The University of Arizona uses the SalesForce blockchain to transfer and store data

Arizona State University is working with local colleges on using the blockchain to transfer and store student performance data.

According to Inside Higher Ed, the University of Arizona plans to use the blockchain to keep track of whether students who are transferred from local colleges have enough credit for obtaining a junior specialist diploma – intermediate qualifications between a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree.

The process of tracking credits is time consuming. In addition to simply exchanging data, colleges are required to check academic records that are not created according to a single model, and to determine whether the specified data is equivalent to their own.

In collaboration with SalesForce, a cloud-based software developer, and its central corporate division, EdPlus, the University of Arizona is developing a student database on the blockchain, which will allow participants to safely share and verify information.

Reportedly, the focus is on the data exchange process so that local colleges can continue to receive information about the progress of their former students in Arizona. EdPlus Technical Director Donna Kidwell (Donna Kidwell) said:

“We want to optimize data transfer to support students who are on their own path to a degree.”

According to her, the system is aimed at a more effective assessment and exchange of data so that students are not deprived of the opportunity to receive a full-fledged education. Many of the project participants believe that students who have completed an associate degree are more likely to begin completing bachelor after transfer, and the blockchain can provide a reliable mechanism for managing complex individual ways of getting higher education.

The state of Arizona is one of the most progressive regions of the United States, if we talk about the adoption of the blockchain. Last spring in Arizona, data storage on the blockchain was legalized, and in 2017, blockchain signatures and the use of smart contracts were officially recognized as valid.