Comprehensive Learner Record Standard Transcript Guide
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List of Contributors
The following individuals contributed to the development of this document:
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Xavi Aracil | 1Edtech | Editor |
| Rob Coyle | 1Edtech | Editor |
Revision History
| Version | Doc Version | Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 2025-06-30 | First release |
Abstract
The Comprehensive Learner Record Standard v2.0 has been designed to create, transmit, and render an individual's set of achievements, as issued by multiple learning providers, in a machine-readable format that can be curated into verifiable digital records of achievement.
Terminology
Conformance
Use Cases
The Elon University Academic Record (Transcript) is the traditional document to reflect the academic history of a student enrolled at the institution. The transcript below includes a test student who received a degree, with a major and minor, a semester of courses including transfer work, statistical summaries at both the semester and the record level and some identity management information.
Best Practices
A transcript is a record containing the following information:
Some of this information can be directly expressed in a CLR, such as course and degree credits, performance, and the semester to which a particular credential is bound.
The specification is flexible enough to allow expressing a transcript inside a CLR. This best practice assumes the credentials awarded by the user are expressed as AchievementCredential from Open Badges Specification v3.0.
General considerations
Time boundaries
Achievements in CLR are not bounded to a certain time, while the nested
AchievementCredentials are. Specifically, the AchievementSubject inside anAchievementCredentialcan be time bounded in two ways: explicitly throughactivityStartDateandactivityEndDate, and implicitly throughterm.The later is described as "The academic term in which this assertion was achieved.", which fits to a semester in this scenario.
Cardinality
The CLR specification allows packaging several
AchievementCredentials with the sameAchievement. Each of these credentials can be unique and different from the others, sharing only the Learner and theAchievementin common.Semester information can therefore be expressed as an
AchievementCredentialof the program, bounded to a semester (as defined in theAchievementSubject'sterm).Identity Information about the learner
You can express identity information about the learner in the ClrSubject entity of the specification.
If you want to add profile information about the learner, such as their name, you can follow the recommendation described in section 3.1.10 "Including additional recipient profile information" of the Open Badges Implementation Guide v3.0 (https://standards.1edtech.org/open-badges/standards/v3p0/impl#including-additional-recipient-profile-information)
Program information
A program in CLR can be expressed as an Achievement with the property
achievementTypeset as the appropriate for the program:AssociateDegree.BachelorDegree.Degree.DoctoralDegree.MasterDegree.Achievementalso contains the propertycreditsAvailablefor expressing effort information.The program SHOULD have associations of type
isParentOfwith the courses comprising the program.The definition of the program performance information is expressed as a ResultDescription of the
Achievement. ItsresultTypeSHOULD be appropriate for expressing the final grade of the program, such asGradePointAverageif the program is graded using a GPA.Cumulative performance information
As described in previous sections of this document, we leverage the time boundary of
AchievementCredentialto express semester information. This ultimately means that there can be multipleAchievementCredentials for the same programAchievementand differenttermvalue inAchievementSubject.To enable cumulative performance information in the
AchievementCredentials, its definition is expressed as a ResultDescription of theAchievementof the program. ItsresultTypeSHOULD beGradePointAverageif you want to express the GPA.Performance
The actual performance of the learner in the program is expressed in the
AchievementSubject'sresultproperty of theAchievementCredentialrepresenting the completion of the program by the learner. In this credential, theAchievementSubject'stermproperty is undefined to differentiate it from term-bounded program credentials (see the section on Semester information below).Course information
A course in CLR can be expressed as an Achievement with the property
achievementTypeset asCourse.Achievementalso contains the propertycreditsAvailablefor expressing effort information.The course SHOULD have an association of type
isChildOfwith the program this course is a part. It MAY have associations of typeisPeerOfwith other courses that are part of the program.The definition of the course performance information is expressed as a ResultDescription of the
Achievement. ItsresultTypeSHOULD be the appropriate for expressing the grade of the course.The actual effort and performance of the learner in the course are expressed in the
creditsEarnedandresultproperties, respectively, of theAchievementSubjectwithin theAchievementCredentialrepresenting the completion of the course by the learner.Multiple Course Assertion
Learners can take a course multiple times. The
AchievementSubjects of these multipleAchievementCredentials can indicate this by using thestatusproperty of theresultfield, withCompletedas the value for the successful completion of the course.Semester information
As described in previous sections of this document, we leverage the time boundary of
AchievementCredentialto express semester information.Following this approach, the learner's performance in the program during a semester is expressed as an
AchievementCredentialfor that learner and program (set in theAchievementSubject'sachievementproperty) and for that semester (set in theAchievementSubject'stermproperty).The actual effort and performance of the learner in the semester are expressed in the
AchievementSubject'screditsEarnedandresultproperties, respectively. The later property refers to the appropriateResultDescriptionof the program's performance through theirresultDescriptionproperty.The actual cumulative performance of the learner in the semester is expressed in the
AchievementSubject'sresultproperty, referencing the appropriateResultDescriptionof the program's cumulative performance through theirresultDescriptionproperty.Course information about a semester
In this solution, here is no hierarchical structure identifying a semester, as all course and program performance for a semester are described as
AchievementCredentials within theClrSubject.However, grouping course
AchievementCredentials by semester is straightforward: you can use thetermproperty of eachAchievementSubjectin theverifiableCredentialarray of theClrSubjectas the grouping key.Example
The fictional 1EdTech Institute offers a small-sized bachelor's degree titled "Specification Development", consisting of three courses:
The courses are graded using letter grades, with
'A'the highest grade and'F'the lowest.1EdTech Institute defines four
Achievements, one for the bachelor's degree and one for each course.Achievement for the program Specification Development
Achievement for the course Introduction to Spec Development
Achievement for the course Working Groups: Looking for consensus
Achievement for the course Spec Modeling and artifact generation
The program is associated to the courses via a
isParentOfrelationship.Associations
Student performance
A student enrolls in this degree and, after some terms ("Spring 2024", "Fall 2024" and "Spring 2025"), finishes it and wants a transcript.
