With the emergence of digital education and remote learning systems over a few decades, the importance of online student identity verification has also increased amongst many educational institutions. E-learning platforms must integrate effective and resilient student identity verification for better security.
Since student verification has become a crucial part of the education sector in the digital world, many online universities and colleges strive to take additional measures to ensure students’ authenticity. But, how do they do it?
In this blog, we will take you through the stepwise process of the online student identity verification process and its importance.
What is Online Student Identity Verification?
Online student identity verification is a process that educational institutions use to verify the identity of their students who are studying remotely or taking online courses. The purpose of this process is to ensure that the individual who is taking an exam or completing an assignment is actually the enrolled student, instead of someone else who may be cheating or attempting to gain unauthorised access.
How is Online Student Verification Conducted?
There are various methods used for student identity verification, including:
a. Secure Login Credentials
Students get unique login credentials that they must use to access the online learning platform.
b. Multi-factor Authentication
Students must provide additional forms of identification, such as a one-time passcode sent to their mobile device or email, in addition to their login credentials.
c. Webcam Monitoring
Students need to use a webcam to show their faces and ID documents to verify their identity.
d. Remote Proctoring
A third-party service provider monitors students’ activity during online exams to ensure academic integrity.
Student identity verification is an important aspect of maintaining academic integrity in online learning environments and protecting the value of academic credentials.
Importance of Student Identity Verification
Online student identity verification is one of the parts of KYC document verification, which is crucial in establishing trust within the online education industry. It serves as a means of confirming that students have successfully completed coursework and earned valid credentials. This is particularly significant for learners pursuing degrees, certificates, or further education digitally.
However, failure to verify student identities may not be a major issue for casual or free courses, but for more advanced academic programs, it can lead to fraudulent activity and undermine the credibility of the institution or platform.
Educational institutions and digital learning platforms offering online courses have a vested interest in preventing fraudulent activity as it could damage their reputation. Additionally, employers rely on educational credentials to gauge the qualifications of job applicants.
Furthermore, hiring an unqualified candidate could have negative consequences for customers in industries such as medicine, law, and finance. As such, it is critical to ensure the validity of educational credentials through identity verification.
5 Ultimate Benefits of Student ID Verification
Online student ID verification can provide several benefits, including:
i. Fraud Prevention
One of the major benefits of online student identity verification is to help prevent individuals from fraudulently claiming to be a student and gaining access to student resources and benefits.
ii. Eligibility Surety
Verifying student identities allows institutions to know that a student is currently enrolled and eligible for access to resources such as libraries, online course materials, and student discounts.
iii. Enhanced Security
Moreover, student authentication can enhance security by ensuring that only authorised students have access to sensitive information, such as grades and academic records.
iv. Better Efficiency
Online student ID verification can streamline the process of verifying student identities. Saving time and resources for both students and administrators.
v. Increased Accessibility
In addition to this, it can make it easier for students to verify their identities from remote locations. Reducing the need for in-person verification and allowing for greater access to online resources.
Bottom Line
Online student identity verification is an essential process that ensures the credibility and authenticity of online education. However various methods are available that help educational institutions to prevent fraudulent activity and maintain academic integrity. Verification of student identity also has other benefits such as fraud prevention, eligibility surety, enhanced security, better efficiency, and increased accessibility, making it a vital part of the online education industry. As online learning continues to grow, implementing effective and resilient student identity verification processes is crucial for the credibility and success of educational institutions and their students. Follow KYC AML Guide to know more about the identity verification processes in other sectors.
