Credentials

A learner earns a credential, the academy's certificate, by finishing a programme, the course they enrolled on. Alethris decides when they have finished. As soon as a learner meets every requirement the programme sets, their enrolment is marked completed and, if the programme issues a credential, they become eligible for it. An owner or administrator then issues the credential by hand.

There is no way to mark a learner as finished, or eligible, by hand. If a learner has not met a requirement, the remedy is in the requirement itself: the lessons, the attendance, the assessed work or the cohort.

What counts as finished

Each programme sets its requirements under More settings on its draft's Details page, in the Finishing group, and every learner is held to the requirements of the edition they enrolled on:

• Lessons to finish: every required lesson, or a share of them. Optional lessons never count.
• Attendance: not counted, or a minimum share of the cohort's sessions. It applies to cohort programmes only.
• Assignments to hand in: none, every required assignment, or a share of them. An assignment is finished when it is handed in, or, where the assignment is assessed, when the work is approved.

A requirement left out does not apply. A learner in a cohort also finishes only once the cohort itself has been completed with Complete cohort. A learner who studies at their own pace finishes as soon as their requirements are met.

Four more conditions always apply: the learner is still a member of the academy, their access to the learning workspace is not suspended or revoked, their enrolment is active, and the academy itself is not read-only or suspended.

What the credential certifies

The Credential panel on the same page decides whether the programme issues a credential and of which kind (None issues none):

• Assessed skills: earned only when every competency the programme's outcomes promise is approved in a required assignment. The credential lists each competency and how it was judged. A programme issuing one needs every required assignment handed in, so Assignments to hand in stays on Every required assignment.
• Completion only: earned by meeting the completion requirements. The credential says plainly that it certifies no skill.

The panel also sets the Credential title and its Validity: Never expires, or Expires a set number of days after issue. Validity starts when the credential is issued, not when the learner becomes eligible. The Build a programme guide covers these settings in full.

See where a learner stands

1. Open Learners, then the learner.
2. Find the Completion section.

Each requirement shows Met, Not met or Pending. While something is outstanding, the section reads "What still stands between this learner and completion." Once everything is met, it reads "Completed" with the date, and the Credential panel beside it shows "Eligible for" and the credential's title. Until then, the panel reads "A credential becomes available once every requirement is met."

Eligibility is not a credential

Being eligible does not issue anything. The panel says so: "A credential is issued by hand, never automatically, and cannot be changed once issued." An owner or administrator issues it, from the learner's record or for the whole cohort from Ready for a credential, which lists every eligible learner not yet issued one. Anyone else sees "An Owner or Admin issues it." Those other staff cannot see issued credentials, so for them the panel goes on reading "Eligible for" after the credential is issued.

When completion is withdrawn

A completion can stop holding after the fact. If an attendance mark is corrected, or an approval on a required assignment is corrected, so that a lesson, attendance, assignment or cohort requirement is no longer met, the completion is withdrawn and the enrolment becomes active again. An eligibility not yet used is withdrawn with it, and a credential already issued on it is marked withdrawn. When the learner meets the requirements again, they become eligible again: the Credential panel offers Issue credential… once more, with a line naming the earlier credential as withdrawn, and the learner is listed on Ready for a credential.

Suspending a learner, or their leaving the academy, after they have finished does not undo the completion.

When there is nothing to show

• "No completion to show": the learner has not taken up their place, so nothing is being tracked yet.
• "This programme edition does not issue a credential, or eligibility was withdrawn when a requirement stopped holding.": the learner finished, but there is no credential to issue for this edition, or the completion it rested on has changed.

A credential, the academy's certificate, is issued by a person, never automatically. Once a learner is eligible, an owner or administrator issues it from the learner's record, checks the name it will carry, and confirms with their password. A whole cohort can be issued at once from Ready for a credential instead. The credential cannot be edited afterwards: a mistake is corrected by replacing it.

Owners and administrators can issue credentials. Other staff see a learner's eligibility with the note "An Owner or Admin issues it."

