SALF: A Blockchain-Based Framework for Scalable Academic Credential Management and Institutional Governance

This study introduces SALF (Secure Academic Ledger Framework), a technically innovative blockchain-based system engineered to overcome persistent challenges in academic credential management, including latency bottlenecks, governance opacity, and integration inflexibility. SALF pioneers a hybrid on-chain/off-chain architecture optimized for low-latency operations while preserving blockchain immutability, and it employs a role-based smart contract suite tailored to institutional hierarchies. Unlike prior frameworks, SALF integrates a degree-based incentive mechanism that quantifies data quality metrics—legibility, correctness, and non-redundancy—to ensure equitable institutional participation and discourage centralization. Built upon a Proof of Authority (PoA) consensus model, SALF achieves high performance under load, maintaining a throughput of over 30 transactions per second (TPS) and P95 latency below 300 milliseconds. RESTful APIs ensure real-time interoperability with existing systems such as ERPs and academic dashboards. Compared to benchmark systems like EduCert-Chain and EduCopyRight-Chain, the proposed framework achieves a 41.3% reduction in latency and maintains stable throughput under high-load conditions, even as other systems exhibit significant degradation or integration constraints. These distinctive technical contributions position SALF as a scalable, governance-aware, and future-ready infrastructure for decentralized academic credentialing across heterogeneous institutions.