Checking a credential

Every credential an academy issues on Alethris — what some call a certificate or a certification — has a public record held by Alethris: its verification page. If you are an employer, or anyone else checking a credential, open that page. It shows who issued the credential, to whom and when, what it certifies, how the work behind it was judged, and whether it still stands today. Checking is free and needs no account.

The record is what counts. The PDF certificate a holder shows you presents the record, but only the verification page says whether the credential still stands.

Open the verification page

You can reach a credential's page in three ways:

• Scan the QR code on the certificate, marked "Scan to verify".
• Follow the verification link the holder sent you.
• Enter the credential code. On alethris.com, choose Verify a credential in the header. Type the code into the box on the Verify a credential page and choose Verify.

The code is printed at the foot of the certificate, with the address of the verification page, app.alethris.com/verify, beneath it. It starts with ALE and has four groups of four letters and digits, such as ALE-7K4M-9QX2-MHXW-QD2B. Small letters become capitals as you type, and the hyphens may be left out. Codes never use the letters I, L, O or U after ALE, so a round character is the digit 0 and an upright stroke is the digit 1.

Read the record

The page opens with the credential's title, then a band that gives its standing in one line, such as "This credential is valid". Under it, a sentence gives the issue date and, for a credential that still stands, when it expires or that it does not expire. "Checked" shows today's date and the code.

Below, the issuing academy's name leads the record; choose it to visit the academy's website. The rows are:

• Issued to — the holder's name. When the academy checked the name against its records at issue, the note at the foot of the page says so.
• Certifies — Assessed skills, earned through assessed work in which each competency was judged against the academy's standard, or Completion only, which records that the programme's completion requirements were met and certifies no assessed skill.
• Assessment — who checked the work: a second assessor who judged none of it, named with the date they confirmed every competency listed, or whether the assessor did or did not teach the cohort. Where the record cannot say, as for self-paced study, the row is left out.
• Programme — the programme (the course) and its edition, the version of the programme that was taught.
• Cohort — the cohort, or class, the holder studied in. Self-paced study has none.
• Registered academy and Accreditations — shown only for an academy with the Verified academy mark.
• Certificate — Download for the PDF, or "Being prepared" while it is made.

Competencies demonstrated lists each competency assessed, with the level reached beside the level expected. Levels run, lowest to highest, Introduced, Developing, Competent and Advanced. Open a competency to see what it was judged on, the work that showed it and how, who assessed it, and when it was verified.

Work the holder chose to show

A holder may add up to five pieces of assessed work to a credential, under Work the learner chose to show. Each piece is shown exactly as it was handed in for the assessment named beside it, with its version and the date it was assessed. Choose Download for a file, or Read what was handed in for a written answer. A link opens its address, marked "This link may have changed since the work was assessed", because only a link can have changed since. Shared work disappears when a credential is revoked, withdrawn or replaced.

Your check is private

Opening a verification page counts as a check, and the holder and the academy can see how many times their credential was checked and when it was last checked. Who checked is never recorded, and nothing asks you to sign in or say who you are.

What a credential does not claim

The page Reading a credential on alethris.com explains each part of the record, and also what a credential does not claim. A credential is the academy's own award, not a degree or a national qualification. Alethris sets no tests of its own; the academy's assessors judge the work. Alethris does not accredit academies.

When the code does not work

• "Enter the code exactly as printed, for example ALE-7K4M-9QX2-MHXW-QD2B." The code has spaces or other characters in it. Type only letters, digits and hyphens.
• "No credential matches that code" Check each character against the certificate, then choose Try another code. If it still fails, ask the holder for their verification link, or ask the academy that issued it.
• The certificate is "Unavailable". The record on the page still verifies, and it is what counts.

A credential's standing says whether it still stands today. The verification page reads it from the record each time it opens, so it is always current: a credential issued as valid can later expire, be replaced, be withdrawn or be revoked, and its page then says so in its first line. Only "This credential is valid" means the credential stands. A credential that no longer stands never looks like one that does: each standing has its own heading, colour and sentence.

On a Skills Passport, the same standings appear as a badge beside each credential: Active, Expired, Replaced, Withdrawn or Revoked.

Valid

A valid credential reads "This credential is valid", in green, with "Issued on" its issue date. A sentence then says either "It expires on" a date or "It does not expire". It stands on every point the record shows: its holder, what it certifies, and the competencies assessed. On a Skills Passport it shows as Active.

Expired

An expired credential reads "This credential has expired", in amber, with "It expired on" the date. It passed the expiry date it was issued with, which the certificate also prints. The record still shows what was assessed and any work its holder chose to show, so you can see what it certified; what it no longer does is stand as current.

Replaced

A replaced credential reads "This credential has been replaced", with "A newer record replaced it on" the date, and a link: See the credential that replaced it. An academy replaces a credential when the original was issued with a mistake, such as a wrong name or title. The replacement has its own code, certificate and page, and its own standing, so follow the link and read that one.

Withdrawn

A withdrawn credential reads "This credential has been withdrawn", in red, with the sentence "It was withdrawn on" the date, "because its academic eligibility changed". Alethris withdraws a credential by itself when the completion it rested on no longer holds, for example after an assessment decision behind it was corrected. Nobody at the academy chooses to withdraw a credential; it follows from the record.

Revoked

A revoked credential reads "This credential has been revoked", in red, with the academy's name and "revoked it on" the date. The issuing academy revoked it. Anyone who checks sees that it was revoked and when, but never why: the academy's reason is kept in its own records only.

Which standings are final

Every standing other than valid is final. A credential that has expired, been replaced, been withdrawn or been revoked never becomes valid again on the same code. Anything an academy issues afterwards is a new credential, with its own code and its own page.

