Nontraditional and digital credentials are offered through a higher education institution’s partnerships with approved third-party vendors. These alternative credentials may be viewed as pathways to obtain attainable and accessible education. Such courses or modules may be used as supplemental materials to instruction provided within the higher education institution’s graded, organized courses or offered as a stand-alone program. Digital badge awards do not typically come with letter grades upon completion, nor add or subtract to an enrolled student’s grade point average (GPA), nor produce a GPA for non-enrolled students. An institution’s Transfer Credit typically addresses whether academic credit may be earned within these platforms.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, involves the process of verifying the identity of users, third-party applications, and Credential Agents within a network. It ensures that only authorized entities can access and interact with the network’s services and data.
Refer to the processes used by employers to verify the identity, credentials, criminal history, and other relevant background information of job candidates, employees, contractors, and vendors. These practices are essential for protecting workplace safety, ensuring regulatory compliance, and reducing the risk of legal, financial, and reputational harm.
Common areas of risk management include:
Criminal background checks
Education and credential verification
Employment history verification
Drug testing and fingerprinting
Professional license and certification verification
Global sanctions and compliance checks
Identity and driver record verification
Executive and contractor screening
These services are particularly critical in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, transportation, education, and government. Accurate screening helps prevent credential fraud, supports trust in the workforce, and ensures alignment with federal, state, and industry-specific regulations.
Related terms:
Credential Verification
Identity Verification
Compliance and Regulatory Oversight
Workforce Risk Management
Employer Due Diligence
Examples of providers include: Checkr, Cisive, First Advantage, HireRight, Sterling Infosystems, and TazWorks, among others.
In the learn-and-work ecosystem, refers to short-term, specialized and intensive training focused on technical skills, often in the Information Technology (IT) sector (for example, Coder, Web Developer, Software Development, Python Programming Skills). Boot camps are often offered by third-party providers as well as by colleges and universities that partner with third-party providers. Many bootcamps partner with major hiring companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon.
Career navigation services help individuals of all ages understand how their personal interests, abilities, and values can help shape their educational and career goals and contribute to their success. A range of providers offer career navigation services including school and college counselors, third-party career counselors (working in-person and online), military transition centers and recruiters, prison centers/offender rehabilitative services, immigration centers, and the U.S. Department of Labor.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, an organization operating and maintaining a Credential Agent. An organization may operate the Credential Agent on their own behalf to issue credentials from their own data stores; or, the organization/CAO may operate the Credential Agent to help their Clients issue credentials. In the latter scenario, the Credential Agent Operator processes the credential data, whereas the Client organization plays the Issuer role on the Network. A CAO may service multiple Clients with the same Credential Agent.
Credential Management System (CMS) is a broad term that refers to the software used for issuing and managing credentials. Governments and other enterprises employ CMS software to issue and manage credentials using an array of devices, including laptop computers, smart cards, smartphones, and USB keys. (Wikipedia)
In the higher education and third-party credentialing arena, the term is commonly used to refer to integrated Credential Management Systems (Credential As You Go, Playbook on Technology-Integrated Credential Management). Integrated CMS use a comprehensive solution for managing a variety of credentials. The system streamlines the entire life cycle of credentialing—from a credential’s proposal and development to its issuance and verification. CMS operations typically include: conducting academic program reviews and documenting approvals; creating catalogs and marketing materials; processing learner applications; managing scheduling and enrollment; handling finances/billing; tracking individual learners’ progress; providing counseling/advising; conducting audits; issuing credentials; managing learner transcripts; facilitating graduation communications; and generating internal and external reports.
To support these operations, many credential providers rely on a variety of IT systems and applications. By leveraging systems effectively and ensuring their seamless integration, entities can streamline credential management processes, enhance data accuracy, and improve overall operational efficiency. The most commonly used systems and applications include:
Student Information Systems (SIS): Platforms used to store and manage learner data, including enrollment, academic records, and personal information.
