Credential Registry Guidance · Publishing
Publish Learning Opportunities
Add a learning program, a course, or another learning opportunity to the Credential Registry. The steps are the same for all three, with a few type-specific fields called out along the way. The available methods are: a bulk CSV upload, manual entry, or the Registry Assistant API.
Which type is yours?
You'll pick one of these in the Learning Type field. Everything on this page applies to all three unless it's marked for one type.
- Learning Program: a set of learning that leads to an outcome, usually a credential. Examples include a certificate program, a degree program, or a training program.
- Course: a single, structured unit of learning, often with its own course code, like BIO 101. Courses have two fields of their own: a SCED code and Prerequisites.
- Learning Opportunity: any other learning that isn't a program or a course, like a workshop, a module, or a single training session.
Go by what it is, not what you call it. In many places, a whole program is called a "course." If it's a set of learning that leads to a credential, it's a Learning Program, whatever its name.
Publishing a program and the courses in it? Publish each one as its own record, then connect them.
Course and program details already on your website? xTRA reads your public course and program pages and turns them into a bulk upload file, so you review data instead of typing it. Get started with xTRA
Before you begin, make sure:
- Your organization's account with Credential Engine is approved and active.
- You know which Learning Type each record is (see above).
- You have the core details on hand: Name, Description, Subject Webpage, and the organization that owns it, at minimum.
- You've planned what to publish first. Publishing from the bottom up is the easiest path. If you have them, publish the skills and/or competencies it teaches first (some organizations call these learning outcomes), then the learning opportunity, then the credential it leads to. That way, each record can point to ones that already exist. Any time a record is edited, it has to be approved and published again, so connecting to records that already exist saves you a round of edits and re-approvals. Other orders work too; they just take more back and forth.
- You know your goal. CTDL allows for a robust set of data elements to be included, and while there's a Minimum Data Policy and recommended benchmarks, your use case might still benefit from including an optional data element.
Required vs. recommended fields
You must include these: Name, Description (at least 15 characters), Primary Organization and Role, Learning Type, Subject Webpage (except for courses, where it's optional), Life Cycle Status, and Language. These same fields are required no matter which method you use to publish: leave one blank in a bulk upload row and that row gets flagged during validation; enter them by hand and the Publisher won't let you save the record without them.
Say where it's offered. We recommend at least one of Available Online At, Availability Listing, or Available At, so learners know where to find it.
There are recommended benchmark properties as well. None are required to publish, but each adds information that makes the learning easier to find, compare, or trust.
See the recommended benchmark properties
| Data element | What it means | Why it's valuable |
|---|---|---|
| Available Online At | Direct URL where someone can start the learning online. | Gives learners a one-click way to begin. |
| Availability Listing | A URL listing the places or times it's offered. | Helps learners find a session or location that works for them. |
| Available At | Physical address(es) where it's offered. | Connects the learning to specific locations on file for your organization. |
| Teaches Competency Framework or Teaches Competencies | The skills it teaches: a whole published framework, or specific competencies from one. Use one or the other, not both. | Lets learners and employers see exactly what someone will be able to do. |
| Learning Method Type | How the learning is conducted, like lecture, laboratory, or work-based. | Tells learners what the experience will actually look like. |
| Delivery Type | In person, online only, blended, and so on. Add a Delivery Type Description for more detail. | Lets learners filter by format. |
| Credit Unit Type | The kind of credit it awards, like semester hours, clock hours, or continuing education units. | Tells learners and institutions what the credit number means. |
| Credit Unit Value | The amount of credit awarded. For a range, this is the minimum. | Shows how the learning counts toward a degree or other goal. |
| Credit Unit Max Value | The most credit awarded, when the amount varies. Pairs with Credit Unit Value as the minimum. | Captures variable-credit learning accurately instead of forcing one number. |
| Credit Unit Type Description | More detail about the type of credit. | Adds context a single credit type can't capture, like how credit transfers. |
Need the full breakdown? See the Minimum Data Policy for learning programs, courses, and other learning opportunities.
Choose a publishing method to get tailored guidance
Publishing by bulk upload
1Open the Bulk Upload tool
Log in to the Publisher application, open the Add New/Bulk Upload dropdown, and choose Learning Opportunities under the gray Bulk CSV Upload subheading. One upload can mix programs, courses, and other learning opportunities.
Check Select Your Organization at the top of the page. If your account is linked to one organization, it's already selected; if it's linked to more than one, choose the right one from the dropdown.
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2Look up your organization's reference data
Under Step 1: Reference Data from your Organization, open the My Organizations tab. It shows your organization's CTID and the IDs of anything already on file that the spreadsheet can point to. You'll only see the tables your organization has data for:
- Addresses: use an Address ID in Available At, or the address's External Identifier in Available At Codes, to say where the learning is offered.
- Cost Manifests: use a Cost Manifest ID in Common Costs.
- Condition Manifests: use a Condition Manifest ID in Common Conditions.
Keep this page open, or copy the IDs you need, while you fill in the template.
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3Select your properties
Under Step 2: Select Your Properties, the Required Properties tab is preselected and will be included in your spreadsheet automatically. These are the fields covered above, plus an External Identifier (see step 5).
To add more, expand any of the other tabs. Each property lists a description, an example, and its formatting requirements. Not sure which to add? See optional data for learning opportunities.
