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Transparency
Credential Engine develops its data standards through open, inclusive, and transparent processes
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July 17th, 2025

Welcome to Transparency, Credential Engine’s monthly newsletter. Each month, we share updates on our work to support a more connected, transparent credential and skill ecosystem. Whether you're a policymaker, educator, employer, or system leader, your collaboration helps us work toward better access to quality credential and skill information.

In this issue, we’re spotlighting partner collaborations, sharing updates on Credential Engine’s latest projects and initiatives, and highlighting an open position on our team for those interested in joining our mission. You'll also find opportunities to engage with our work and resources to support your efforts in the field.

Credential Finder Numbers ([link removed]) : 105,430 Credentials, 11,293 Organizations, 48,019 Learning/Training Opportunities, 12,450 Competency Frameworks, 219,160 Competencies, and more! We encourage readers to explore the Credential Finder and learn more about the data in the Credential Registry.
Jump ahead:

> Spotlight (#Spotlight)
> U (#Policy) pdates (#Updates)
> Policy Corner (#Policy)
> Partnerships (#State)
> Events (#Events)


** Spotlight.
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Expanding CTDL to Support Global Qualifications Frameworks

Credential Engine has introduced important updates to how Qualifications Frameworks (QFs) are represented in the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), expanding the power of the Credential Registry to support greater global credential and skill understanding and alignment. These updates now allow for the structured description of QFs, including their levels, descriptors, and competencies, as well as the alignment of credentials to those levels and the mapping or referencing of one framework to another.

By supporting QFs in CTDL and making them openly accessible in the Credential Registry, stakeholders can publish and share rich, machine-readable QF data that supports cross-border recognition, credential comparability, and better-informed decision-making across systems. These improvements help create a shared digital infrastructure where governments, quality assurance bodies, and credentialing organizations can align their frameworks in more transparent, connected ways.
As more countries and institutions adopt and publish their QFs and credentials to the Credential Registry, CTDL becomes a critical tool in building a globally interoperable credential ecosystem, one where learners and employers can confidently navigate and compare opportunities, no matter where they originate. Learn more about our work with QFs here ([link removed]) .


** Updates.
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New Op-Ed: For Skills-Based Hiring to Work, We Need the Right Infrastructure: Skills-based hiring has emerged as one of the most promising shifts in workforce and HR strategy in decades, but the movement can’t scale without a strong data foundation.

In a new op-ed ([link removed]) published by WorkingNation ([link removed]) , Credential Engine CEO Scott Cheney explains why the movement toward skills-first practices will fall short unless we modernize the data infrastructure that underpins it. He makes a compelling case for using structured, open, linked data — specifically the CTDL — to connect job requirements, credentials, skills, and learning pathways across systems. Read the full article ([link removed])

New Op-Ed: Why Institutions Must Fix Their Data Before AI Defines Them: Generative AI has rapidly become a go-to search tool for millions of Americans, and institutions of higher education now face a new challenge: how to ensure their programs are accurately represented in an AI-driven information landscape. In a new op-ed ([link removed]) for Getting Smart, Cheney explains why publishing structured, open credential data is essential to communicating the true value of degrees and what institutions can do now to stay ahead.

Updates to Credential Engine’s OPEN Initiative: Credential Engine’s OPEN initiative ([link removed]) continues to expand access to high-quality, standardized data, empowering learners, educators, and policymakers with transparent and actionable information. Recent updates include the publication of several key data sets, such as Texas Independent School Districts, Arkansas GI-Bill Approved Institutions ([link removed]) , Colorado Career Development Success Programs Approved Programs ([link removed]) , and more.

These data sets are openly available in the Credential Registry as CTDL. By standardizing and linking this information, OPEN supports better alignment between education and workforce needs, driving informed decision-making at all levels. Explore the latest data and learn how OPEN is shaping a more transparent credential ecosystem here ([link removed]) .