Before you issue

Check three things first:

• The learner is eligible. On the learner's record, the Credential panel in the Completion section reads "Eligible for" and the credential's title.
• The name is right. The credential shows the name you confirm, and says that the academy checked it against its records. Names with any Latin letters print in full, including Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa letters such as ṣ, ọ, ẹ, ị, ụ, ɓ, ɗ and ƙ with their tone marks.
• The evidence is confirmed, if you want it to be. For a credential that certifies assessed skills, an assessor who judged none of the work can first confirm the evidence, and the credential then says so. A confirmation covers only work approved before it: when more work is approved later, the credential is issued without it until someone confirms again. Once a credential is issued, that confirmation can no longer be added.

Issue one learner's credential

1. Open Learners, then the learner.
2. In the Credential panel, choose Issue credential….
3. Read the dialog, headed "Issue" and the credential's title, with the date the learner became eligible above it.
4. Check Name on the credential against your records, and correct it if needed. It must be 2 to 120 characters.
5. Enter Your password, if asked.
6. Choose Issue credential.

The confirmation reads "Credential issued" and "The learner is told when its certificate is ready." The panel now shows the credential's title, its standing and date of issue, any expiry date, and its code, with a line saying how often it has been checked. "Nobody has checked it yet." changes as people verify it; who checked is never recorded.

What issuing records

Issuing creates a permanent record with its own verification code. It takes the academy's name, credential logo and colours, its signatories and its own sentence as they are that day, the programme and cohort, the name you confirmed, what the credential certifies, and, for assessed skills, every competency with how it was judged. A change to your branding, profile or signatories later does not alter credentials already issued.

One completion issues one credential. Alethris prepares the certificate after the credential is issued, and the learner is told when it is ready. If it cannot be made, the academy's owners and administrators are told, "A certificate could not be made", and Retry certificate under All credentials makes it again.

The allowance

Each plan allows a number of new credentials in each billing period: 50 on Starter, 500 on Growth and 2,500 on Scale, with Enterprise set by agreement. Only newly issued credentials count. A replacement does not.

Academy settings, then Credentials, shows under This month how many the plan allows, how many have been issued in the current billing period and the date it ends. The Issued, Replaced and Revoked figures beside it count the calendar month in your academy's timezone.

Once the allowance is used, issuing is refused until the next billing period begins or the academy moves to a larger plan. Issuing also waits while the academy's growth is restricted, as it is once a trial, a cancelled subscription or an Enterprise agreement has ended, or a renewal has gone unpaid past its grace period.

When issuing does not work

The dialog says what refused it:

• "Your plan allows … new credentials a billing period, and all … have been issued in this one." The allowance is used up. The academy's owner can move up a plan under Billing; otherwise wait until the date the refusal names.
• "New credentials cannot be issued while the academy's billing needs attention." The academy's owner can settle it under Billing.
• "This learner's completion changed since the page was opened…" Reload the page to see where the learner stands.
• "This credential certifies assessed skills, and the learner has no approved competency evidence yet." Assess their work in Submissions first.
• "A credential has already been issued from this learner's completion." It is listed under All credentials.
• "The certificate cannot print … in the learner's name." A character in the name, such as an emoji or a letter from another alphabet, cannot be printed. Spell the name in Latin letters, as your records hold it. The same refusal can name the academy's name or a programme's title, with where to change it.
• "That password was not accepted." Enter the password you use to sign in to Alethris.
• "Enter the learner's name as it should appear on the credential." The name is shorter than two characters.

Ready for a credential lists every learner who has completed a programme that issues credentials and has not yet been given one, grouped by cohort. An owner or administrator issues a whole cohort's credentials from it in one go: each learner's name is checked against the academy's records and ticked, and one password confirms the issue. A learner can still be issued alone from their record.

Owners and administrators can issue credentials.

Open the ready list

Open Academy settings, then Credentials, then Open the ready list, or choose the row "learners ready for a credential" under Needs you on the Overview, which counts the same learners.

Each cohort shows how many of its learners are ready and when the first of them completed. A programme's learners outside any cohort are grouped as "self-paced". A credential that certifies assessed skills is issued only once the learner has approved competency evidence, so a group whose learners are all still waiting for it is listed under Waiting for assessed evidence, with a way to Open submissions.

