Applicants for the Higher Learning Commission’s (HLC) Short-term Credential Provider Endorsement are expected to create and publish an account in the Credential Registry and provide a link to their page in the Registry in the application for the Endorsement.
The Credential Registry is an open-source, cloud-based data store for detailed information on credentials, providers, and related data, such as skills, courses, pathways, jobs, and more. By adding your data to the Registry, you’ll make information about your organization and the programs you offer transparent and accessible to learners, employers, government agencies, researchers, and other key stakeholders.
Create an Account and Add Data to Get Your CTID
Before creating an account, check the Credential Finder to determine if an account exists for your organization. If so, email accounts@credentialengine.org to be added as a user on the account.
To create an account for your organization, follow these easy steps.
Once your account is submitted, Credential Engine will review and approve it.
After Credential Engine has approved your account, follow these instructions to enter additional data about your organization in the Credential Publisher tool.
Once your data has been added, you will need to “approve your organization” for Credential Engine to publish your organization data to the Credential Registry.
Once your organization has been published to the Credential Registry, your organization’s CTID will be available.
Applicants to HLC’s Credential Lab Endorsement are expected to enter organization data that meets the Credential Engine benchmark model for organizations.
The application for HLC’s Endorsement asks for a list of educational offerings. The HLC’s Endorsement applies to the Provider, not to individual short-term credentials. Additionally, the Endorsement applies to the Provider to the extent that the Provider offers short-term credentials. It does not extend to other types of educational offerings or business lines offered by the Provider.
Submit any credentials that are covered by the scope of the HLC endorsement. Select from a list of credential types, such as certificate, badge, certification, micro-credential, and more.
Credential Engine offers a range of options for publishing data to the Registry. Select the option that works best for you.
- Manual entry: User-friendly interface for publishing small quantities of information.
- Bulk upload: Select data properties, download a CSV template, populate, and upload to publish to the Credential Registry. Recommended for large quantities of data.
- Badge Publisher: Import Open Badge information from badging platforms to publish to the Credential Registry.
Only publish credentials that your organization owns.
To connect a credential to a competency framework, follow these instructions.
Complete HLC’s Endorsement Application
To submit the HLC’s Endorsement application form, applicants will need to include ONE of the following.
Provider’s CTID number
This is the unique identification number of your organization in the Credential Registry.
- Example of a CTID: ce-9bd8c615-9f3c-40e6-9c20-6d9f811844e6
Find your organization’s CTID:
- Account System: In the Account Dashboard under My Organizations.
- Credential Publisher: On the Organization Summary and Downloads page (top menu), My Organization tab.
Provider’s URL in the Credential Registry
In the Credential Finder, search for your organization, and copy/paste the URL of your organization page.
- Example of a Finder URL: https://credentialfinder.org/organization/327/
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Contact
For assistance, please contact accounts@credentialengine.org.