Credential Engine Technical Site

You’re Invited to a CTDL Webinar: Get to know and use CTDL

As a follow up to the first Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) Advisory Group (CAG), a CTDL Webinar has been scheduled for March 21, 2023 at 11 AM ET (see the world clock for your time zone) that will go deeper into the design of the CTDL and how anyone can use it.

This webinar is open to all CAG Members and anyone else interested in getting to know and use CTDL. The topics build off the introduction to CTDL covered with the February 14th CAG meeting.

The webinar topics will cover:

• Introduction to the CTDL Handbook
• Important background information
• Examples of using CTDL
• Questions and answers

To join the webinar, please register. If you cannot make the webinar, the webinar will be recorded and made available as public information.

• View the "Overview of CTDL and Key Takeaways" excerpt from the Feb 14th CTDL Advisory Group Meeting (21 minutes).
• Register for the March 21st, CTDL Webinar: Get to know and use CTDL.

Resources:

• CTDL Handbook
• February 14, 2023 CAG meeting slides 9-18 cover the above linked "Overview of CTDL and Key Takeaways" excerpt

Credential Engine follows a clearly defined, open process to make significant updates to develop the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL). This process includes subject matter and technical experts forming short-term task groups to provide valuable input (typically 8-12 weeks). You are invited to join our new Support Services Task Group (SSTG). This Task Group will focus on data that includes learner supports to enter into, navigate,and successfully complete credentialing programs including pre-enrollment, post-enrollment, and post-exit. It will also consider demographic information with outcome data, and other types of information about how organizations develop and implement policies related to equitable access and outcomes. The work of this task group supports the goals and recommendations of Credential Engine’s Equity Advisory Council, state partners, and other agencies and organizations who are working to improve the learn and work data ecosystem.

The Support Services Task Group will build off the recommendations from the Credential Engine’s Equity Advisory Council. This Council has been working for over a year to form recommendations for CTDL expansion and for communicating the importance and value of publishing data to the Credential Registry that helps with equity challenges.

The SSTG will:

• Review and expand upon use cases developed by the Equity Advisory Council.
• Provide real data examples that support use cases.
• Provide input to expand the CTDL domain model and create additional CTDL terms where necessary to address actionable use cases.

Who: Prior knowledge of CTDL is appreciated by not required. Credential Engine encourages subject matter and technical experts in the following areas, both in and outside the U.S., to join the SSTG. The SSTG is for:

1. Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who define or deliver support services for a diverse student population;
2. SMEs who define or deliver outcome data that helps students and educators understand barriers for a diverse student population and how they matriculate in career pathway, and
3. SMEs that develop and communicate equity policies, and (4) SMEs that utilize support services, outcome data, and/or knowledge of equity policies to ensure success of a diverse student population.

When and Where: The SSTG will hold its first meeting on February 9, 2023. There will be approximately six virtual (Zoom) meetings held every other week for one hour, and conclude in April 2022. Below is the proposed meeting schedule. Meetings are scheduled for 11 am ET / 10 am CT / 9 am MT / 8 am PT. Use the World Clock to see more time zones.

• Thursday, February 9th @@ 8 AM PT
• Thursday, February 23rd @@ 8 AM PT
• Thursday, March 9th @@ 8 AM PT
• Thursday, March 23rd @@ 8 AM PT
• Thursday, April 6th @@ 8 AM PT
• Thursday, April 20th @@ 8 AM PT

Resources: Credential Engine will create and provide all resources needed for this work, based on SSTG input, and share them for ongoing feedback between meetings. All feedback and materials are transparently available following an open development process.

Outcomes: The final products of this work include the expanded use cases, real-world data examples, and relevant CTDL domain model and terms with definitions. All outputs from the process are all public information made available under open licenses.

Processes: The process utilized to ensure timely and usable outcomes from Task Groups is well established and successful. The resultant outputs will be reviewed via an open webinar for Credential Engines’ advisory group members and other stakeholders followed by a public comment period. This efficient process ensures orderly changes that support and expand the durable, persistent value of CTDL Linked Open Data. Once this process is completed, the CTDL family of standards and Handbook will be updated along with the Credential Registry publishing and consuming tools. The Registry and related tools and resources are freely available for publishing data to the Credential Registry.