Issue the cohort

1. On the cohort's row, choose Issue.
2. Read the dialog, headed "Credentials for" and the cohort's name. Each learner has a name field and a line with the credential's title, what it certifies and the date they completed.
3. Check each learner's name against your records, correct it if needed, and tick the box beside it. Changing a ticked name clears the tick, because the new spelling has not been checked.
4. Enter Your password, if asked.
5. Choose Issue, followed by the number of credentials ticked.

The confirmation reads, for example, "28 credentials issued" and "Each learner has been told." The cohort leaves the list once all its learners are issued.

Who is left out, and why

• A learner named under the list, with no box to tick. Their credential certifies assessed skills and they have no approved competency evidence yet. Assess their work in Submissions.
• A learner marked as not issued after the issue. The dialog stays open and gives the reason under that learner, such as a completion that changed while the page was open. Reload the page to see where they stand.
• More than 100 learners in a cohort. They are issued 100 at a time; issue the first, then open the cohort again for the rest.

When the issue is refused

• "Your plan allows … more credentials this billing period, and … were chosen." The cohort would go over the plan's allowance, so nothing was issued. Untick learners until no more are chosen than fit, and issue the rest when the allowance renews, or once the academy's owner has moved up a plan under Billing.
• "New credentials cannot be issued while the academy's billing needs attention." The academy's owner can settle it under Billing.
• "That password was not accepted." Enter the password you use to sign in to Alethris.

Every other refusal reads as it does when one learner is issued.

When your academy issues a credential, the graduate receives three things: a credential record held by Alethris, with its own verification code; a verification page that anyone can open to check it; and a printable certificate. The record is what counts. The certificate is a presentation of it, and the verification page always shows the record as it stands today.

Academy settings, then Credentials, shows Your certificate: the certificate exactly as it would print today for a learner finishing one of your programmes, drawn for a sample learner rather than anyone at your academy, with "Sample certificate" where the code would be.

The verification code and page

Every credential has a code in the form ALE-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Anyone who has the code can check the credential at app.alethris.com/verify, without an account, or by scanning the certificate's QR code. The academy is not told who checked: the learner's record shows only how many times it was checked and when last.

The verification page states the credential's standing first, such as "This credential is valid", with its date of issue and any expiry. Below it, the record shows:

• the issuing academy, with the Verified academy mark when Alethris has checked its registration;
• Issued to: the name the academy confirmed when it issued the credential;
• Certifies: Assessed skills or Completion only;
• Assessment, for assessed skills: whether the work was judged by someone who taught the cohort, someone who did not, or confirmed by a second assessor;
• Programme, with the edition number, and Cohort where there was one;
• Certificate, with Download once it is ready;
• Competencies demonstrated, for assessed skills: each competency and how it was judged.

A completion credential says that it records completion and does not certify assessed skills. Reasons for revoking or replacing a credential never appear on it.

The certificate

Alethris generates the certificate as a PDF after the credential is issued. It carries:

• your academy's name, with its credential logo above the name when you have one;
• a heading naming it a certificate of achievement, for assessed skills, or a certificate of completion;
• the graduate's name and the programme's title, with the credential's title when it differs;
• your academy's own sentence under the titles, when you have written one;
• the date of issue, and the expiry date or "Does not expire";
• up to two signatories, each with their name, their role and, when you have uploaded it, their signature;
• the verification code, "Verify at app.alethris.com/verify", and a QR code marked "Scan to verify".

Names print in full in any Latin letters, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa letters with their tone marks included, and in Greek and Cyrillic.

The learner is told when the certificate is ready, in their notifications and by email; if it cannot be made, the academy's owners and administrators are told instead. In the Alethris Hub, under Credentials, they can Download certificate, Copy verification link, and choose See what an employer sees. Under Work shown to employers, they can choose up to five pieces of their assessed work to show on the verification page.

Signatories and your sentence

Up to two people can sign your academy's certificates, each with their role and signature, and one sentence of your own can sit under the programme's title. Owners and administrators set them on the Credentials page, under Signatories and wording.

