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Canvas Credentials (formerly Badges) - No Longer Available

Canvas Credentials (formerly Badges) - No Longer Available

Canvas Badges/Canvas Credentials are no longer available as of December 2025

If you are interested in replicating badge or micro-credential functionality within your course or program, please contact LTS@boisestate.edu. The Learning Technology Solutions team is happy to consult with you on alternative approaches and help develop a plan that fits your instructional goals.

How to Access Old Canvas Badges

Manual Badging in Canvas

Canvas no longer issues official badges for free, but you can still recognize skills and milestones using assignments, modules, and completion rules. These methods give students clear evidence of achievement without requiring new tools.

Core idea: a badge is just three things

Criteria

Verification

Recognition

Criteria

Verification

Recognition

What must be done

Proof it was done

A visible marker students can use

Canvas can already do all three!

Option 1: Assignment-as-Badge (the simplest illusion)

Best for: One-off badges, skill checks, or milestones

How it works

  • Create a 0-point or 1-point assignment named something like:
    “Badge: Discussion Leader” or “Skill Badge: Data Visualization”

  • In the assignment description:

    • State badge criteria

    • Include a small badge image (PNG or JPG)

  • Use Complete/Incomplete grading

  • Manually mark Complete when criteria are met

What students see

  • A clear “earned” item in Grades

  • A badge image they can screenshot or download

Why this works

  • Completion status = badge awarded

  • Gradebook becomes the badge ledger

🪄 Faculty cognitive load: low

Option 2: Module Completion Badges

Best for: Progress-based or pathway badges

How it works

  • Create a module per badge

  • Add required items:

    • Assignment

    • Quiz

    • Page with reflection

  • Set Module Requirements and Prerequisites

  • Add a final “Badge Award” page with:

    • Badge image

    • “You earned this” language

    • Instructions for saving or sharing

What students see

  • Visual progress tracking

  • Locked/unlocked pathways that feel achievement-driven

Why this works

  • Modules already behave like achievement gates

  • Completion equals credential, even if informal

🪄 Faculty cognitive load: medium

Option 3: Gradebook Columns as Badge Signals

Best for: Multiple badges in one course

How it works

  • Create one assignment per badge

  • Use:

    • Complete/Incomplete, or

    • A fixed score (e.g., 100 = earned)

  • Group them in a dedicated Assignment Group: Badges

  • Optional: weight at 0% so they don’t affect grades

What students see

  • A clean “badge row” section in Grades

  • Clear evidence they can show advisors or employers

Why this works

  • The Gradebook is durable, exportable, and transparent

  • Faculty can sort/filter by badge earned

🪄 Faculty cognitive load: low to medium

Option 4: Quizzes as Auto-Check Badges

Best for: Skill verification badges

How it works

  • Create a quiz aligned to badge criteria

  • Set a minimum score requirement

  • Use quiz completion to unlock:

    • A “Badge Award” page

    • A follow-up assignment marked Complete

What students see

  • Immediate feedback

  • A clean cause-and-effect moment: pass → badge

Why this works

  • Canvas quizzes already verify mastery

  • No manual checking once set up

🪄 Faculty cognitive load: medium upfront, low later

Option 5: Badge Gallery Page (the “trophy case”)

Best for: Motivation and visibility

How it works

  • Create a Page: Course Badges

  • List all badge images with:

    • Criteria

    • “Earned if…” language

  • For earned badges:

    • Students upload a screenshot or reflection to a low-stakes assignment

    • Or faculty unlock a personalized page/module

What students see

  • A visual inventory of achievements

  • Something that feels collectible

🪄 Faculty cognitive load: medium, but delightful

Option 6: External Light-Weight Tools (still manual, but shinier)

Best for: Faculty who want shareable artifacts

  • Google Slides or Docs: badge certificates with names filled in

  • Google Drive folders: shared credential storage

Canvas stays the verification engine, external tools handle the polish.