What this page is

This page explains what the QualityLink consortium published, why it matters, and where to read the full specifications. If you’re deciding whether to adopt a QualityLink-compatible standard, or you want to understand what was built, start here.

If you’re ready to connect your institution’s data, go to the technical guide instead.

What the specifications cover

QualityLink published an open set of technical specifications for sharing quality data on higher education courses and micro-credentials across Europe. They define how institutions can publish course data, how that data can be discovered and aggregated, and what format it should take.

The specifications build on existing European standards — in particular the European Learning Model (ELM) — and extend them only where genuinely needed. They are open, free to use, and hosted on GitHub (Knowledge-Innovation-Centre/quality-link-specs).

The five specifications:

1. Data sources and access policy

Sets out the terms under which data is aggregated and made available. Covers licensing, attribution, and permitted uses.

Read the policy

2. Ontology and application profile

Extends the European Learning Model (ELM) with additional properties useful for alliance catalogues and micro-credential recognition. The application profile defines the minimum data required to participate.

Browse the ontology: specs.quality-link.eu/resources/ontology.html

Application profile (SHACL): specs.quality-link.eu/resources/ontology-shacl.html

Browse the ontology

Browse the application profile (SHACL)

3. Course identifier specification

Proposes a common format for unique course identifiers that works across ELM, OOAPI, Edu-API, and OCCAPI. This makes it possible to match data from different sources to the same course.

Read the spec

4. Data source discovery specification

Describes how the aggregator automatically finds data sources published by institutions — no manual registration required. Institutions publish a manifest file; the aggregator finds it via DNS or a well-known URL.

Read the spec

5. Data exchange specification

Defines the formats in which institutions can make data available: ELM (RDF static file), OOAPI, Edu-API, and OCCAPI. Covers incremental updates, access control, and data normalisation.

Read the spec

How QualityLink maps to existing standards

We mapped ELM, OOAPI, Edu-API, OCCAPI, and related ontologies to identify gaps, overlaps, and conversion paths. All aggregated data is normalised to ELM regardless of source format.

Explore the DESM mapping tool

Specifications repository on GitHub: Knowledge-Innovation-Centre/quality-link-specs

Who the specifications are for

• Higher education institutions considering exposing their course catalogue
  Choose the right data standard, understand the minimum data requirements, and validate your data before connecting to the aggregator.
• European University alliances building a joint course catalogue
  See how member institutions can expose data in different formats and still produce a unified catalogue, with all data normalised to ELM.
• Standards bodies and policy organisations
  Understand how QualityLink extends ELM, how it relates to HEIF use case 1 (“Discover”), and where there are open questions for future standardisation work.
• Developers and data architects
  Find the technical detail you need. Then go to the technical guide to connect your data.

Technical guide

Questions or feedback

If you have questions, spotted an issue, or want to discuss adoption:

• Open an issue on GitHub: Knowledge-Innovation-Centre/quality-link-specs
• Email: contact@quality-link.eu

Ready to connect your data? Read the technical guide to get your institution’s courses into the aggregator.

Technical guide