Product Manager, Digital Credentialing
A Product Manager for Digital Credentialing leads the strategy, development, and rollout of digital credentialing and student record systems, transforming how institutions issue, verify, and manage transcripts, diplomas, micro-credentials, and certificates. This is a sample job description from Excelon Associates that you can adapt as a template for your own hire.
What does a Product Manager of Digital Credentialing do?
The Product Manager leads the strategy, development, and implementation of digital credentialing and student record systems within higher education institutions. The role transforms how colleges and universities issue, verify, and manage transcripts, diplomas, micro-credentials, and certificates by leveraging secure, modern technology platforms.
The Product Manager serves as the bridge between academic stakeholders, registrars, IT teams, and external technology partners, making sure solutions meet institutional priorities while staying compliant with accreditation and regulatory standards. Beyond design and rollout, the role drives adoption across faculty and administrative departments, improves student mobility, and enables seamless verification for employers and graduate schools.
Digital credentialing is the issuance of verifiable academic records, such as transcripts, diplomas, micro-credentials, and certificates, through secure digital platforms. A student information system (SIS) is the institutional system of record for student data, and a learning management system (LMS) delivers course content; both integrate with credentialing tools.
Who and what does this role connect?
What are the key responsibilities?
- Develop and implement a product roadmap for digital credentialing and academic records platforms.
- Collaborate with registrars, faculty, and accreditation bodies to design features that meet institutional needs.
- Oversee integration with student information systems (SIS) and LMS platforms.
- Prioritize features that improve student mobility, transferability of credits, and employability outcomes.
- Ensure compliance with FERPA, accessibility requirements, and institutional data policies.
- Conduct stakeholder workshops to gather insights and drive adoption across departments.
What qualifications are required?
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Education Administration, Business, or Information Systems.
- 5+ years in product management, student services technology, or higher education IT leadership.
- Strong knowledge of student information systems, registrar operations, and accreditation requirements.
- Ability to bridge technical requirements with academic and administrative needs.
- Excellent leadership and stakeholder management skills.
Why is this role important?
This role is not only about technology implementation; it shapes the future of credential transparency and portability. By advancing secure, efficient, and accessible student record systems, the Product Manager helps institutions strengthen trust with students, alumni, and external stakeholders while positioning the university as an innovator in higher education.
As more learners move between institutions and into the workforce, the ability to verify a credential quickly and securely becomes a competitive advantage. This role owns that capability end to end.
A hiring note from Excelon
This hire sits in the gap between product and the registrar’s office, and that gap is where most candidates fall short. Plenty of product managers know roadmaps and plenty of higher ed administrators know FERPA and SIS workflows, but few do both. We screen for people who have actually shipped a credentialing or student-records product inside an institution, because adoption across faculty and administration is harder than the build.
The technology is the easy part. Getting registrars, faculty, and IT to adopt one system is the real job.
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Frequently asked questions
What does a Product Manager of Digital Credentialing do?
The Product Manager leads the strategy, development, and implementation of digital credentialing and student record systems, transforming how institutions issue, verify, and manage transcripts, diplomas, micro-credentials, and certificates through secure technology platforms.
What qualifications are required?
This sample role requires a bachelor’s or master’s degree in education administration, business, or information systems, plus five or more years in product management, student services technology, or higher education IT leadership.
What is digital credentialing?
Digital credentialing is the issuance of verifiable academic records, such as transcripts, diplomas, micro-credentials, and certificates, through secure digital platforms that students control and that employers and graduate schools can verify quickly.
What systems does this role integrate with?
The role oversees integration with student information systems (SIS) and learning management systems (LMS), and keeps credentialing tools compliant with FERPA, accessibility requirements, and institutional data policies.
Why is this role important?
By advancing secure, efficient, and accessible student record systems, the role improves credential transparency and portability, strengthens trust with students and alumni, and enables seamless verification for employers and graduate schools.
Need to hire a Product Manager for Digital Credentialing?
Excelon Associates recruits product, technology, and student-services leaders through our higher education recruitment practice, connecting institutions with professionals who design secure, accessible, future-ready student record systems. Retained executive search since 2007, headquartered in Asheville, NC.
More Sample Job Descriptions
Templates you can adapt for your own roles.