Thank you for contacting us about our certificates and the badges associated with some of our courses. Both Certificates and Badges are a way to recognize your achievements. However they are quite different in their intention and design. A certificate acknowledges the completion of a course whereas a badge signifies achieving a certain level of proficiency. They are not the same thing at all. A very relevant analogy is learning how to drive. When you attend a driving school and complete the driving course, you get a certificate of completion for the driving course you took. This certificate of completion of the course is not a license to drive. When you get your full driving license, you are recognized to have a level of proficiency in driving that allows you to drive. I hope this clarifies the difference between badges and certificates. So you might need to complete a number of courses before your receive a badge.

Certificates

All courses offer a Certificate of Completion. When you complete a course you will receive a certificate stating that you have completed the course and fulfilled all of the requirements of the course but only if you receive a passing grade in the course. Different courses have different passing grades. See the Welcome section of your course to understand the passing grade for the course you are taking.

Badges

Badges are a recognition of attaining required level of proficiency in a particular subject area. The number of courses you have to complete to obtain a badge depends on the area of expertise. There are cases where completing a single course may earn you a badge, but in most cases you will have to complete a more comprehensive learning path to obtain required level of proficiency to earn a badge.