Where each part is set

The Where each part is set card on the Credentials page names the source of each part:

• Academy name, from Profile. A credential keeps the name it was issued with.
• Credential logo and colours, from Branding. They are copied onto each credential when it is issued.
• Verified academy mark, from Registration. It is optional, and shown once Alethris has checked your registration.
• Signatories and your sentence, on the Credentials page itself.
• Credential title, what it certifies and validity, from each programme.

The Credential logo on Branding is printed across the top of certificates, above your academy's name, in a space about three times wider than it is tall. Without one, the academy's main logo is printed instead; with no logo at all, the certificate names the academy in words. The sample certificate shows whichever applies.

What lasts

A learner keeps their credential if they leave your academy, and it stays verifiable. It also stays verifiable if the academy later closes. Revoking a credential is a statement about the credential, not a way to remove someone's record.

Up to two people can sign your academy's certificates, each with their name, their role and, when you upload it, their signature. One sentence of your own can sit under the programme's title, such as who recommends the award. Owners and administrators set them under Academy settings, then Credentials, in Signatories and wording, and the sample certificate on the same page shows them at once.

Other staff see the signatories and sentence with the note "An Owner or Admin changes these."

Add signatories and your sentence

1. Choose Change signatories and wording….
2. Choose Add a signatory, and enter the signatory's Name, as it should read under the signature, and their Role, such as Director of Studies.
3. Add a second signatory the same way, if you want one.
4. Write Your sentence, if you want one. It takes up to 160 characters.
5. Choose Save.

The confirmation reads "Certificate saved". On the certificate the sentence sits under the titles, and the signatories sit at its foot, side by side when there are two, each over a line with their name and role beneath it.

Upload a signature

1. In the signatory's row, choose Upload, and pick a photograph or scan of the signature on paper, as JPEG, PNG or WebP under 1 MB.
2. Trim it close around the signature, and confirm.
3. Wait while the file is checked, then choose Save.

The paper around the signature is left out when it prints, and the signature is printed in one dark ink. Without a signature, the certificate leaves a line to sign on, for a certificate signed by hand once printed. Remove takes a signature off; Remove signatory takes the whole signatory off.

What changes and what stays

Each credential keeps the signatories and sentence it was issued with. A change applies to credentials issued afterwards, and to a credential replaced afterwards.

When saving does not work

The dialog says what stopped it, beside the field:

• "Enter the signatory's name." or "Enter the signatory's role." Each signatory needs both.
• "Too long to fit under the signature. Shorten it, or leave out a title." The name does not fit its place on the certificate.
• "Too long to fit in two lines under the name. Shorten it." The role takes at most two lines.
• "Too long to fit in two lines under the programme's title. Shorten it." The sentence takes at most two lines.
• "The certificate cannot print …" A character, such as an emoji or a letter from another alphabet, cannot be printed. Latin letters, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa letters among them, print in full.
• "This signature is not ready. Upload it again." The file did not finish its check.
• "Someone else saved the certificate since you opened this." Close the dialog and open it again to see their changes.

Every credential your academy issues stays on one list, whatever has happened to it since. If you own or administer the academy, use the list to find a credential, download its certificate, replace one issued with a mistake, or revoke one that should no longer stand. Credentials are issued from Ready for a credential or a learner's record, never from here.

Owners and administrators can open the list, replace credentials and revoke them.

Open the list

1. Open Academy settings, then Credentials.
2. Under This month, choose View all credentials.

The Credentials issued figure on the Overview also opens the list, with the filters it counts by, so the list shows the same credentials the figure counts.

The All credentials page opens on valid credentials, twenty to a page. Each row shows the learner, the programme and cohort, the credential's code under Reference, its standing, the date it was issued and the date it is valid until, or No expiry, written like 4 September 2026.

Under each standing, a line says where its certificate stands: Certificate pending, Certificate rendering, Certificate ready or Certificate failed.

Find a credential

• Find a credential… searches the list.
• Status chooses Active, Any, Revoked, Replaced, Expired or Withdrawn. The list starts on Active, so the others are hidden until you choose them.
• Issued chooses Any date, Last 30 days, Last 90 days or Last 12 months.
• Sort puts the list by Name A–Z or Recently issued.

