12 Days of Credentials: Organization vs Issuers

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Both organizations and issuers play a crucial role in developing a successful credentialing program. Understanding the differences is key to setting up the foundation for awarding badges. 

Organizations

Before you can start awarding badges, you will need to set up your organization.  The organization is the top level of access. Think of it as the root account in Canvas Credentials. Users with organization admin access can do the following:

• View analytics depicting your organization's badging history.
• Manager admin access
• View subscription information
• View learners and staff associated with your organization
• Bulk export badge awards 
• Assign Issuers, Editors, and Staff within the organization
• Import Issuers

Issuers

Issuers are authorized by the organization to grant and issue badges or credentials within the system; they can be departments, individual faculty members, programs, businesses, or other authorized entities within the organization. Issuers can create and award badges, aligning them with specific standards, skills, or criteria.

The organization never awards a badge, so if your institution is recognized as the entity that grants badges, you'll need to establish an issuer with an identical name. 

Take a look at our guide on Organization issuers. It details the specifics of managing issuers. 

Contact your Customer Success Manager to hear more about our consulting and training services if you need more assistance building a successful Credentialing program.