CoursesSCED and Prerequisites apply to courses only. Leave those columns blank in any row that isn't a course.
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4Download the template
Skip Select Credentials to Include With the Template Spreadsheet. Connect each learning opportunity from the credential's side when you publish the credential.
Check Include Sample Data and Include Instructions, then select Download Template Spreadsheet. It downloads as a .csv. Open it in Google Sheets or Excel to fill it in.
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5Fill in the template, then clean it up before uploading
Row 1's column headers match the properties you selected; rows 2 and 3 hold sample data and instructions for each one. Use them as a reference while you fill in one row per learning opportunity below.
External Identifier is required for every row, and it's your own ID for the learning opportunity: a course code, program code, or even the name works, up to 100 characters. It isn't a CTID, and it isn't published to the Registry. The tool uses it to recognize the same record on later uploads, so pick something that won't change. If it changes, your next upload creates a duplicate record instead of updating the existing one.
In Learning Type, enter Learning Program, Course, or Learning Opportunity for each row.
Before uploading, delete column A along with rows 2 and 3 (leaving them in causes errors), and save the file as a .csv.
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6Upload your file and check the summary
Under Step 5: Upload Your Data, choose your completed .csv, then select Preview to check it over. When you are ready to upload, select Save this Data to the Publisher.
You'll get a notification once processing finishes, with a summary of what uploaded successfully and any errors to fix.
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7Approve the learning opportunities
Under Step 6: Approve Your Learning Opportunities, follow the link to your Organization Summary Page, open the Learning/Training Opportunities tab, select the records you just uploaded, then choose Approve All Selected Items. (Your organization's own account has to be approved first, under the My Organization tab.)
Once approved, the Credential Engine team will be automatically notified. Someone from the team will review the records and publish them, and you'll receive an email confirmation when that happens. It typically takes about 30 minutes to appear on Credential Finder from the time they're published.
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Publishing manually
1Open the learning opportunity record
Log in to the Publisher application, open the Add New/Bulk Upload dropdown, and choose Learning Opportunity under the gray Manual Entry subheading. Use this same option for programs and courses; you'll set the type in the next step.
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2Name it, say who owns it, and choose its type
Enter the Learning Opportunity Name, then search for and select your organization under Primary Organization.
Under Roles for Primary Organization, check Owned By, plus Offered By if your organization also offers it. Hovering over the blue information bubble next to any field will provide more context if needed.
Then choose the Learning Type: Learning Program, Course, or Learning Opportunity.
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3Add the description, status, webpage, and language
Write a Learning Opportunity Description of at least 15 characters. Set Life Cycle Status Type: choose Active for something currently on offer, or Developing, Suspended, Ceasing, Ceased, or Teach Out if that fits better.
In Subject Webpage, enter the URL of the page that describes this specific program or course (not your organization's home page). It's optional for courses, but we recommend it. Then choose its primary language from the Language field.
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4Say where it's offered, then save
Fill in at least one of Available Online At, Availability Listing, or Available At Addresses.
To add a physical address, first select Save Data, because Add an Address only works once the record has been saved. Then select Add an Address to open the Available At Addresses form. Once you save an address there, it's listed under Available At Addresses with buttons to edit or delete it.
Once you've saved, more sections open up below the form, like Competencies, Occupations and Industries, Estimated Costs, Included Learning Opportunity (Has Part), and Prerequisite Learning Opportunity (courses only). They're all optional. The Credential Engine team encourages users to include any additional information that is relevant; see optional data for learning opportunities for ideas. Select Save Data again when the record is complete.
CoursesTo add a SCED code, open the Learning Opportunity section and fill in School Courses for the Exchange of Data code (SCED). The field shows for every Learning Type, but it only applies to courses. The same goes for the Prerequisite Learning Opportunity section.
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5Approve the learning opportunity
Saving the record doesn't publish it. Go to Summary and Downloads > Organization Summary and Downloads, open the Learning/Training Opportunities tab, select any newly entered records (or use Select All), and choose Approve All Selected Items. (Your organization's own account has to be approved first, under the My Organization tab.)
Once approved, the Credential Engine team will be automatically notified. Someone from the team will review the record and publish it, and you'll receive an email confirmation when that happens. It typically takes about 30 minutes to appear on Credential Finder from the time it's published.
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Connecting it to a credential
In the manual editor, you make the connection from the credential's side: when you publish the credential, add a condition (for example, Requires) and choose this record under Target Learning Opportunity. That's why publishing the learning opportunity first is easier. The credential can point to it the first time around, with no extra edits. If the credential is already published, add the condition, then approve the credential again so the change is published.
Once connected, the credential shows up in the learning opportunity's Referenced by Credential(s) section.
Publishing via the API
Use the Registry Assistant Handbook
API publishing is covered in full on credreg.net, Credential Engine's technical site. The Registry Assistant Handbook has the endpoints, every property, and code samples for publishing a learning program, course, or other learning opportunity.
Your organization's account needs API publishing approved before you start.
After you publish
Bulk upload and manual entry aren't one-and-done. Plan to revisit the record whenever its details change, per your organization's Data Currency Policy.
Stuck, or have a question about your data? Email the Publishing team at publishing@credentialengine.org.