Introduction to eduGAIN
Research and Scholarship Entity Category
What is R&S?
The Research and Scholarship (R&S) Entity Category establishes a baseline attribute set that all research-related IdPs and SPs agree to exchange. The R&S Entity Category is an initiative of the international Research and Education Federations (REFEDS) community.
Why does my service need to assert R&S?
If your service qualifies for R&S, we recommend that SPs request the AAF to assert R&S on the SP’s behalf. Service Providers asserting R&S can trust they will receive the attributes they need to authorise access. If an SP does not qualify for R&S they will need to develop an SP integration guide to distribute to international IdPs that want to use the service.
How do I assert R&S?
Asserting R&S means:
- “I meet the requirements of the R&S category. I expect to receive attributes defined in the R&S specification from IdPs indicating they support R&S”
If an SP meets the R&S Registration Criteria then you can expect to receive these attributes from an IdP asserting R&S.
R&S Attribute Bundle
The R&S attribute bundle consists of the following data elements. “Affiliation” is optional.
| # | Element | Definition | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | shared user identifier | The shared user identifier is a persistent, non-reassigned, non-targeted identifier defined to be either of the following:
1. eduPersonPrincipalName (if non-reassigned) 2. eduPersonPrincipalName + eduPersonTargetedID |
YES |
| 2 | person name | Person name is defined as either (or both) of the following:
1. displayName 2. givenName + sn |
YES |
| 3 | email address | Email address is defined as the mail attribute. | YES |
| 4 | affiliation | Affiliation is defined as the eduPersonScopedAffiliation attribute. | NO |