Transcripts, diplomas, and manual processing will soon be digitized, thanks to Open Badges and verifiable credential technology. Here’s how your organization can be ready.
By Tim Spring
Verifiable credentials in education allow students to share their data with verifying parties — such as places of employment or universities — without the need to check in with the original source of that information, namely the school or college where they did their coursework or received their diploma.
This means that administrators no longer need to go through the manual process of authenticating documents or contacting the school that an applicant is claiming to have graduated from, saving the administrator time, the university or business money, and the student or graduate both.
Immediate proof of degrees and accreditation
Indicio recently hosted a Meetup with Jerry Henn, Assistant Executive Director of the United School Administrators of Kansas (USA Kansas). With 35 years of experience in education, Jerry is an expert in how schools run and the pain points administrators want to remove by turning to new technologies. Henn was excited about being able to actually prove skills and achievements; claiming to know something is one thing, but being able to instantly verify that someone is accredited by using cryptography is a huge time and money saver.
Prove specific skills with microcredentials
Henn was joined by Indicio’s VP of Business Development James Schulte to talk about what he learned from attending the recent 1EdTech Digital Credential Summit. And the headline was microcredentials, short, accredited courses that provide specific knowledge and skills, such as competence in a specific programming language, which are particularly relevant to professional development. Open Badges — particularly the verifiable credential version — simplify issuing, collecting, and verifying microcredentials. This makes it easier for an employer to assess a candidate’s qualifications, but it also helps to drive a continuous learning infrastructure.
Eliminate redundant paperwork and manual processes
Currently, authenticating a diploma requires contacting the school where it was issued, and having them dig through their records. This is a process that can take days, and can easily be delayed due to school holidays or other interruptions. This costs businesses time as they do their due diligence, makes job applicants wait longer, and requires time and physical effort by the university. Verifiable credentials allow you to trust data as if it were being presented by the original source. No more need to contact the school at all, if you can verify the credential you can move forward.
To learn more about the paperwork involved in school administration and how decentralized identity can help, read Why use decentralized identity and Open Badges in education.
Don’t be left behind
Education administrators are already implementing this technology to save their students and faculty time and effort. Indicio recently partnered with USA Kansas to implement verifiable credentials to over 2,000 administrators; and you can see a demonstration of just a few of the things that this technology can do for your organization today on the Indicio YouTube channel.
If you would like to discuss a use case for your organization, or think you might be ready to get started, please contact us and we will be in touch promptly.
