University of Phoenix Announces Successful Pilot Testing Verifiable Digital Credentials Wallet Capability for Learner Records
Pilot tested innovative delivery of learner credentials to a digital wallet
PHOENIX, August 28, 2025–(BUSINESS WIRE)–University of Phoenix conducted a pilot testing interoperable exchange of Learning and Employment Records (LERs) into a digital wallet with the goal to empower learners with experiences and tools that will enable them to pursue their goals and give employers a clearer picture of their capabilities. This initial pilot helps bring this forward-thinking innovation closer.
Alignment across industries, commerce, and higher education on adoption of interoperable learning records promoted by The LER Accelerator Initiative has only become more of an imperative as learning, talent hiring and development models have become more technology driven.
“We are focused on building practical opportunities that provide our learners with the ability to preserve and present credentials of all kinds, including degrees, badges, skills, and achievements outside of a classroom,” states John Woods, Provost and Chief Academic Officer. “This was our vision in developing a skills-mapped curriculum aligned to digital badges. A learning and employment record would allow these to be compiled together as a valuable resource for our students as well as their current and potential employers.”
LERs should capitalize on standards, such as 1EdTech’s Open Badges 3.0 (OBv3) and Comprehensive Learner Record 2.0 (CLRv2), each variants of W3C’s Verifiable Credentials (VCs). They are designed to represent artifacts such as diplomas, badges, certificates, transcripts, and skills data in a format that cannot be altered or tampered without detection. The student can then selectively disclose their credentials to verifiers such as employers and other institutions that need to verify the credentials.
In a collaboration directed and supported by the Experience You Project, an initiative by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Education Design lab, University of Phoenix worked with Gobekli – an independent startup developing TalentPass, a user-friendly, standards-compliant digital wallet – to conduct a focused user research and prototype testing initiative of their LER. The University selected Gobekli for these projects due to its deep LER expertise, innovative AI-driven design, and shared commitment to open, learner-owned data ecosystems, and for empowering students to showcase lifelong proof of learning for optimal career readiness and meaningful differentiation.
The project, initially conducted in 2023, brought together a group of approximately 30 student volunteers for an initial focus group. These students engaged in exploratory sessions and provided feedback on their experience with badges to date, the designs and intent of the LER ecosystem, and the design, interface and functionality of Gobekli’s TalentPass prototype. The project also featured a technical test of the credential hand-off mechanism, demonstrating to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation technical advisors that the University’s LER student record can be successfully and interoperably handed off to an LER credential wallet of a student’s choice.