During these terms, the student fails the "Spec Modeling and artifact generation" course and, thus, retakes it in the following term, as shown in the table below.
Spring 2024
After this term, the student achieves three credentials: one of the program for the semester, and one for each course taken.
Spring 2024: Introduction to Spec Development course credential
Spring 2024: Working Groups: Looking for consensus course credential
Spring 2024: program credential
Fall 2024
After this term, the student achieves two credentials: one of the program for the semester, and one for the course taken.
Fall 2024: Spec Modeling and artifact generation course credential
Fall 2024: program credential
Spring 2025
After this term, the student achieves two credentials: one of the program for the semester, and one for the course taken. Since the student also completes the program after this term, the credential for the whole program is also awarded.
Spring 2025: Spec Modeling and artifact generation course credential
Spring 2025: program credential
Program credential
Major and Minors
In educational programs, majors and minors represent structured areas of academic concentration. A major is the primary field of study that defines a student’s degree path, typically encompassing a comprehensive curriculum that includes foundational and advanced courses, as well as performance benchmarks such as GPA requirements. A minor is a secondary field of study that complements the major, often requiring fewer credits but still maintaining a coherent academic focus.
As with programs, majors and minors can be expressed as an Achievement. Since the specification doesn't include a vocabulary item for majors and minors, their
achievementTypeSHOULD be set toext:Majororext:Minor, respectively.Achievementalso contains the propertycreditsAvailablefor expressing effort information. The definition of major and minor performance is expressed similarly to how it is expressed for the program, as a ResultDescription of theAchievement. ItsresultTypeSHOULD be the appropiate for expressing the final grade of the major or minor, such asGradePointAverageif the major or minor is graded using a GPA.The program SHOULD have associations of type
isParentOfwith the majors and minors conforming the program.Both major and minor achievement SHOULD have
isParentOfassociations with the courses comprising the learning in that Achievement.The actual performance of the learner, either absolute or cumulative, can be expressed similarly to how it is for a program.
Example
The same fictional 1EdTech Institute also offers another small-sized bachelor's degree titled "Specification Architecture in EdTech", consisting of the major "Specification Development" and the minor "Bootcamp Design and Teaching".
The major "Specification Development" is the exact same program as in the previous example, consisting of three courses:
The minor "Bootcamp design and teaching" consists of two courses:
The courses are graded using letter grades, with
'A'the highest grade and'F'the lowest.1EdTech Institute defines eight
Achievements: one for the bachelor's degree, one for the major, one for the minor, and one for each course.Achievement for the degree Specification Architecture in EdTech
Achievement for the major Specification Development
Achievement for the minor Bootcamp design and teaching
Achievement for the course Introduction to Spec Development
Achievement for the course Working Groups: Looking for consensus
Achievement for the course Spec Modeling and artifact generation
Achievement for the course Bootcamp Design
Achievement for the course Teaching a Bootcamp
The program is associated with the major and minor via an
isParentOfrelationship. On the other hand, the major and minor are associated with their courses via aisParentOfrelationship as well.Associations
Student performance
A student enrolls in this degree and, after some terms ("Spring 2024", "Fall 2024" and "Spring 2025"), finishes it and requests a transcript.
During these terms, the student fails the "Spec Modeling and artifact generation" course and, thus, retakes it in the following term, as shown in the table below.
Given this performance, the student finishes both major and minor in the semester "Spring 2025".
Spring 2024
After this term, the student achieves four credentials: one of the program for the semester, one for the major for the semester, and one for each course taken.
