Development and Evaluation of a Prototype Dlt-Based Credential Management System

Abstract

The digital transformation of higher education has created an urgent need for transparent, efficient, and verifiable management of student records. Traditional centralized systems for credential management rely heavily on Trusted Third Parties (TTPs), creating vulnerabilities related to data integrity, ownership, and single points of failure. This study aimed to design, develop, and evaluate a prototype decentralized ledger technology (DLT)-based credentialing system called "The Consortium" for educational and employment applications.  The researcher employed a Design Science Research approach combined with Agile software development methodology. The system was built using a modern web technology stack including Next.js 16, React 19, TypeScript, and cryptographic libraries to simulate a consortium blockchain environment. The system implements a three-role architecture involving Holders (Students), Issuers (Universities), and Verifiers (Employers). Key security features include Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), SHA-256 hashing for multi document portfolio integrity, and HMAC-SHA256 digital signatures for credential verification. Thirty purposively selected respondents (15 Holders, 5 Issuers, and 10 Verifiers) evaluated the prototype using a researcher-constructed questionnaire based on ISO/IEC 25010 quality characteristics.  The prototype successfully eliminated the need for intermediaries by enabling instant, trustless verification of credentials. Verification speed tests showed completion in under 200 milliseconds compared to 5-10 business days for traditional methods. The system demonstrated 100% success in recording all eight transaction types (DID registration, portfolio submission, portfolio rejection, verifiable credential issuance, credential revocation, credential forwarding, credential decision, and chat messaging) with no duplicate hashes. Tampering detection tests confirmed that any modification to portfolio documents immediately produced different hash values, ensuring integrity. The usability evaluation yielded mean scores of 4.4 for ease of use, 4.6 for speed perception, and 4.5 for trust, with an overall mean of 4.5 out of 5.0, all interpreted as "Strongly Agree."  The Consortium prototype confirms the viability of DLT in reducing credential fraud and administrative inefficiency in the education sector. The system enables students to maintain self-sovereign ownership of their records while providing institutions with a secure, tamper-proof method of issuance, verification, and revocation. Future work should focus on controlled deployment on a permissioned test network, smart contract migration, and integration with institutional record systems.