDL

  • CLR

  • 1EdTech Open Badges

  • W3C Verifiable Credential

  • IEEE Sharable Competency Definitions

  • CEDS

  • 1EdTech LTI

  • ADL SCORM

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

OWL

OWL stands for Web Ontology Language, are complex languages for taxonomies and classifications built on RDF. (For a definition of RDF - see “RDF” below)

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

P

Personalized 

Each micro-credential/digital badge award contains metadata aligning with the recipients submission data. This data may include links to evidence, the recipients email, the date the badge was awarded, and more. 

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

The process of evaluating and granting credit or micro-credentials for skills and knowledge gained through prior experiences or informal learning. (Submitted by Julia Stotts, July 27th, 2023)

Portable 

Micro-credentials and other digital badges/credentials contain structured data, therefore any system designed to recognize this (open source) data structure can store and display micro-credential data. Micro-credentials can also be verified by any online source, as the code associated with performing that task is also open source. 

Profile 

A Profile is a collection of information that describes the entity or organization using Open Badges. 

More on profile(s) 

Issuers must be represented as Profiles, and recipients, endorsers, or other entities may also be represented using this vocabulary. Each Profile that represents an Issuer may be referenced in many BadgeClasses that it has defined. Anyone can create and host an Issuer file to start issuing Open Badges. Issuers may also serve as recipients of Open Badges, often identified within an Assertion by specific properties, like their url or contact email address. An Issuer Profile is a subclass of the general Profile with some additional requirements. 

Property (as it relates to Badgeclass) 

Properties are fields within the badgeClass, they define specific types of data as key/value pairs. 

Example: the “name” property may refer to the “Micro-credential Title” within the BadgeClass data set. 

Public Badge 

A public badge is a badge an earner has placed in a collection that they have designated as public. If a displayer has access to the earner email address, they can retrieve the earner's public badges from their Badgr Backpack (Now Canvas Credentials). 

R

RDF

RDF, stands for Resource Description Framework which models “triples”: a subject, an object, and their relationship. Each piece has a URL. It’s fabulously versatile. “The sky is blue,” “Tony is no longer friends with Rebecca,” and “Candidate submitted application” are all triples. RDF is most commonly expressed in the Turtle format, which is compact, stackable, and human-friendly, like a turtle. As mentioned, RDF can also be serialized (expressed) in JSON-LD, among other formats. RDF is a type of graph database. RDF Schema (RDFS) powers up RDF to enable the representation of ontologies. And if that doesn’t cut it for you, you need OWL. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

Research 

Many digital credentials/badges require demonstrations of competence, in which case there is usually industry-supported research to substantiate this skill or competency. 

Revoke 

A badge issuer can decide to revoke a badge they issued. Badge displayers are required not to display badges that have been revoked. Badge revocation is different for signed and hosted badges.  See IMS Global’s website for examples of revocation 

Rubric 

A tool used to assess badge criteria in a standardized way. Aids consistency in review. Can also be used to check evidence to see if it meets badge criteria (if the badge requires evidence). 

S

Share, Shareable 

Each awarded micro-credential or digital badge/credential can be shared digitally. For examples, badge earners can share awards from their backpack to social media, an email address, or many other ways. 

More on shareable 

The Badgr platform (Now Canvas Credentials) provides digital badge recipients with the ability to share their award through social networks, including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and via email. 

Skill(s)

Skills are the basic units that define an economy.

  • Skills are demonstrated (and supplied) by learners,

  • assessed and verified by subject matter experts,

  • and needed (consumed) by employers and other recognizers in pursuit of their business goals.

Everyone speaks the language of skills.

Skills Vs. Competencies

Skills and competencies are learned and applied abilities and knowledge. They show that individuals can use their abilities and knowledge effectively in workplace performance. Competencies are observable behaviors that are the result of various skills, knowledge, and abilities an individual may possess. Competencies turn skills into performance behaviors. Both can be learned through training, experience, and practice.

  • A skill is a discernible value that an individual can or has acquired or demonstrates. It is a specific ability that can be possessed. Skills range in complexity and length of time it takes to develop them. What skills workers possess can help determine if their training and experiences have prepared them for certain workplace activities.

