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README.md

Governance Models in Education and Professional Qualifications

This section of the documentation provides a structured, non-technical overview of the governance regimes relevant to the use of Electronic Attestations of Attributes (EAAs) within the DC4EU framework.

Governance in this context refers to who is allowed to issue credentials, under what authority, and with what scope of recognition — across domains such as formal education, quality assurance, professional licensing, and digital identity.

Each regime is explained in accessible terms, with a focus on:

  • The presence (or absence) of European-level authorities
  • National roles and trust delegation
  • Types of actors involved (ministries, agencies, universities, etc.)
  • Real-world examples
  • Links to applicable EAAs

Governance Domains

1. Formal Education Governance

Covers the structure for authorising educational institutions to deliver programmes and issue qualifications at all levels (primary, secondary, VET, higher education).
Explains how ministries act as RootTAOs and delegate authority through EAAs.

2. Professional Qualifications Governance

Describes how regulated professions (e.g. medicine, law) are governed by ministries and professional bodies.
Explains how professional licences and identities are issued, verified, and recognised using EAAs.

3. Educational Quality Assurance Governance

Explains how national and regional quality assurance agencies are recognised and how their accreditation roles are linked to European-level bodies (ENQA, EQAR, etc.).
Covers institutional and programme-level QA EAAs.

4. Non-Foundational Digital Identity Governance

Focuses on identity credentials that are not linked to civil registers but enable trusted sectoral interactions.
Includes:

  • EducationalID
  • ProfessionalID
  • AllianceID
  • MyAcademicID

How Governance Relates to EAAs

Each governance regime determines:

  • Which entities can act as issuers
  • Which EAAs must be issued to prove authority
  • How these EAAs are discovered and verified
  • How cross-border recognition is enabled

This structure ensures that credential issuers — whether schools, universities, professional councils, or alliances — can be digitally verified in a way that is:

  • Legally compliant
  • Technically interoperable
  • Respectful of national autonomy

Where to Go Next

For technical implementation, see:

  • 06-eaa-types-and-scenarios.md
  • 08-implementation-framework.md
  • 11-trust-lists-and-registries.md

To understand how this fits into the full DC4EU sectoral rulebook, begin at the root README.