Spring 2024: Introduction to Spec Development course credential
Spring 2024: Working Groups: Looking for consensus course credential
Spring 2024: major credential
Spring 2024: program credential
##### Fall 2024
After this term, the student achieves five credentials: one of the program for the semester, one for the major for the semester, one for the minor for the semester, and one for each of the courses taken.
Fall 2024: Spec Modeling and artifact generation course credential
Fall 2024: Bootcamp Design course credential
Fall 2024: major credential
Fall 2024: minor credential
Fall 2024: program credential
##### Spring 2025
After this term, the student achieves five credentials: one of the program for the semester, one for the major for the semester, one for the minor for the semester, and one for each course taken.
Since the student also completes the minor after this term, the credential for the minor is also awarded. Since the student also completes the major after this term, the credential for the major is also awarded. Since the student also completes the program after this term, the credential for the whole program is also awarded.
Spring 2025: Spec Modeling and artifact generation course credential
Spring 2025: Teaching a Bootcamp course credential
Spring 2025: major credential
Spring 2024: minor credential
Major credential
Minor credential
Program credential
Transfer credits
Transfer credits refer to academic credits that a learner has previously earned at another accredited institution and that are accepted by a new institution toward the completion of a program or credential.
This new institution can align these credits to an existing course within the program or group all together in a section of the transcript ("undistributed credits").
Aligned credits
In this scenario, the issuing institution asserts an
OpenBadgeCredentialfor the student's performance in the course aligned with the transfer credits, similarly to how it usually does when the student takes the course.Thus, the
Achievementinside the credential is the same Achievement of the course. This Achievement contains some ResultDescription defining the results of the course.However, passing the course as a result of a transfer does not require adding that additional description to the course's
Achievement. In fact, credentials representing an course achieved through transfer credits do not need to express the corresponingResult.The information about the originating institution that initially granted the credits to the student are expressed in the
sourceproperty of theAchievementSubject.Example
This Open Bagde credential describes the completion of the course Spec Modeling and artifact generation in the term Fall 2024 for the student with identifier
did:example:ebfeb1f712ebc6f1c276e12ec21Undistributed credits
Undistributed credits are not aligned with a specific course. They may not be either, or timed into a particular semester.
To identify these credits in a CLR, we define a new
Achievementwith andachievementTypewith valueext:Transfer. This Achievement is associated with the program using the appropriateAssociation.The actual transfer of the credits is expressed in the CLR via an
AchievementCredentialfor this new Achievement. Information about the originating institution is expressed in thesourceproperty of theAchievementSubject. If the issuing institution wants to specify the term when the transfer is made, it only has to set thetermproperty of theAchievementSubjectaccordingly.There SHOULD be one
AchievementCredentialfor each originating institution from which credits are transfer, to express the institution’s information within the CLR.Example
This example describes an achievement for Transfer Credits
The achievement can be used in a credential about transfer credits for undistributed credits
Legend Document
Transcripts may contain a key or legend, providing guidance on understanding the information presented, including explanations of abbreviations, symbols, and other terms used on the transcript.
This legend is expressed in a CLR as evidence of the main
ClrCredential. To easily identify the evidence, itsgenreproperty MUST be set toLegend. The institution can include the narrative of the legend in Markdown inside thenarrativeproperty, or set theidproperty to the URL of the legend document on their website.Legend (narrative)
Legend (URL)
Competencies
Transcripts contain information about the competences acquired and the student's performance in them.
In traditional transcripts, competencies are usually scoped to a course. However, there are some educational programs where competencies themselves are the primary focus of study.
Competencies in a Course
In this scenario, the competencies are aligned to either the course's
AchievementorResultDescriptionvia thealignmentproperty.Program information and student perfomance aren then expressed in the same way as a typical program.
Achievement for the course Spec Modeling and artifact generation, with competencies
Competencies as an independent achievement
In this scenario, the competence is what the students are awarded. Thus, the competency itself is expressed as an
Achievement, withachievementTypeset toCompetency.The potential results of the competency are expressed as
ResultDescriptions of theAchievement.Competency Achievement
The following example describes a competency Achievement with one
ResultDescription, formed by 3RubricCriterionLevels.Competency Achievement with Result Description
Transcripts MAY define
Associations between competencies to express education pathways, competency requirements, and similar relationships.Students are awarded the competency in the same way they are awarded a course in traditional transcripts: by having an
AchievementCredentialwith the competency'sAchievement, including results and terms as appropiate.Competency credential
Actual results of the competency are expressed as
Resultsof theAchievementSubject. The following example describes a credential for the competency Achievement described in Example 46, achieved by the student at theMasteredlevel.Competency credential with Result
Degree Complete Example
Major Minor Complete Example