  • Competency is the knowledge, behavior, and attitude that lead to an individual’s ability to do something successfully or efficiently.

Relation to Ecosystem 

Credential providers look for evidence of skills and competencies an individual has and verifies those in awarded badges, certificates, degrees, and other credentials. Employers look for skills or competencies individuals have that demonstrates their capabilities in the workforce.

Types/Examples

ACT WorkKeys® assessments measure foundational skills required for success in the workplace, and help measure the workplace skills that can affect job performance. WorkKeys assessments measure a range of hard and soft skills relevant to any occupation, at any level, and across industries. Successful completion of WorkKeys core assessments can lead to earning an ACT WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate™ (ACT WorkKeys NCRC®)—a credential that verifies the skills found to be most essential across industries and occupations. Tens of thousands of employers recognize the value of the NCRC, and many recommend the credential to candidates. Assessments are available in: Applied Math, Graphic Literacy, Workplace Documents, Applied Technology, Business Writing, Workplace Observation, Fit, Talent.

Competency-based job descriptions help unify all descriptions and positions across the organization under a common framework. This provides structure to the organization’s HR programs, and allows HR personnel to get a much better grasp on the levels, roles, and dependencies between jobs in their organization. A competency-based job description can be linked to an organization’s interview process so its interview questions are created based on the competencies connected to the specified job description.

Western Governor University provides a skills library, a centralized and structured compiling of skills data, qualifications, and attributes that helps to create a unified understanding of skills for an organization in areas of employment need, curriculum development, job architecture, or competency grouping. WGU uses its skills library to inform competencies in its educational model. This approach to designing content ensures its courses are reflective of current and projected labor market demands.

Alternative Terminology

  • Skills

  • Competencies

  • Work Skills

  • Industry skills or credentials

  • Achievements

  • Prior learning assessment / Credit for prior learning

See Also

Prior learning assessment / Credit for prior learning: Prior learning assessment is a term used for various methods of valuing college-level learning that has taken place outside of formal educational institutions, that can be assessed to count toward degrees and other credentials. It describes a process used by regulatory bodies, career development practitioners, employers, training institutions, and colleges and universities to evaluate skills and knowledge. The purpose is to recognize competencies based on a given set of standards or learning outcomes. It is practiced to determine an individual's standing in a profession, trade’s qualifications, academic achievement, and/or professional skill set.

Skills and competencies: Skills define specific learned activities, and they range widely in terms of complexity. Knowing which skills a person possesses helps to determine whether their training and experience has prepared them for a specific type of workplace activity. Competencies identify the observable behaviors that successful performers demonstrate on the job. Those behaviors are the result of various abilities, skills, knowledge, motivations, and traits an employee may possess. Competencies take “skills” and incorporate them into on-the-job behaviors. Those behaviors demonstrate the ability to perform the job requirements competently.

Skills ecosystem: The skills ecosystem is a term popularized with the advent of skills-based hiring. Skills-based hiring is hiring for skills required for a particular job role. Employers are trying to match their existing employee talent to new job positions and fill them with new employees. In the past, many employers used the college degree as a proxy for the ability to do the job—for perceived skills that have been achieved. Increasingly, the degree is not a very precise way of hiring so the skills ecosystem has been gaining attention as a new currency for hiring.

Skills-based hiring: Skills-based hiring focuses on skills, not degrees. Skills-based hiring emphasizes practical, working knowledge; it prioritizes what an applicant can do, rather than the education they have. To succeed at a job, an employee needs the skills to perform their role and duties; this is the foundation of skills-based hiring. The prevailing hiring mode is for companies to prioritize degrees and academic achievements over practical skills in looking at job applicants’ qualifications. The recent global pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate their hiring methods and shift to skills-based hiring.

Skills-based promotion: As the workplace changes, some private and public sector employers are turning to skills-based promotion.  A skills- or merit-based promotion is based on an analysis of the employee’s performance. Skills-based promotion systems take into account ability, behaviors, experience, strengths, and technical skills. These systems are a strategy to keep high-achieving, high-quality employees engaged and motivated. This approach contrasts with traditional tenure-based systems that promote or reward workers based on seniority and service within the organization.

