11.4.1. Academic Course Credit

If your institution has an agreement with edX, you might be able to offer academic credit for your course. Learners will be able to purchase this academic credit after they meet requirements that you set. These requirements typically include periodic identity checks throughout the course as well as ID verification at the beginning of the course. Learners can see a list of the requirements on their Progress pages.

If your course offers academic credit, your edX partner manager will complete the initial setup of your course, including setting the price of credit and enabling your course to offer credit. You must then complete the following steps.

  1. Specify the minimum grade that a learner must earn to receive academic credit in the course.
  2. Determine which identity checks you want to use. We recommend that you read the information about each type of identity check before you decide which type or types you want to use. Adding an identity check involves several steps.
  3. Add identity checks to the course.

11.4.1.1. Specify the Minimum Credit-Eligible Grade

Note

To make sure that learners’ grades are correct, you must assign final grades for credit courses before you create certificates for the course. You assign final grades after the course end date. For more information, see Ending a Course.

In addition to setting the usual grade scale for your course, you indicate a specific grade that learners must receive to earn credit for your course.

  1. In Studio, select Settings, and then select Grading.
  2. In the Credit Eligibility section, specify a grade in the Minimum Credit-Eligible Grade box. This grade must be greater than or equal to the passing grade for the course.

For more information about grading, see Establishing a Grading Policy For Your Course.

11.4.1.2. Add Identity Checks

For courses that offer academic credit, edX has two forms of identity checks: in-course reverification and proctored exams. You can use either feature or both features in your course.

  • In-course reverification allows you to add identity verification “checkpoints” at specific locations in your course, such as before assessments or exams. When learners reach a checkpoint, they must use the webcams on their computers to verify their identity, similar to the original ID verification process, before they can access more course content.

    For more information, see In-Course Identity Reverification.

  • Proctored exams are timed exams that learners take while being monitored by online proctoring software. Only learners who have enrolled in the verified track see the proctored exam option in the course, and can choose whether they want to take the exam with online proctoring. If they decline the proctored option, they can take the exam with no monitoring and no time limit, but they will not be eligible to earn academic credit for the course, regardless of their final grade. Honor code learners see the same exam in the course, but without the proctored exam option. They take the exam as an open exam, with no monitoring and no time limit.

    For more information, see Including Proctored Exams In Your Course.