UCT Digital Certificates Portal

The UCT Digital Certificates Student Portal is a secure platform that allows you to view your electronic UCT short course certificate. You also have this option to share your certificate with third parties such as prospective employers or other higher education institutions, so that they can verify you have completed a course.

Create your user profile

1. Navigate to https://digitalcertificates.uct.ac.za and click Register. 
2. Enter your email address that you registered with for the short course.
3. Enter a password and then confirm it.
4. Click Next.
5. You will be prompted to enter your personal details in the relevant fields.
   • First name
   • Last name
   • Student number
   • Date of birth
     • Click in the empty field and then on the current month that appears in the field.
     • The list of months will appear. Select your birth month.
     • Click on the displayed year (i.e., 2024) and scroll to your birth year.
     • Select the year, month and then day.
     • Select whether you would like your personal information to be accessible by third parties.
6. Click Next.
7. Enter your postcode and click Next.
8. On the Confirmation page, ensure that all your information is correct. 
   • If anything needs to be updated, click the Previous button. Once you're happy with the updates, click Register.
   • If no changes are required, click Register.
9. In your mailbox, open the confirmation email that has been sent to you and verify your email address. Upon successful completion, you will be directed to the student portal where you can now log on.

Access the student portal

1. Navigate to https://digitalcertificates.uct.ac.za and click Login.
2. Enter your email address that you used to register on the portal and the password that you created.
3. Click Log in.

From the portal dashboard, you can click View to access your certificates, or click Manage to view or create connections with third parties.

Manage your student profile

All students who have access to the UCT Digital Certificates Portal has a dedicated profile which contains your

• Photograph (where applicable)
• Student number
• Personal details (name, surname, date of birth, portal username, phone number, email address)
• Opt-in for third party search
  NOTE: you must opt in or else your information will remain private, and not be searchable by third parties.
• Additional contact information
• Change password option 

View or edit your profile

1. Click your name in the top right corner of the portal screen.
2. On the Profile and logout option page, Click View > edit my profile link.
3. On the Profile screen, you can either view or edit your
   • Personal details
   • Bio (add interesting information about yourself, which can be viewed by third parties if you opted in)
   • Additional contact information
     • Phone numbers
     • Email address
     • Social media handles
   • Physical address
   • Change your password
     IMPORTANT: this option is only applicable to those who do not have a UCT email address. 
     • Click Change Password.
     • Enter your current password.
     • Enter your new password.
     • Reenter your new password and Click Save.

View certificates

1. Log onto the portal and on the dashboard, click the Documents tab above or View in the Documents section.
2. Each certificate is displayed in a card. Click View on the applicable card. The document may take a few minutes to load.
3. A PDF version of your certificate is displayed.
4. Use the applicable icons to zoom in or out and move the document around.

Report an issue with your certificate

Should you experience an issue with your certificate, click the Report button on the applicable certificate card.

1. Select the Issue reason from the drop-down menu.
2. Enter a description of the issue you’re experiencing.
3. Ensure that the pre-populated fields are correct and click Send.

Your issue will be investigated, and feedback will be sent, where applicable.

Manage connections

The connection option allows you to share your certificate with any third parties, such as prospective employers or higher education institutions. They can then view and verify your academic record.

You can either create a connection, or a third party can request a connection, if your contact details are searchable on the UCT Digital Certificates Portal. You can indicate whether third parties can search you on the Personal details section of the portal.

Click the Connections tab to view all active and pending connection requests. You can manage existing connections, as well as create and approve new ones.

Click Active to view existing connections, and Inactive to see what connections are expired, rejected, or cancelled. 

Connection information appears as follows:

• Third party name
• Third party email address
• Connection status (active, inactive or pending)
• Initiator
• Documents shared by you
• Connection expiry date
• Actions available to you

Create a new connection

1. Navigate to the Connection tab and click Add Connection.
2. In the Add Connection window, enter the following information about the third party and click Send:
   • Name
   • Email
   • Expiry date
   • Message (optional)
3. A request will be sent to the third party to action.
4. When the third party accepts the connection request, the status will change from Pending to Active on the Connections page.
5. You can now share your academic record with the third party and edit the expiration date, as necessary.

Share a certificate with a new third party

1. Navigate to your list of certificates and select the checkbox next to the document you would like to share.
2. In the Add Connection window, click Share Documents.
3. A confirmation message will appear indicating that the document was successfully shared with the third party.

Change a shared document

This can only be done with third parties who have accepted your connection request.

1. On the Connections tab, under the Actions section, click the edit icon   next to the applicable document.
2. In the Share Documents window, select the checkbox next to the item you would like to share or stop sharing.
3. Click Share Documents.
4. You will be redirected to the Connections screen.

Extend a connection

A default expiration date is set each time you create a connection request. Manually reset the expiration date by following the instructions below.

1. On the Connections tab, under Actions section, click the clock icon   next to the applicable document.
2. In the Request Connection Extension window, select your preferred date and click Save > OK.

This process can also be used to re-establish an inactive connection, by clicking the Inactive button on the Connections page.

Cancel a connection

1. On the Connections tab, under the Actions section, click the bin icon   next to the applicable document.
2. On the Confirmation screen, click Yes to delete the connection.
3. Click OK.

Opt in for third party search

The third party search functionality allows third parties who are using the UCT Digital Certificate Verification Portal to search students who match their required criteria. The following details of students, who have opted in to be searched, will be visible to third parties

• Full name
• Email address
• Bio
• Certificate information
  • Reference number
  • Course name
  • Qualification title
  • Certificate award date

Students can opt in to be discoverable by third parties on the Personal Details screen.

Logout of the portal

Remember to logout of the portal each time you use it.

1. Click your name in the top right corner of the portal screen.
2. On the Profile and logout option page, Click View > edit my profile link.
3. On the Profile screen click Logout.