Canvas Courses Now Connect Directly to Pathway Requirements in Parchment Digital Badges

[DoraJekkel]

What’s Happening

Pathway designers using Parchment Digital Badges have wanted a simple way to reflect authentic course progress in their pathways. Until now, there was no direct connection between Canvas coursework and Pathway requirements. Teams had to create placeholder badges that copied course thresholds, track completion manually, and hope everything matched. This was slow, repetitive, and made it harder to trust what each badge actually represented.

That era is over.

Institutions that use Canvas with Parchment Digital Badges can now add an actual Canvas course as a requirement in a pathway step. Learner progress is verified directly through the Canvas gradebook, creating a more accurate, trustworthy record of achievement.

What’s Changing

Issuers can now select a Canvas course as a requirement within Pathways. They can choose which metric defines completion, such as completion status or percentage. Learner progress will sync automatically based on Canvas data.

Once a new course is added as a requirement on a pathway step, if a group for that course does not already exist, a new group will be created automatically. This ensures a clear connection between course-level performance and pathway progress from the start.

Organization administrators can manage visibility and decide which Canvas instances and accounts are available when issuers add requirements. Each course displayed in the selection view includes a “View Details” link that takes users straight to the course in Canvas. This makes it easier for issuers to confirm they are linking the right course and for reviewers or faculty to validate requirements later.

This release lays the foundation for a more granular level of access management. In upcoming updates, administrators will be able to define which issuers within the organization can access specific Canvas instances and accounts when setting up course requirements.

How It Will Work

For Organization Administrators

Before anything appears in Organization Settings, at least one Canvas Credentials LTI must be connected in a Canvas environment.

To do this, log in to Canvas as an administrator, open the “Credentials” option in the navigation menu, and click “Connect to Canvas Credentials.” This creates the connection that allows available instances and accounts to appear when setting up requirements.

Then, go to Organization Settings, open Content Settings, and enable the option “Allow Issuers To See Canvas Instances and Accounts of the Organization.” 

Under the Manage button, you can turn specific instances on and limit visibility to chosen accounts. When you save your changes, issuers can view courses only from the approved environments.

For Issuers

In the Pathways editor, open a step and choose “Add Requirement.” Then select the Canvas course option.

If multiple Canvas instances or accounts are available, you will be prompted to select one. The system remembers your last choice, so you only need to make this selection the first time or when switching to a different environment.

Search or filter by course name, instructor, or term. Each course displays its name, sub-account, term, and a link to view details directly in Canvas. 

Select a course, set the performance threshold you want to use, and save. Learner progress will sync automatically based on Canvas data.

Currently, if a learner reaches the defined threshold before the course officially ends, the requirement is marked complete immediately. In an upcoming improvement, issuers will be able to set a date trigger to control when a requirement can be completed. They can choose to keep the current behavior or specify a date before which the requirement cannot be marked complete.

Why This Matters

This update helps institutions connect learning evidence to actual performance data. Reviews are faster because learner progress is updated automatically. Issuers do not need to create filler badges or copy grade data by hand. Course thresholds now align with official Canvas grades, giving employers and faculty confidence that achievements reflect real outcomes.

Organization administrators can control access and visibility, maintaining institutional governance while ensuring a clear, reliable process.

In short, Pathways now show what learners have truly accomplished.

What’s Next

Future phases will expand support to assignments and modules, allowing for even more detailed tracking of learning progress. 

The new access control and date-trigger features will enhance how institutions govern and validate achievements across teams and timelines.

Your pathways can now tell the full story of real learning. Connect your Canvas courses today and watch your badges gain real meaning.

See you on the path to verified progress.

- The Parchment Digital Badges Team