If nothing matches, choose Show every credential to clear the search and filters. When the list is empty with every filter cleared, the academy has issued no credentials yet.

Download or retry a certificate

Download appears on a row once its certificate is ready, and saves the PDF. A certificate that has failed to generate shows Retry certificate, which asks Alethris to prepare it again, and a message confirms the request. Neither changes the credential itself. If either does not work, a message says so at the top of the page.

Replace a credential

Replace a credential when it was issued with a mistake, such as a misspelt name or a wrong title. The learner receives a new credential with a new code and certificate. The old one is marked replaced, still verifies as such, and points to the new one.

1. On the credential's row, choose Replace…. The dialog names the programme's title and the credential's title the replacement will carry.
2. In Reason, say what was wrong, in at least three characters. Verifiers never see it; it is kept in the credential's history for your staff.
3. Check Name on the new credential against your records. The new certificate and verification page show this name.
4. Enter Your password, if asked.
5. Choose Replace credential.

The replacement keeps the original's programme, evidence, date of issue and expiry date. It takes the programme's title and the credential's title as the programme's current edition states them, so a wrong title is corrected by publishing the right one in the programme before replacing. It takes your academy's name, logo, colours, signatories and sentence as they are now. A replacement does not count toward the plan's allowance.

Revoke a credential

Revoke a credential when it should no longer stand, for example because it was issued to the wrong learner.

1. On the credential's row, choose Revoke….
2. Read the dialog, headed "Revoke this credential?". It names the learner, the credential and its code.
3. In Reason, say why, in at least three characters.
4. Enter Your password, if asked.
5. Choose Revoke credential.

The credential stops verifying as valid. Anyone who checks it sees that it was revoked and when, but never why. The learner keeps their record of having earned it.

After a replacement the confirmation reads "Credential replaced", and after a revocation "Credential revoked", each with "The holder has been told."

When it does not work

• Replace… and Revoke… are missing on a row. Only valid credentials can be replaced or revoked. An expired, withdrawn, replaced or revoked credential keeps its standing.
• "Give a reason of at least 3 characters — it stays on the record." Write a fuller reason.
• "Confirm your password." Enter your password before choosing again.
• "That password is not right." Enter the password you use to sign in to Alethris.
• "This credential changed since the page was opened." Someone else changed the credential, or it expired, while the dialog was open. Reload the page and try again.
• "The certificate cannot print … in the learner's name." The new name holds a character the certificate cannot print, such as an emoji. Spell it in Latin letters.

Every credential your academy issues starts out valid, and it can change standing only once. It becomes revoked when your academy revokes it, withdrawn when the completion it rested on stops holding, expired when its validity runs out, or replaced when your academy issues a corrected one. Each of those standings is final: no credential returns to valid.

Whatever its standing, a credential stays verifiable. Its verification page always says what happened and when, so an employer reading an old certificate learns that it no longer stands. The reasons your staff gave are kept in the credential's history and never shown publicly.

The five standings

On the All credentials list, the Status filter uses Active for valid credentials. On a learner's record, the Credential panel shows the standing beside the date of issue.

Withdrawn

Alethris withdraws a credential by itself when the completion it was issued on stops holding. That happens when a requirement the learner had met is no longer met, for example because an approval on a required assignment was corrected, or an attendance mark was corrected below the programme's minimum. The learner's enrolment becomes active again.

The verification page says the credential was withdrawn "because its academic eligibility changed". If the learner meets the requirements again, they become eligible again and appear on Ready for a credential. The Credential panel on their record then offers Issue credential…, with a line naming the earlier credential as withdrawn. The new credential has its own code and counts toward the plan's allowance.

Withdrawal is not revocation. Revoking is a decision your academy takes about a credential; withdrawal follows from a change in the learner's results.

Expired

A credential expires when the programme gave it a validity of a set number of days, and those days have passed since it was issued. The verification page shows the date it expired. An expired credential cannot be replaced or renewed.

A credential from a programme set to Never expires never reaches this standing.

