Building the Plumbing for Digital Credentials: GVSU’s Bold Ecosystem Approach

A Foundation for the Future

Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is taking a systems-level approach to digital credentials. This Fall, it will begin issuing over 120,000 credentials across both higher education and select partner K-12 institutions. The initiative includes 80,000 credentials at the university level and another 40,000 across three local high schools. This is not a pilot. It is infrastructure.

The Role of Interoperability

At the heart of GVSU’s strategy is a focus on interoperability. Led by the GVSU Co-Lab, the university refers to its work as “the plumbing for the ecosystem.” The goal is to ensure that every credential issued can move seamlessly across systems—between institutions, employers, and learners.

Connecting Education to Workforce

GVSU is not just issuing credentials for the sake of innovation. Each digital badge is aligned to skills that matter in the workforce. By embedding these credentials into both academic and extracurricular learning, the university is setting students up with a verifiable skills record that can be used in job searches and career development.

Starting in High School

What makes this effort unique is that it begins before college. With 40,000 credentials being issued in local high schools, GVSU is ensuring that students enter higher education with an existing digital learner record. This creates continuity in learning and makes the college experience more relevant to real-world goals.

A Clear Learner Record

Through Territorium’s technology, GVSU is building a comprehensive Learning and Employment Record (LER) that captures academic progress, co-curricular achievements, and demonstrated competencies. The record allows students to see where they’ve been, what they know, and where they can go next.

LifeJourney Integration

Each learner receives access to LifeJourney, Territorium’s AI-powered platform that matches skills to career pathways. The platform helps students visualize job opportunities based on their verified credentials. It also supports students in planning next steps—both educational and professional.

Scalable by Design

What GVSU is doing can be scaled and replicated. By embedding credentialing into the systems they already use, the university avoids creating new silos or redundant tools. The focus is on building infrastructure that lasts and can support other institutions across the region.

A Model for Ecosystem Thinking

GVSU is showing what it means to think beyond the institution. By connecting K-12, higher education, and the workforce through a shared credentialing strategy, it is building a model that other systems can follow.