References

ACT: https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/workkeys-for-employers/assessments.html

Beckett, S. (May 2023). What’s The Difference Between Skills and Competencies? HRSG. https://resources.hrsg.ca/blog/what-s-the-difference-between-skills-and-competencies

Definitions & Use of Key Terms & Concepts in Incremental Credentialing from Credential As You Go

SpriggHR website. Skills vs Competencies -- How Skills and Competencies Are Different. https://sprigghr.com/blog/alignment-direction/skills-vs-competencies-how-skills-and-competencies-are-different/

Torres, C. (May 2022). Skills and Competencies: What’s the Difference? Degreed. https://blog.degreed.com/skills-and-competencies/

Western Governors University Skills Library: https://www.wgu.edu/lp/general/wgu/skills-library.html

Definition Source: Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (added January 21st, 2025)

SKOS

SKOS, the Simple Knowledge Organization System, is built on RDF/RDFS. SKOS underlies one of our competency framework standards, ESCO. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

Small Private Online Course (SPOC)

An online course designed for a limited number of participants, providing a more personalized and interactive learning experience. (Submitted by Julia Stotts, July 27th, 2023)

Stackable Credentials

A credential is considered stackable when it is part of a sequence of industry-recognized credentials that (1) can be accumulated over time to demonstrate individuals’ expanded knowledge and competencies, and (2) helps them advance within a career pathway.

Stackable credentials are often viewed as credential pathways. The pathways consist of multiple, sequential awards that either allow students to earn successively higher-level credentials (“progressive” programs) or build a “lattice” of interconnected credentials. 

There are four common types of stackable credentials:

  1. Traditional stackable credentials—Also known as progressive stackable credentials, follow a linear path. Students earn a short-term credential such as a certificate and continue their education by pursuing a higher-level credential such as an associate and/or bachelor’s degree. 

  2. Supplemental or value-add stackable credentials — Do not follow a linear path but still allow students to enter and exit the higher education system as needed. Individuals may already have earned a bachelor’s degree, then attend a boot camp or other credential program to learn additional skills to supplement the degree.

  3. Independent stackable credentials —Paths in which individuals accumulate multiple credentials but do not pursue a degree. These credentials build on one another in that individuals acquire skills that craft a path forward in their careers, but the credentials do not ladder into a singular degree pathway.

  4. Work-based learning / apprenticeships / employer-sponsored training — Combine on-the-job training with formal educational instruction. For example, stacked apprenticeships are shorter-term programs in which individuals pursue a series of related apprenticeships to build their skill set. An individual participating in an industrial manufacturing technician apprenticeship program could learn how to operate production equipment, and then pursue additional manufacturing opportunities to acquire more related skills. 

Accredible describes three ways in which credentials can be stacked:

  1. Vertical stacking — The most common form occurs when a single topic is explored in increasing detail. 

  2. Horizontal stacking —The acquisition of knowledge across several topics. 

  3. Hybrid stacking — Combines vertical and horizontal stacking; learners explore multiple topics in increasing levels of difficulty. 

Stackable credentials are an emerging trend in higher education because many students want to develop their career skills but do not have the flexibility in their work and family schedules to commit to a longer-term program. At least 17 states have allocated funding to community colleges to develop stackable credentials pathways, and 10 states require their community college systems to offer and advertise stacking options.

Federal and state policies influence the development of stackable credentials. Several states have directed funding from the CARES Act to support workforce development for adult workers and boost postsecondary enrollment. In some states, this takes the form of targeted aid for displaced workers. Other states have expanded eligibility for existing programs to include individuals who were previously ineligible for aid programs. 

There are many ways states and institutions are creating stackable credentials: 

  • Modularize degree programs such as applied associate degree and technical diploma programs, baccalaureate, and graduate-level programs.

  • Embed industry and professional certifications in traditional credential (degree and certificate) programs.  

  • Streamline and scale processes used to award credit for learning represented by non-collegiate credentials.

  • Create "lattice credentials" that allow students to move up a career ladder within an occupational field and/or across multiple pathways in a career lattice. 

  • Create dual-enrollment options that enable learners to work concurrently toward a high school diploma or its equivalent, marketable postsecondary credentials, and industry certifications.

