As new technologies emerge, they often help make things more convenient for users. One such instance of this is the use of Blockchain in University IT. Blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin, is a method of storing and tracking information that might change the face of Higher Ed as we know it. While Blockchain implementation in university settings is still in its infancy, there have already been several promising use cases that allow us a glimpse at how Blockchain might interact with a Higher Ed IT system. At a 2016 conference held at the University of Michigan, IT and Higher Ed innovators were brought together to discuss the future of the university transcript. The general consensus was that digital technologies would drastically impact the future of credentialing. Based on these findings, here are four top uses for Blockchain in Higher Ed so far.
1. Create Public Access Credentials
As the university system stands, the most formal credentials issued to students are transcripts and degree certificates. These credentials verify a user’s completion of a degree, as well as the types of classes a user attended and the user’s relative success in those classes. Once a student has graduated, accessing these formal pieces of documentation can be time consuming. Prospective employers often ask for copies of these documents, and as such, this tedium could delay students in their job search.
Blockchain, however, can change all of this. Using Blockchain technologies, a university could grant each student the capability to instantly produce secure and complete credentials to any institution that requests them. More than just a transcript or degree certificate, Blockchain can also host robust information about students’ performance in standardized tests, degree requirements, and even extracurricular activities. Blockchain provides an all-encompassing and expedited way for students to provide credentials to inquiring agencies of any type.
2. Ease Credentialing for Online Learning Environments
As the popularity of online learning environments grows, so too does the necessity for those learning environments to have robust and verifiable credentialing systems. Currently, universities are reliant upon complicated rules and procedures when issuing credentials since they must be carefully contained within the pre-cut “boxes” of a Higher Ed setting.
Blockchain allows data of various types to be included in a user’s credentials, and so the completion of any nontraditional learning might be recognized accordingly. In 2015, MIT began to issue Blockchain certificates to participants in various media lab programs. Such credentialing can help alternative learning environments gain credibility as viable options for Higher Ed students.
3. Provide Easy Cumulative Credentials
Imagine a world where a user might present a dossier of credentials held in a single, secure location.
Because of the nature of Blockchain, credentials can be stored as a single set of data rather than multiple disparate pieces of an individual’s past. This allows continued ease of access, and ease of review for Blockchain credentialing systems. Imagine a world where a user might present a dossier of credentials held in a single, secure location (or wallet) rather than having to chase down paperwork from various corners of their lives. The Blockchain wallet system allows credentials of various types to be streamlined into a single, cogent system and allows ease of representation as well as ease of access.
4. Allow Credentials to be Easily Accessed
Digital technologies allow data to be transported and accessed simply, quickly, and almost anywhere. Digital credentialing means that information is easy to store, easy to find, and easy to produce. Having credentials be easily accessible (MIT has developed a system wherein they can be stored on a user’s phone and shared on-the-fly) allows students the opportunity to showcase and verify their background on-the-go.
Additionally, it means that the expense of providing university-official credentials can be either cut significantly or eliminated. Digital credentials eliminate both the physical necessity of such an expense as well as the labor necessity, creating a system where credentials are free and easy to access for users and whomever they choose to share credentials with.
Blockchain technology could change the way we view and use credentials in Higher Ed if universities begin to invest in these systems as robust and simple answers to the complexities of credentialing.
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