Learning Management Systems (LMS): Platforms that facilitate online learning and course management, enabling institutions to deliver educational content, track learner progress, and assess performance.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: Systems that help credential providers manage interactions with current and prospective learners and other stakeholders, including tracking communication, managing inquiries, and supporting enrollment processes.
Document Management Systems: Systems that provide a centralized repository for storing and organizing credential-related documents such as transcripts, certificates, and other supporting materials.
Financial Management Systems: Systems that handle financial transactions related to credential offerings, including billing, payment processing, and financial reporting.
Human Resources Management Systems (HRMS): Platforms that support employee management, including credential-related roles such as faculty and administrative staff.
Reporting and Analytics Tools: Tools that enable credential providers to generate insights from credential data, track performance, and make informed decisions.
Collaboration and Content Management System (CMS) tools: Tools that facilitate communication among stakeholders involved in the credentialing process, including websites, resources, email, messaging platforms, and project management software.
The Credential Registry (Registry), operated by Credential Engine, is a public, cloud-based system available to anyone seeking information about a variety of credentials and skills in an easily-accessible format. Users can explore competencies, learning outcomes, up-to-date market values, and career pathways and reference data on credential attainment and quality assurance at schools, professional associations, certification organizations, and the military, to name a few. The Registry updates when a credential is no longer offered or an institution offering that credential closes, but the historical data still remains in the Registry.
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. Digital credentials are verified and awarded through the digital credential ecosystem. 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.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, a request to share specific credentials or claims sent by a Relying Party requestor to the Individual that holds a credential in their Velocity-enabled digital wallet or holder application. The Individual/Holder must consent to sharing specific credentials with the requesting Relying Party. The Disclosure Request, when made to the Individual/Holder, must specify (a) the purpose for which the personal data is required, (b) the duration that the verifiable credentials will be retained, and (c) all related terms and conditions pertaining to the Disclosure.
Refers to forged, altered, fake, or misrepresented credentials such as degree, diploma, certification, or other official documentation. Examples include:
Presenting a credential from a recognized institution that has been falsified.
Presenting a credential from an unrecognized institution (one that may be made up or a diploma or degree mill).
Falsely claiming having earned a credential on a letter of application, resume, e-portfolio, and/or during an interview.
Falsely indicating the level or outcome of a credential.
Presenting an expired credential such as an industry certification or license.
Fraud in the credentialing marketplace can undermine the credibility of educational and professional institutions, lead to unqualified individuals being hired, and create an unfair advantage for those involved in the deception. To address issues of fraud, governmental entities, employers, higher education institutions, and others are implementing measures such as improving verification processes; increasing awareness about the problem; establishing networks and databases to share known instances of credential fraud; and instituting laws and regulations to penalize the use of fraudulent credentials.
A comprehensive technology solution for managing a variety of credentials. The system streamlines the entire life cycle of credentialing—from a credential’s proposal and development to its issuance and verification.
Intermediary organizations are often viewed as a distinct class of third-party entities. They tend to support the provision of services by another organization rather than providing direct services. They tend to be technical assistance providers or capacity-building organizations. They include nonprofit and for-profit entities, governmental and quasi-governmental entities, and membership organizations. Some are global in focus; others focus within nations, states, or cities. Some focus on the research and policy arena while others are subject- or discipline-specific. An intermediary organization can function in one or many capacities: It can be both a think tank and advocacy organization or both a technology company and consultancy. Intermediaries can also be networks or coalitions of organizations working toward a similar goal.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, a credential before it has been accepted. An Offer is the communication to an individual that a credential is available to them. An Offer must occur before individuals can claim their credential, and individuals cannot claim a credential without first having a chance to view and actively accept an offer. In a Velocity-enabled ecosystem, individuals cannot be forced to claim a credential; individuals must have a choice, based on the offer presented, to receive that credential.
