Revolutionizing Digital Credential Management in Higher Education: Emerging Innovations, Key Challenges, and Pathways Forward

Blockchain technology and alternative digital credentials (ADCs) are the new frontiers of causing a paradigm shift in the management of higher education credentials. This chapter talks about the use of blockchain in safe and decentralized verification to increase the resistance to fraud and administrative effectiveness. It discusses the models of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI), where the power is shifted to students on the qualifications. In addition, the emergence of verifiable, skills-based digital badges to supplement traditional degrees and to be in line with the demands of the workforce is discussed. Nevertheless, a number of challenges persist such as scale, compatibility with infrastructures as well as universal interoperability standards. The results show that to develop strong and student-centered systems, technology vendors, schools, and regulators need to work closely together. At the end of the paper, the practical recommendations and a strategy map of maneuvering in this changing scenery is given.