Credential Engine is [link removed] a Software Solutions Engineer! In this role, you’ll design, develop, test, and deploy secure, scalable software systems that support our mission. Responsibilities will be to create APIs and distributed systems, set up continuous development gates, and integrate technologies. You’ll collaborate with a distributed team and engage with stakeholders and customers to deliver high-quality solutions. Learn more and apply today ([link removed]) .


** Policy Corner.
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Leveraging CTDL to Support Executive Orders on Skilled Trades and AI Education: Credential Engine and a coalition of signatory organizations sent a letter to the U.S. Departments of Education, Labor, and Commerce emphasizing the importance of prioritizing credential and skill transparency as part of their roles in implementing the Executive Orders (EOs): Preparing Americans for High-Paying, Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future and Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth. These EOs present a significant opportunity to equip students, workers, job seekers, education institutions, and employers with clear, actionable data to inform learning and employment decisions. However, to fully realize this potential, the data must be structured to support transparency and interoperability. We are urging the Task Force to incorporate credential transparency and the use of open data standards, such as the CTDL, into its ongoing work and future recommendations. Learn more here
([link removed]) .


** Partnerships.
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Empowering Learners with Skills: Tennessee’s Comprehensive Learner Record Initiative Case Study: A new Credential Engine case study ([link removed]) highlights how the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) is using linked open data and CTDL to advance skill recognition and student mobility through its Comprehensive Learner Record initiative (TBR CRED). By publishing program-level competencies in the Credential Registry, TBR CRED provides students at Tennessee’s 37 public postsecondary institutions with portable, verifiable learner records that capture skills beyond traditional transcripts. This approach enhances skill transparency, empowers learners, and helps educators and employers better understand individual competencies, demonstrating the real-world value of structured, linked data in building a more transparent credential ecosystem.

Read the full case study here ([link removed]) . Watch our Solution Spotlight on the Tennessee Board of Regents Comprehensive Learner Record (TBR CRED) here ([link removed]) .

Expanding Partner Collections of Industry-Recognized Credentials: One important source of credentials that many partners want in a standardized, open data format is information on industry-recognized credentials. As part of Credential Engine’s OPEN initiative ([link removed]) (discussed previously in this newsletter) Credential Engine is working with our partners to take their state defined lists of industry-recognized credentials, publish them to the Registry, and make them available in collections. Recent examples include Colorado Career Development Success Programs Approved Programs ([link removed]) and the Texas Education Agency 2022-2025 Industry-Based Certifications (IBC) List for Public School Accountability ([link removed]) .

Collections for state approved lists of credentials help users of Credential Registry data understand the approval that a state agency, board, or system has given to credentials, learning opportunities, or other resources in the Credential Registry. Find guidance on how to create a Collection of resources in the Credential Registry here ([link removed]) . And if you would like to work with Credential Engine to get your state, regional, or other list of industry-recognized credentials in the Credential Registry, please let us know by contacting [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Fostering Global Credential and Skill Transparency: Credential Engine has partnered with the Groningen Declaration Network (the GDN Network) to launch a pilot ([link removed]) aimed at publishing and aligning national and regional Qualifications Frameworks as machine-readable, linked open CTDL data. This initiative, in collaboration with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), and other key partners, advances global credential and skill transparency by enabling interoperable and trustworthy Qualification Framework data that supports cross-border recognition and learner mobility. Learn more. ([link removed])


** Events.
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2025 Badge Summit ([link removed])
(July 21-23rd, 2025. Boulder, CO) - The Badge Summit brings together educators, vendors, and policy leaders to explore innovations in digital credentials, badges, and skills-based learning. We’ll be presenting alongside our partners in the following sessions: Counting Credentials: Sneak Peek into Credential Engine Research for Transparency about 500K+ badges; Infuse: Empowering Institutions, Enabling Learners; Issuer Identity Registries: Powering Trust in Digital Credentials; and Skills-First Strategies in Practice – How the C3 Webinar Series Highlights Emerging Innovations and Best Practices. We look forward to connecting. See you there!

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