College retailer Follett uses academic credentials for blockchain with GreenLight – Ledger Insights

Yesterday, Follett Higher Education, one of the largest retailers on college campuses with more than 1,100 brick-and-mortar stores, announced a partnership with Greenlight Credentials. Greenlight provides blockchain-based verifiable credentials for students’ academic records.

In the US, the records of all courses taken and grades earned are referred to as a college transcript. Greenlight gives the student control over these transcripts in an electronic format so they can choose who they want to share them with. It helps high school students applying to colleges and college graduates looking for their first job. Using a combination of blockchain and decentralized identity, colleges or potential employers can verify the validity of the academic records.

“Our model gives students the opportunity to safely and securely build a lifelong educational record that supports their academic and career goals,” said Manoj Kutty, CEO of GreenLight Credentials. “This partnership will reduce administrative burdens for schools and level the playing field for students, and we are excited to partner with a mission-driven company like Follett Higher Education to equip students with the tools they need to thrive academically and beyond.”

The college retailer runs Follett ACCESS which includes all course materials as part of the tuition fee, so students get all the textbooks and course materials they need on the first day of term. Greenlight Credentials will be offered with many of the access programs.

Follett also takes a stake in Greenlight Credentials.

Velocity Network for Career Credentials

Greenlight uses the Velocity Network, a career credentialing blockchain network used by many service providers, colleges and recruiters. It was founded by 15 organisations, such as SAP and the National Student Clearing House. Members include recruitment firm Randstad and Aon Assessment Solutions.

To enable interoperability, there are some standard credentials that issuers are encouraged to use. However, it also supports custom add-ons.

Only the students store their private information, without anything personal being stored on the blockchain. However, issuers write an encrypted proof of credentials to the blockchain so that it can later be verified.

On a more technical level, Velocity uses Microsoft’s ION decentralized identity framework, and its blockchain is based on Hyperledger Besu.