Credentials
A credential is a named bundle of outcomes plus the assessments that prove them. Credentials are deliberately small (“micro”), so they can be earned quickly and combined freely.
Ownership and format
Section titled “Ownership and format”Open Degree credentials are designed to be issued as Open Badges 3.0, which are W3C Verifiable Credentials. That means:
- The learner holds the credential. It lives in their wallet or profile, not in a platform’s database.
- Anyone can verify it cryptographically without asking the issuer.
- The credential points back to the exact version of the outcomes and assessments it certifies.
- A credential bundles adopted nodes only; it never includes a stub.
Who can issue
Section titled “Who can issue”Any organization or individual that meets a credential’s issuerRequirements can issue it: a school, a platform such as DIY Degree, an independent teacher, or a community group. Open Degree defines the credential; it does not gatekeep issuers. A public registry of issuers is planned.
Fields
Section titled “Fields”| Field | Required | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
type |
yes | Always credential |
title |
yes | Name shown on the badge |
description |
yes | What the holder can do |
outcomes |
yes | Ids of the outcomes certified |
assessments |
no | Ids of the assessments that must be passed |
format |
no | Default Open Badges 3.0 (W3C Verifiable Credential) |
issuerRequirements |
no | Conditions an issuer must meet |
status, version, license, contributors, tags |
no | Shared fields |