While most attention around stackable credentials has focused on career and technical education, there is growing interest in moving to stackable credentialing in bachelor’s and master’s programs.

Relation to Ecosystem

Stackable credentials are an important pathway within the learn-and-work ecosystem. Learners seeking to develop career skills through shorter-term education programs may complete those and enter the career market directly and may also continue to higher level credentials offered through the pathway.

Alternative Terms

  • Articulation

  • Incremental credentials

  • Pathways

References

Definition Source: Learn & Work Ecosystem Library (added January 21st, 2025)

Structured Data

(for unstructured data - see unstructured data, below)

Data that is organized and easily searchable, making it suitable for analysis and decision-making. Structured data typically has a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, which means that it is organized in a way that makes it easy to understand and interpret.

  • Best: data stored in alignment with a data standard (see definition for “data standard” above)

  • Semi-structured: CSV/Excel files

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

T

Trusted Microcredential Coalition

Trusted Microcredential Coalition

The Trusted Microcredential Coalition, led by 1EdTech® Consortium, aims to enhance the quality and reliability of digital credentials. It brings together leaders from the education, technology, and K-12 sectors to maximize micro-credentials' potential for learners, educators, and employers. By establishing a standardized framework, the coalition ensures transparency regarding the skills, knowledge, and abilities represented in digital credentials, as well as their interoperability across platforms. This framework, utilizing 1EdTech's Open Badges and Comprehensive Learner Record Standard™ (CLR Standard™), provides clarity for both issuers and recipients, facilitating understanding and verification of a learner's achievements. Ultimately, the coalition's efforts support learner mobility and empower individuals to articulate their skills and knowledge effectively in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Definition Source: 1EdTech (added April 18th, 2024), For a definition of 1EdTech - see “1EdTech” above.

U

Unstructured Data

(for structured data - see “structured data”, above)

Unstructured Data

A type of data that does not have a pre-defined data model or fixed schema, making it difficult to organize and process using traditional data management tools.

  • PDF

  • Word files

  • Printed/scanned documents

  • Image, video, audio

Definition Source: Education Design Lab (added on February 7th, 2024)

V

Validate, Validator 

Issuers and displayers can use the validator to check badge assertions for structural validity. Validation is a procedure that ensures a cluster of Badge Objects that make up an Open Badge are appropriately published and linked, and that each particular instance of a Badge Object conforms to requirements for its class. Validation of all data class instances used in an Open Badge is a part of badge verification. 

Example: IMS Global maintains an Open Badge Validator that is free to use: https://openbadgesvalidator.imsglobal.org/. 

Verifiable 

Any digital credential/badge in line with the open badges specification can be verified natively through an open badge validator. 

Verify, Verification 

Instructions for third parties to verify the assertion. Specifically, confirmation that a specific badge was awarded by the issuer to a specific person. Badge displayers are responsible for verifying issued badges using badge assertion data. Badge verification can involve a series of steps tailored to whether the badge is hosted or signed - guidance is available in the specification. 

More on Verification 

Verification is the process of ensuring the data that makes up an Open Badge is correct for the purpose at hand. It includes a number of data validation checks as well as procedures to ensure the badge is trustworthy. Verification is distinct from Compliance Certification for applications and services that implement the Specification, though verification is typically a component of certification programs. 

X

XML

XML Extensible Markup Language is a language and file format similar to HTML that describes data with tags that you must define yourself. It’s hierarchical, which is a key limitation compared to the anything-goes relationships between data possible with RDF. It came out around the same time as RDF. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

Y

YAML

If you don’t like looking at code, you’re going to love YAML (pronounced YAH-ml). Since it came out after XML, RDF, and many others, it stands for Yet Another Markup Language. It can parse other formats into a human-friendlier layout and may be a better route than JSON for that reason. 

Definition Source: Education Design Lab, Learningeconomy.io (added on February 7th, 2024)

Did we miss something?

Frankly, we’re not surprised.

The space is constantly growing and evolving, and as the old saying goes, “it takes a village.”

Please use the form below to submit new terms and definitions.

 
 

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Robert Bajor

Founder of Micro-credential Multiverse

https://www.microcredentialmultiverse.com
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