If you’re interested in joining the Support Services Task Group, please use the sign up form.

If you have any questions, please let us know via info@credentialengine.org.

Credential Engine has been collaborating with partners, subject- and technical-matter experts to expand the Credential Transparency Description Language (CTDL) to support complex education and career pathways. Although the CTDL had already supported publishing pathways, the Pathway Constraints Task Group (PCTG) was formed to work on more complex use cases for progressing through Pathways.

The outcome from the PCTG, is a CTDL Terms Release that supports publishing pathways whether only a simple progression, a progression with conditions, or a more complex progression with conditions and constraints.

1. Pathways (previously supported) - A progression of Pathway Components that navigate to a destination.
2. Component Conditions (previously supported) - Define required quantities from an array of predetermined Pathway Components. For example, a requirement to complete two courses.
3. Constraints (new) - Restrictions that can be expressed in addition to Component Conditions. For example, credits earned must be equal to or greater than a specific quantity, courses must be at a specific level, or hours worked must be equal to or greater than a determined quantity.

With this June 2022 release, Credential Engine has:

• implemented CTDL terms with all new CTDL Pathway Terms identified as "Unstable" per our Namespace/Persistence Policy
• updated the Pathways sections of the CTDL Handbook
• developed a CTDL Conditions and Constraints: Pathways Overview
• included new terms with the Credential Registry Minimum Data Policy

This CTDL update was completed following Credential Engine’s clearly defined, open process to make significant updates to develop the CTDL.

Publishing complex pathways to the Credential Registry will be supported with a new Pathway Builder interactive tool that will be available later this year.

If you have any questions, please visit our Contact Us page. We typically respond within one to two business days.

• Learn more about the Credential Registry
• Visit the Credential Engine Technical Site

Thank you, Credential Engine Team

https://credentialengine.org

Please join us on Monday, June 13th at 2:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm CT / 12:00 pm MT / 11:00 am PT to provide feedback on the proposed CTDL Domain Model and Terms for handling more complex pathway use cases!

While following Credential Engine’s clearly defined, open process to make significant updates to develop the CTDL, Credential Engine has been collaborating with partners and subject matter experts to enhance the CTDL expansions to support Pathways with more complex constraints. Additional CTDL terms will be implemented over the coming months.

The goal is to use CTDL to publish pathways whether only a progression, with a progression and conditions, or with a progression, conditions, and constraints. During our time together, the Credential Engine Team will walk through the Pathways Levels that are already supported in the CTDL, and the new proposed terms.

• Pathways (Already Supported) – Comprising a progression of Pathway Components that navigate to a destination.
• Component Conditions (Already Supported) – Define required quantities from an array of predetermined Pathway Components that can be nested and provide descriptive data. For example, a requirement to complete two courses.
• Constraints (This Proposal) – Restrictions that can be expressed in addition to Component Conditions using CTDL properties that systems could use for their algorithms. For example, credits earned must be equal to or greater than a specific quantity, courses must be at a specific level, or hours worked must be equal to or greater than a determined quantity.

Please join us on Monday, June 13th to provide comments and feedback for the upcoming CTDL expansion.

Register Today!

Join the Credential Engine Team on Thursday, May 5th at 12:00 pm ET as we provide updates on the changes made to our Currency Policy for publishing to and maintaining data about credentials in the Credential Registry. Additionally, we will provide an overview of the new reports available to all publishers, which will enable them to easily identify any data quality issues and access instructions to update Registry information.

For clarity, here is how we are defining these terms:

• Bad Links: Broken links to web pages included with Registry information.
• Duplicate Data: More than one resource, such as credentials, with identical names, credential types, web page links, and descriptions.
• Incomplete Data: Information in the Credential Engine publishing system that was only partially published to the Registry.
• Life Cycle: Progression of a resource beginning with an active status and concluding with a status indicating the resource is no longer offered.

Following the implementation of these changes, for each credential published there will now be a requirement that the publisher confirms the data is current and up to date at least every two years. This update will be effective as of May 2nd, 2022.

Register Today!