Credential Engine invites organizations to participate in a focused, collaborative pilot launching in June 2025 to advance the transparency, comparability, and interoperability of qualifications data globally.
In partnership with the Groningen Declaration Network (The GDN Network), South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), and other key stakeholders, this Qualifications Frameworks (QF) Publishing Pilot will demonstrate how regional and national qualifications frameworks, related credentials, and information that supports quality assurance can be structured as linked open data using the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL).
Transparency and interoperability are essential for global credential portability and learner mobility.Â
By participating, organizations will help test and refine the structured publishing of QF data in the Credential Registry sandbox environment—a safe, non-production space for research, testing, and learning.
This pilot builds on the work of the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group and outcomes from the Credential Type Focus Group. It is designed to balance impact with efficiency, producing valuable outcomes without requiring significant time or data entry. Credential Engine staff will fully support the effort.
Why Participate?
- Showcase how your qualifications and credential data can be published as structured, linked open data
- Contribute to a global initiative to improve transparency, comparability, and mobility for learners and workers
- Help shape interoperable publishing practices and strengthen international alignment across systems
- Provide practical insights and feedback to improve CTDL terms, publishing methods, and supporting tools
- Support communication and demonstration of the benefits of transparent, structured data across jurisdictions
- Receive personalized technical and strategic assistance from Credential Engine throughout the pilot
- Engage in a right-sized, time-conscious pilot with clear goals and meaningful outcomes
Who Should Participate? We’re seeking organizations such as national and regional qualifications authorities, government education and labor agencies, quality assurance bodies, and postsecondary or training providers. Each organization should designate one or more individuals or a team who are subject matter experts responsible for qualifications frameworks, credentials and qualifications information, and/or quality assurance information such as accreditation or approvals and outcome metrics.
No prior experience with CTDL or publishing tools is required. Credential Engine will provide all training, resources, and assistance needed to participate successfully.
Pilot Overview:
- Start Date: June 2025
- Duration: ~4 months
- Time Commitment: ~8–10 hours total
- Environment: Credential Registry Sandbox
- Format: A combination of a small number of Zoom meetings, asynchronous activities, and personalized 1-on-1 support from Credential Engine
- Focus: Real, publicly available data only (no student or personal records)
- Partners: In collaboration with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA), the Groningen Declaration Network (GDN), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), and other global stakeholders
Pilot Activities: All data publishing activities are in a sandbox environment for testing and research purposes.
- Publish QF levels, competencies, and government-defined credential types
- Publish qualifications offered by postsecondary and training providers
- Align qualifications to QF levels
- Publish and link quality assurance and/or aggregate outcome metrics
- Establish cross-framework referencing
- Explore use cases for quality assurance and credential recognition
- Provide feedback to improve publishing tools and clarify the benefits of transparency
- Contribute to a published global case study and benefits summary
Join Us:
- Join the pilot: https://forms.gle/2mTfsE33TtvuF7FLAÂ
- Review the Pilot Plan here.
- Interested but have questions? Contact Jeanne Kitchens, Chief Technology Services Officer at Credential Engine: jkitchens@credentialengine.org
This pilot lays the groundwork for future global collaboration in publishing qualifications frameworks and related data as open, linked data. These efforts are designed to benefit all systems—education, training, employment, and quality assurance—by making data more transparent, comparable, and usable globally.
Together, let’s build a future of more connected, trusted, and usable qualification systems.