In the wake of ProofID’s UCISA24 session titled “A Digital-First Future for Higher Ed”, here we build upon discussions to consider how to meet the challenges of changing student needs with data security and privacy in order to move towards a digital-first future.
How verifiable credentials ease the student digital journey
Central to the vision is the focus on providing a seamless digital experience for everyone, whether that’s a student, a member of the academic staff, or wider members of the institution’s community. From prospective students exploring their options to engaged alumni, each interaction should be frictionless, secure, and engaging via the use of verified credentials at every stage of the journey. Along the way however, there are inevitably challenges to overcome to innovate and adapt.
The dance of identities
With a constant influx of students and staff, each with unique digital footprints, higher education faces the challenge of providing hiccup-free provisioning of services and resources.
Verified credentials help the delicate dance of identities by providing users frictionless access via standardised and privacy-controlled identity management, whilst safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining student privacy. Across the institution’s digital ecosystem, this ensures that users’ personal data, access logs and activity history are managed within privacy and compliance frameworks, reducing risks and enhancing trust in the numerous platforms and systems students can access.