Micro-credentials—certificates of proficiency in a specific skill or knowledge base certified by an authority—can provide evidence of a person’s skills to employers.
While micro-credentials are becoming more popular, the concept is hardly new: A driver’s license or St. John Ambulance certificate can be considered micro-credentials, verifying a person’s driving skills or their competence in administering first aid, respectively.
Blockchain technology is suitable for the implementation of microcredit. Blockchain can best be described as a digital ledger that records information that can be shared between a community of users. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the best-known examples of blockchain, but blockchain has uses beyond financial transactions.
Student records stored in blockchain for security limit access only to legitimate users, such as institution administrators and potential employers selected by students or job seekers. Traditionally, institutions own and control certifications such as degrees, but that could change with “digital degrees” and micro-credentials that rely on blockchain.
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Verification of achievements
In addition to providing effective security and privacy for users, blockchain can also facilitate the maintenance and dissemination of credentials while ensuring that access is readily available to students under their control.
Due to its immutability, blockchain can be used to attest and verify student achievements. This is important for students who want to have their credits recognized whether they are studying to get new professional accreditation, studying at several institutions or because they are moving to study or work.
Blockchain is distributed, which means that multiple copies of the same information are stored on different computers. So blockchain is not controlled by any central authority, and the “blocks” of the “chain”, linked chronologically, are shared in a P2P (node-to-node) network that can be accessed from any node or point on the network.
These blocks are immutable, as any change to the original leaves the first iteration intact and accessible.
When students or job seekers want to have credits transferred between institutions, gatekeepers—such as post-secondary institutions or employers—usually insist on receiving copies of diplomas and degrees directly from each institution. As more students receive credentials from more institutions, this process becomes increasingly unsustainable.
Students need to control this process and blockchain can provide a solution.
Safe validates learning
In 2019, McMaster University announced that it was awarding “digital degrees” using blockchain to faculty for engineering students after the university implemented micro-credentials using blockchain to securely validate student learning.
Some post-secondary institutions are implementing pilot projects with eCampus Ontario and industry partners to award micro-credentials using blockchain.
Micro-credentials are now offered by post-secondary institutions, sometimes in partnership with companies to target labor market needs. These can come in the form of “digital badges.” Digital badges are easily verifiable evidence of when, where and how skills have been mastered. Metadata in digital badges allows viewers to click on the badge to learn things like criteria for earning the badge, the date it was issued or when it expires.
Maintain data privacy
Blockchain certification begins when a trusted institution issues the microcredential and creates a blockchain. The student then sends a public key password to the institution, and requests that a transcript be sent to a potential employer.
The institution then adds a block to the blockchain and sends the micro-credential, which is verified and forwarded to the potential employer. Students can keep private keys to their credentials in an offline digital wallet.
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It is important to maintain the privacy of the data. With blockchain, ownership of the microcredit lies with the individual, not the institution.
Blockchain supports more control for students and has the ability to further democratize education. It allows students to maintain control over their now secure credentials and allows them to be confident that their acquired skills and knowledge will be valued.
Potential concerns
However, there are some ethical and logistical concerns. Right now, when a person seeks to transfer credits through traditional channels, they can choose which documents or certifications to share with employers: errors, or aspects of one’s previous credentials and experience that are considered less prominent or undesirable, can be addressed or ignored.
But blockchain is immutable and this immutability can cause its own problems when errors cannot be erased.
Read more: Protecting the ‘right to be forgotten’ in the age of blockchain
Students cannot leave blocks off-chain that they don’t feel are appropriate or that might harm their reputation. So how can they create different narratives for different purposes or highlight and/or hide different experiences? What happens if someone wants or needs to start over? Is there a right to forget?
What if a student loses their key? New York Times reports that lost passwords have locked millionaires out of their bitcoin fortunes. Will students and workers fare better in terms of academic and professional records? Who will answer these problems in institutions?
These are questions that post-secondary institutions and our society at large will increasingly need to navigate.
