Improve your university’s digital-first strategy with CIAM

Today’s students live in a technology-driven world and have high expectations of their university’s digital experience. To make sure that the tech-savvy student has a smooth and secure journey, universities must implement the right customer identity access management (CIAM) solutions. Let us explore how CIAM can improve the student experience from application to alumni.

Before a student can even start at a university, they need to be verified as who they say they are. With CIAM in place, reduce frustration by making it simple for students to verify their identity without compromising security. Users are prompted to provide a selfie that is passively checked for likeness using ISO-certified technology. They then scan their ID using their mobile device’s camera and the ID’s authenticity is checked using over 150 weighted analyses and machine learning.

For ongoing studies, passwordless access is key. Once students have been verified, there is no longer the risk associated with reusing or writing down passwords every time they want to log in. The use of single sign-on (SSO) allows for passwordless authentication with just one account and provides more security than traditional means. SSO also makes it easier for students to access all the resources available online within their portal or dashboard without having separate passwords for each system or app used by their university.

An important security measure that many universities are now incorporating into their digital infrastructure. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires the use of two or more independent credentials, such as fingerprint or facial recognition to authenticate users. This allows universities to verify that students are who they say they are before granting them access to any form of digital resources, so students have peace of mind knowing that their data is secure. MFA also works quickly and securely so students can get started on their academic journey with minimal hassle.

A powerful tool for universities to offer their students an efficient and secure way of managing their accounts. With the portal, students can perform various tasks related to identity and access requirements with ease, such as resetting passwords, requesting access to resources, and easily updating personal information. Take the University of Chichester as an example, as their self-service portal has significantly reduced the strain on IT support, increased efficiency and enhanced user experience.

A critical part of the student experience and with CIAM in place, universities can maintain an up-to-date and secure system for managing student accounts. From the moment a student’s account is created to when they depart from their university, this process will automatically provide and de-provision access. This guarantees that only authorised users can view confidential information as approved by administrators.

CIAM is essential for universities to provide a secure and smooth student experience from application to alumni. With CIAM, universities can easily verify students’ identities, offer passwordless access and protect data with MFA security measures; allow efficient self-service portal management of accounts and ensure lifecycle management remains up to date. All these features help create an improved user journey on or off campus that meets the expectations of today’s tech-savvy students while always keeping their information safe. CIAM is an integral strategy for today’s digital-first university.

Learn more about identity solutions for higher education.