The Power of Digital Credentials: Badges, Diplomas, Certificates and more

Digital Badges are capturing the imagination of credential issuers such as employers, college registrars, licensing boards, and non-profits. The ability to digitally represent skills or achievements that can be shared and stacked makes eyes light up with the possibilities.

Traditional credentials are making the move to being issued digitally, and the same excitement that the original digital credential — the badge — elicited is now emerging for the newest digital credentials.  Registrars and employers are realizing that just as they have explored offering digital badges, they can just as easily issue their long established credentials (such as diplomas, certificates, and licenses) digitally and get even more value out of them. And they’re getting excited!

Why Digital Credentials Are Exciting

As digital credentials, our traditional credentials are expanding their functionality.

They’re more easily shareable: Secure and verified links can be shared directly with employers or on social media, such as LinkedIn (be logged in to see examples).

They’re machine readable: With data backing the credentials, algorithms for placement or workforce management can be powered, increasing accuracy and efficiency.

They link to evidence: Deep links to portfolios, projects, and instructors can provide depth of insight that supplements the credential significantly.

They’re trackable: As digital credentials move throughout the world via social media and shared links, their footprint of their impact can be measured more easily.

They’re faster: Issuable in moments, a digital credential can be put to use as soon as the learner receives a text message or email. Getting credentials faster makes them immediately more impactful.

Powering Digital Credentials

By being digital, credentials can do more than ever before, and as a company focused on digital credentials, Parchment has developed a platform to help issuers, receivers and learners make the most of their digital credentials.

For Issuers: A full suite of tools to manage and issue credentials digitally and to track their usage across cohorts and time. Issuers can see their brand emboldened as branded digital credentials are shared across social media, reaching new audiences. With total control, the issuer can add credential descriptions, competencies, links and govern expiration dates.

For Receivers: Receiving all records at scale and incorporating them into their business systems to provide admission, placement, or employment is key. With data backing the credentials up, the intake process is faster, more accurate, and make achieving strategic goals easier.  Digital credentials help make better hiring or admissions decisions.

For Learners: Perhaps the largest beneficiary of the digital platform, learners can collect all of their academic credentials from every credential issuer and stack and share them (in a secure and verified way) with employers or other organizations. Additional management tools let them order and send to any destination worldwide, or download and print. With a central place to collect from credential issuers and then be able to share their academic achievements with receivers to get their perfect job, learners are empowered to market themselves better than they ever have before.

Learn more about Parchment’s Comprehensive Digital Platform!

Education’s Bright Future

As a group who watch credential innovation closely, we are so excited to see the innovation that digital credentials are bringing to higher education! The possibilities are endless and it’s exciting to be able to play a part as our industry starts to really turn credentials into opportunities.

We’d love to hear if you have a digital credentials strategy! Comment below or contact us to let us know what you’re planning.