Dates on the record

Every date on a credential's record is in the issuing academy's own calendar, as its certificate prints it. "Checked" in the standing band is the date you opened the page.

When a credential no longer stands

A credential that is not valid is not proof of what it once certified. What you do next depends on the standing:

• Replaced — follow See the credential that replaced it and check the new record.
• Expired — ask the holder whether they hold a newer credential, and check its code.
• Withdrawn or Revoked — Alethris does not give reasons. Choose the academy's name on the record to visit its website, and ask the academy directly.

If a holder disputes what their credential's page says, the holder raises it with the academy, or with Alethris Support from their own account. As someone checking, you cannot change a record, and you do not need to: the page always shows where it stands now.

The Verified academy mark means Alethris has checked the academy's registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) against the CAC's own register, and found that it matches. It tells you who issued a credential: a registered organisation, under the name and number shown. It says nothing about the quality of the academy's teaching, and it does not change what a credential certifies.

Registration is optional. Many academies are small, or run by one person, and are not registered with the CAC. An academy without the mark is not marked down: its credentials verify in full, with the same record and the same standings.

Where the mark appears

The mark is a small badge reading Verified academy, with a tick. It appears:

• on a credential's verification page, beside the issuing academy's name;
• beside each credential from that academy on a person's Skills Passport;
• in the footer of the academy's website, with its registered name and number and the month Alethris checked them;
• on the academy's programme pages, beside the example of the credential the programme awards.

What the verification page adds

When the issuing academy has the mark, its credential's verification page shows two more rows:

• Registered academy — the academy's registered name and its CAC number, with the prefix that says what kind of registration it is: RC for a company, BN for a business name, or IT for incorporated trustees.
• Accreditations — any accreditations Alethris saw evidence of while checking the registration, each with the body that granted it and its reference where one was given. The row is left out when there are none.

A note at the foot of the page dates the check: "Verified academy: on" the date "Alethris checked this academy's registration against the Corporate Affairs Commission's register", and, where accreditations are listed, that it "saw evidence of the accreditations listed". It ends: "The check confirms who issued this credential; what it certifies is shown above."

What the mark does not mean

• It is not accreditation. Alethris does not accredit academies. The mark confirms who issued a credential, not how well the academy teaches.
• It does not upgrade the credential. A credential is the academy's own award, not a degree or a national qualification, with or without the mark. What it certifies is in its Certifies row and its competencies.
• It does not mean Alethris judged the work. Alethris sets no tests of its own. The academy's assessors judge the work, and the record names them.

The mark is current

The mark is read from the academy's registration each time a page opens; it is not fixed to a credential when it is issued. So it can change:

• An academy that is verified later shows the mark on credentials it issued before.
• An academy that changes its registration details loses the mark until Alethris has checked the new ones.
• An academy that removes its registration, or closes, no longer shows it.

None of these changes a credential's standing. A credential stays valid and verifiable whether its academy has the mark or not, including after the academy closes.

A Skills Passport is a person's own record of proof across every academy they have studied at: the credentials they hold, the competencies (skills) assessors verified, and the projects they had approved. Each item was issued or assessed by a named academy. The holder decides what it shows, and you may be sent one of two kinds of address:

• A public page, at an address ending in /p/ and the holder's handle, the short name they chose for it. It shows only the items the holder made public.
• A private share link, a long address the holder created for particular viewers. It shows the items they chose to share, even when their public page is private.

Both are free to open and need no account. Neither replaces a credential's own verification page, which is where a credential's standing is checked.

What a passport shows

A passport opens with the holder's card: their name, their handle when they have one, a headline, and counts of the Credentials, Competencies and Projects shown. It may also carry a few lines about them and links to their GitHub, LinkedIn or Portfolio. The sections below the card list the items themselves.

• Credentials — each credential with the academy that issued it, the programme and the cohort, the issue date, what it certifies (Assessed skills or Completion only) and a badge with its standing: Active, Expired, Replaced, Withdrawn or Revoked. An academy whose registration Alethris has checked carries the Verified academy mark.
• Competencies — each competency once, at the strongest level it was assessed at, with the academy, programme and assignment that showed it, the method and the assessor, and the date it was verified. Open the line under a competency to see what it was judged on, the level, and the academy's reference for it.
• Projects — pieces of assessed work, each with its academy and programme, the method and the date it was approved, the holder's own account of the work or the academy's brief, and the competencies it showed with their levels.

A competency or project marked Awaiting reassessment is on hold: the academy corrected the decision behind it, and a new decision is still to be recorded.

Check each credential

Every credential on a passport links to its record. Choose Verify this credential to open its verification page, or See the credential that replaced it for a replaced one. The passport is the holder's summary; the verification page is the record, with every competency, how it was judged and whether it stands today. Read the record before you rely on a credential.

What you will not see

A holder sets each item as shown publicly, shown by share link only, or hidden. Hidden items are never hinted at: nothing on the page says they exist, and the counts leave them out. A passport shows no email address or phone number, no work that was not approved, and nothing about payments.

Public pages and search engines

A public passport exists only while its holder has published it. It appears in search engines only if the holder allows it; otherwise it can be opened only by someone with the address. A share link never appears in search engines.

Share links

A share link carries the items the holder had made visible when they created it. They may set it to expire after 7, 30 or 90 days, or never, and they can revoke it at any time. If they later hide an item, it disappears from the link too.

When a passport does not open

A passport or a share link that is not available shows "Page not found" and "The page you are looking for does not exist or is no longer available". This happens when:

• the address was mistyped or cut short;
• the holder has made their public page private, or has not published it;
• the share link has expired, or the holder revoked it;
• Alethris has suspended the passport.

The page does not say which. Ask the holder for a fresh link, or for each credential's verification link, which works however their passport is set.