About certificates

A tales certificate lets you demonstrate and share your successful course completion.

What does the certificate confirm?

The New Media Center at the University of Basel issues completion certificates only for selected tales courses marked as offering certificates. You must complete all course steps and pass the final assessment.

This is evidence of course completion, not an academic qualification or proof of academic credit. No ECTS credits are awarded. The certificate does not grant eligibility for admission to a degree programme at the University of Basel.

Your name is taken from your account and confirmed by you. Your identity is not independently verified.

How do you obtain your certificate?

Sign in with your SWITCH edu-ID or create one during sign-in. Sign in before taking a final assessment: anonymous test results are not saved for certificates.

Once you meet the requirements, you will find “Request certificate” at the end of the course, on its home page and under “My courses”. A certificate is only issued when you explicitly request it. You confirm your name, choose a published course language and consent to the public display of your details.

After requesting it, you can find the status and downloads under “My certificate”. Preparation may take a moment. You can also ask the team for a name correction there.

How can you use and verify it?

You receive a printable PDF and a digitally signed Open Badge in Open Badges 3.0 format as JSON and PNG. Its signature and revocation status can be verified independently.

The verification link and the QR code on the PDF lead to the public certificate page, which shows the completion details and current status. You can share the link and add the certificate to your LinkedIn profile, for example; you enter the details yourself there.

Which details remain public?

Anyone who knows the verification link can view your confirmed name, the course, the issuer, completion criteria and completion and issue dates. Your email address, username and internal user IDs are not published.

Issued certificates have no expiry date. Their frozen details, files and status information are retained even after your account or the course is deleted. A revoked certificate remains verifiable and is shown as revoked.