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Credential Engine Enhances Support for Qualifications Frameworks to Advance Global Credential Transparency

Credential Engine has made key updates to how Qualifications Frameworks (QFs) are represented in the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL), strengthening global efforts to improve credential transparency, recognition, and comparability.

The CTDL supports the open, structured description of QFs, including their levels, descriptors, and competencies; the alignment of credentials to those levels; and the mapping or referencing of one framework to another. QFs are structured systems that define levels of learning achievement, often with associated descriptors and competencies, that help individuals, institutions, and employers understand the value a credential.

Developed in collaboration with the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group and international partners, the CTDL update supports global comparability, recognition, portability, and learner mobility. 

Credential Engine welcomes collaboration from qualification authorities, credential providers, quality assurance bodies, researchers, and other organizations advancing credential and skills transparency.

Enabling Global Credential Transparency

Countries, regions, and sectors use QFs as tools within education and workforce development systems. They define how learning is structured, benchmarked, and interpreted. These frameworks establish levels of complexity, support learner progression, and clarify how qualifications relate to one another within and across systems.

The terms “qualification” and “credential” are often used interchangeably across jurisdictions, even though they may carry subtle differences. CTDL uses the term “credential” broadly and inclusively, consistent with international practice, to encompass qualifications awarded through education, training, and assessment systems.

When described as structured data, QFs can deliver even greater value. Expressing these frameworks as CTDL-linked open data makes them easier to compare, align, and integrate. This enables more informed decision-making for credential recognition, portability, planning, global collaboration, and learner mobility.

CTDL’s design supports global interoperability and local adaptation. Whether a country is structuring a national qualifications framework, aligning with a regional model, or referencing another jurisdiction’s structure for recognition purposes, CTDL enables precise representation, credible alignment, and meaningful reuse across borders.

CTDL for Qualifications Frameworks

All terms and guidance are documented in the updated CTDL Handbook and are fully supported in the Credential Registry publishing system.

Completed in January 2025 and following Credential Engine’s Significant Updates Policy, this update was shaped by extensive community engagement. It builds on the work of the Qualifications Frameworks as Data Global Task Group, a collaborative effort involving more than 40 global experts. The group conducted deep analyses of national and regional frameworks, contributed real-world use cases, and identified the data needed to describe qualifications frameworks as structured, linked data.

Following the task group’s work, Credential Engine hosted a public webinar and comment period to gather additional feedback and ensure the updates reflected global needs and practical realities. As a result of this inclusive and transparent process, CTDL was expanded to support:

  • QFs as formal, versioned documents
  • Framework levels and descriptors based on structured learning outcomes
  • Competency facets such as knowledge, skills, and personal attributes
  • Alignments between credentials and framework levels
  • Cross-framework references and mappings for regional and international comparability
  • Government-defined credential types associated with specific levels

These additions enable the CTDL to represent how frameworks are developed and used, while supporting alignment, visibility, and reuse across education and workforce systems globally.

Credential Registry Publishing Capabilities

The Credential Registry publishing system enables organizations to publish QFs and their components using either structured bulk upload templates or API integrations.

Using the CTDL, organizations can publish:

  • Qualifications Frameworks: Formal titles, purposes, jurisdictions, ownership, versioning, legal references, and multilingual glossaries.
  • Framework Levels and Descriptors: Structured levels with learning outcomes across knowledge, skills, and personal attributes.
  • Credential Alignments: Clear relationships between credentials—such as degrees, certificates, learning programs, assessments, and occupations—and specific framework levels.
  • Cross-Framework Relationships: Mappings or references between frameworks that support comparability, recognition, and alignment across jurisdictions.
  • Credentials and Credential Types: Descriptions of credentials offered by providers. Descriptions of credential types formally defined by public authorities.

Publishing guidelines include minimum data recommendations to support consistency and usability, while allowing flexibility for context-specific needs and policy requirements.

By enabling structured, transparent representation of QFs, the CTDL strengthens global efforts to recognize, compare, and align credentials. This advancement supports greater learner mobility, cross-border collaboration, and a more connected global education and workforce ecosystem.

Contact Credential Engine: If you are interested in learning more about the work of Credential Engine or how we are working to support QFs globally, email us at info@credentialengine.org. 

Stay Tuned: Subscribe to Credential Engine to learn about upcoming public participation opportunities and to keep up to date on the work of Credential Engine.  

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