Refers to companies that help higher education institutions set up virtual programs in exchange for a large slice of the tuition revenue. A more specific definition: For-profit, third-party companies that enter into a contract with an institution of higher education to provide bundled products and services to develop, deliver, or provide managed programs, when the services provided include recruitment and marketing.
OPMs have increased over the last decade. Through contracts with higher education institutions, OPMs are often in charge of recruiting students into online programs and paid only if those students enroll. This factor has led to situations in which OPMs pressure students into signing up, sometimes using deceitful practices (some represent themselves as institution, not company officials). Students, therefore, are unaware that an outside party is recruiting them into what could be a potentially poor-quality program.
In response to growing concern about OPMs, beginning in the fall of 2023, the U.S. Department of Education expanded its interpretation of federal regulations to place OPMs under closer scrutiny. Under this guidance, many OPMs are considered “third-party servicers,” subjecting them to a new set of rules.
Some states are also considering barring such contracts through legislation. In May 2024, Minnesota became the first state to ban its public colleges and universities from tuition-share contracting with OPMs, effective January 2025. Many lessons learned from Minnesota’s policy work can inform other states wishing to pursue legislation that restricts tuition-sharing arrangements:
Faculty unions which represent educators at the state’s public institutions must be engaged in these considerations.
Barring OPM tuition-sharing raises related concerns such as barring OPMs from the rights to faculty members’ intellectual property and from having governance power at institutions.
Legislation must address the role of institution governing boards in the review of OPM contracts.
Legislative language must consider implications that could apply to other vendors/contractors that institutions work with, such as ed tech companies that offer online platforms where students can access course materials, submit assignments, and receive grades.
The standard describes a method for packaging information about accomplishments, embedding it into portable image files as digital badges, and includes resources for web-based validation and verification.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, an application or system that consumes and verifies digital credentials presented by an individual. These credentials are typically stored in the individual’s Career Wallet and may include employment history, educational qualifications, or other verifiable professional records. The Relying Party application plays a crucial role in validating the authenticity and integrity of the credentials by interacting with the network to ensure that the credentials have been issued by trusted sources and have not been revoked. This ensures that only accurate and trustworthy data is used for decision-making purposes, such as during a hiring process or a skills verification check.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, refer to professional information or achievements that individuals provide about themselves without external verification or endorsement from a third party, such as an employer, educational institution, or certification body. Self-reported career records are not immediately verified by trusted authorities. Verifiable credentials are recommended to ensure trust and accuracy, so self-reported career records may be seen as preliminary until they are issued as verifiable credentials. Users can still manage and share these records, but relying parties (such as potential employers) need to be aware of their unverified status.
An organization outside higher education that develops, delivers and awards credentials such as certifications, certificates, badges, or proprietary credentials. These providers include private training companies, industry and professional associations, certification bodies, product vendors, bootcamps, and other entities that set standards, assess competencies, offer instruction or learning services, and confer credentials independently of employers or accredited colleges and universities.
Note: Third party training and third-party credential providers refer to who delivers instruction or awards the credential in contrast to employer-led training partnerships which refer to who governs and shapes the training. While these categories often overlap, they are not interchangeable. An employer may lead a program that is delivered by a third party, or a third party may offer training independently without employer involvement. Keeping the concepts distinct helps clarify roles, responsibilities, and the source of quality assurance.
As defined by the Velocity Network Foundation, a set of legally enforceable operational and technical rules that govern a multi-party system for conducting specific transactions amongst participants. These rules address security, compliance, and ethical conduct.
According to the T3 Innovation Network’s LER for SBHA Toolkit, a verifiable credential (VC) is an open data standard from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) that defines how to express a credential and attach a cryptographic verifiable proof.
A VC is a structured machine-readable document that contains an issuer identifier, a set of claims made by the issuer about the credential subject, a set of standard metadata properties referring to the credential as a whole, and a cryptographic signature or seal.
