Digital Credentials - Award Badges and Manage Recipients in Parchment

Learn how to access Parchment Digital Badges, award digital badges to recipients, and manage previously awarded badges. This article is intended for approved badge issuers and staff who administer digital credentials.

New to digital badges? This article is intended for users who already have access to an issuer and need to award badges or manage recipients. If you need to create a badge, request issuer access, manage badge metadata, or learn about digital credentials at UWM, see Digital Credentials - Create and Maintain Digital Badges in Parchment.

About UWM Digital Badges

UWM uses Parchment Digital Badges to issue digital credentials that recognize learner achievement through standards established by Open Badges through 1EdTech.

At UWM, digital credentials are approved for use in certificates, certifications, and microcredentials.

Digital badges contain metadata and unique identifiers that connect a specific badge to a specific recipient. This enables employers, educational institutions, and other audiences to verify:

  • What a learner did to earn the badge
  • Who issued it
  • When it was awarded.

At UWM, digital badges may only be created and awarded through approved issuers in Parchment Digital Badges.

Access Parchment Digital Badges

Access an Issuer

  1. Go to UWM Digital Badges in Parchment.
  2. Sign in with your UWM account.
  3. Select Issuers.
  4. Select View Issuer to open the school, college, or department that contains the digital badge you want to award.

The issuer dashboard displays all badges available within that issuer. 

Issuer dashboard with the View Issuer button

Switch to an Issuer Account

If you have both a personal Parchment account and issuer access, you may need to switch to your issuer account before awarding badges.

  1. Select Select Space.
  2. Under University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, select Organization.
    Select Space screenshot with arrow pointing to Organization under University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Award a Badge

    1. Open the issuer that contains the badge you want to award.
    2. Select the badge.
    3. Select Award Badge.

      Badge details page with Award Badge button

Enter Recipient Information

    • Recipient Name
    • Recipient Email
    • Issue Date (the date the badge was earned)

Best practice: Include a narrative and evidence whenever possible. This information helps others understand the recipient's achievement and the value of the credential.

    • Expiration Date, if applicable
    • Narrative, describing the recipient's achievement
    • Evidence of Achievement, such as:
      • A written description of the achievement
      • A web link (URL) to supporting evidence
      • Both a description and a URL

Complete the Award

    1. Review the information for accuracy.
    2. Select Award Badge.
      Award Badge button

The recipient receives an email notification with a link to their digital badge.

Manage Awarded Badges

To view previously awarded badges:

    1. Open the badge
    2. Select Awards.

From the Awards page, you can revoke badges and access sharing information.

Revoke a Badge

    1. Find the recipient whose badge you need to revoke.
    2. Select the three dots to the right of the recipient's award.
    3. Select Revoke.
    4. Select Revoke Badge to confirm.

Important: This action cannot be undone.

Menu showing the Revoke option for an awarded badge

Share a Recipient's Badge Link

    1. Locate the recipient.
    2. Select the three dots to the right of the recipient's award.
    3. Select Share.
    4. In the pop-up window, select Copy.
    5. Share the link and related information with the recipient.

Communication to Recipients

To increase badge acceptance and engagement, consider sending recipients a follow-up email after awarding a badge. When recipients claim their badge, they can save it to their Parchment Digital Badges backpack, share it with employers and professional networks, and maintain access to the credential after leaving UWM.

    • Send recipients instructions for accepting and managing their badge.
    • Provide information about sharing badges online.
    • Encourage recipients to add a secondary email address.

Sample Email to Student: 

Congratulations on your successful completion of the [Badge Name + Credential Type] through the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's [Issuing Unit]. You have earned a digital badge, a verified credential that recognizes your achievement and makes it easy to showcase your accomplishment beyond the classroom.

You can now access, manage, and share this credential through Parchment Digital Badges.

Getting Started

  1. Open the badge notification email from Parchment.
  2. Sign in to your Parchment account or create a new account.
  3. Add a personal or secondary email address to your Parchment account to maintain access to your badge after leaving UWM.
  4. Add the badge to your Digital Badges backpack.

Instructions for managing your Parchment account, updating your profile, and adding a personal email address are available in Manage a Parchment Digital Badges Account.

Share Your Achievement

Your badge is designed to be shared. Adding it to LinkedIn and other professional platforms helps others recognize your accomplishment and the learning it represents. For instructions on sharing your badge, see Share Earned Badges from a Parchment Digital Badges Backpack.

If you have questions about accessing, managing, or sharing your badge, please contact the Center for Advancing Student Learning (CASL).

We commend you on this achievement and wish you continued success.

Additional Resources

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See Also


Keywords:
badge Canvas award awarding issue issuer parchment microcredential microcredentials credential credentials BADGR linkedin toolkit 
Doc ID:
162052
Owned by:
Samantha M. in Advancing Learning
Created:
2026-06-18
Updated:
2026-09-04
Sites:
UW-Milwaukee Center for Advancing Student Learning, UW-Milwaukee Help Desk