Replaced

Replacing a credential issues a new one, with a new code and certificate, and marks the original as replaced. The original's verification page says "A newer record replaced it" with the date, and offers See the credential that replaced it. The new credential keeps the original's date of issue and expiry date, so replacing never extends a credential's life.

The replacement takes the programme's title and the credential's title as the programme's current edition states them, your academy's current branding, signatories and sentence, and the name you confirm in the Replace… dialog. The dialog names the titles the replacement will carry.

Replace a credential only when the original carried a mistake. A misspelt name is corrected in the dialog. A wrong title is corrected in the programme first: change it in a new edition and publish that, then replace the credential. Its code is new, so the learner shares the new one from then on.

What the learner sees

The learner is told when their credential is revoked, withdrawn, expired or replaced, in their notifications and by email. A credential revoked, withdrawn or replaced before its certificate was made is never announced as ready. Their own list of credentials, in the Alethris Hub, shows each one's standing. A credential that is no longer valid stays in their record, and its certificate can still be downloaded, but anyone checking it sees its standing.

When a standing cannot change

• No Replace… or Revoke… on a row. Only a valid credential can be replaced or revoked.
• A withdrawn credential cannot be restored. When the learner meets the requirements again, they become eligible for a new credential instead, issued from Ready for a credential or their record.
• An expired credential cannot be replaced, even to correct a mistake on it.

If your academy is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), you can add its registration to Alethris. Alethris checks the number and name against the CAC register, and once it matches, your academy carries the Verified academy mark. The mark tells anyone checking one of your credentials who issued it: a registered organisation, confirmed by Alethris.

Registration is optional. Many academies are small or run by one person and have none. Credentials from an academy without a registration are just as valid and verifiable; the mark is the only difference.

Owners and administrators add, change and remove the registration. Other staff are told that "An Owner or Admin can add or change the academy's registration."

Add your registration

1. Open Academy settings, then Registration.
2. Choose Add registration.
3. Under Registered as, choose Company, Business name or Incorporated trustees.
4. Enter the Registration number: the RC, BN or IT number on the certificate.
5. Enter the Registered name exactly as the certificate shows it. It may differ from the name learners know.
6. Choose Submit for checking.

The confirmation reads "Registration submitted" and "Alethris will check it against the CAC register."

The three states

The CAC registration card shows where the check stands:

• Waiting for Alethris to check it. Alethris compares the number and name with the CAC register, and tells you by email when it is done. Until then, your credentials verify as they always have.
• Verified academy. The card gives the date it was checked. Your credentials and your site show that Alethris has confirmed the registration.
• Not verified. The details did not match the register. The card gives Alethris's reason, and asks you to correct the details and submit them again.

When the check is done, your academy's owners and administrators receive a notice, in the academy workspace and by email, saying either that the academy is a verified academy or that its registration could not be verified.

Where the mark appears

Once Alethris has checked your registration, the Verified academy mark appears:

• on the verification page of every credential your academy has issued, with your registered name and number;
• beside your credentials on learners' Skills Passports;
• in the footer of your academy's site.

The mark applies to every credential at once, including those issued before the check, because a verification page always reads the registration as it stands. When Alethris saw evidence of an accreditation during the check, the verification page lists it under Accreditations.

The check confirms who issued a credential. What each credential certifies is shown by its own evidence.

Change or remove the registration

• Change details opens Change the registration to correct a verified or waiting registration. Changing a verified one removes the mark until Alethris has checked the new details.
• Correct and resubmit appears when the registration was not verified. Fix the details and choose Submit for checking again.
• Remove, then Remove registration, takes the registration away. A verified academy's credentials and site stop showing the mark. Your credentials stay valid and verifiable, and you can add the registration again later. Alethris checks a registration added again as new details, before the mark returns.

When it is refused

• "Select how the academy is registered." Choose an option under Registered as.
• "Enter the registration number as the CAC certificate shows it." Enter the number's digits, up to twelve of them, with or without the RC, BN or IT in front.
• "Enter the registered name as the CAC certificate shows it." The name must be 2 to 160 characters.
• Not verified, with a reason. Compare your details with your CAC certificate, correct them with Correct and resubmit, and submit them again.