Expanding access to digital credentials

Expanding access to digital credentials

MIT Open Learning

Grant from Walmart Corporation to fund development of learner wallet

Photo by monsitj on iStock

Digital credentials such as digital diplomas and other learning and employment records give learners ownership and control of their academic records, enable portability, and support the pursuit of economic opportunity. They also allow better matching of applicants with jobs, ultimately benefiting workers and employers.

In 2018 MIT, together with 11 university partners from 5 countries, launched the Digital Credentials Consortium (DCC) in order to design an infrastructure for digital academic credentials that places the needs of learners at its center. A key component of the DCC credential ecosystem is a digital “wallet,” an application that learners can use to store and manage their credentials. Given the growing acceptance of digital wallets for various records (the Apple Wallet, for example, can be used to store boarding passes, concert tickets, credit cards, etc.), there is a need for wallets that are specifically designed to accommodate academic credentials. With support from the US Department of Education, MIT has been working to develop an open-source, mobile wallet for digital credentials.

A new grant from the Walmart Corporation allows MIT to further consider the needs of underserved students in the creation of a learner wallet. The project builds on and expands MIT’s efforts on student-owned digital credentials with two specific goals: to address the needs of underserved learners in the design of digital wallets for credential management, and to strengthen the pathway of credentials from issuers to learners, and then from learners to employers.

“The focus by MIT to not only design, but also implement solutions that impact entire workforce, and especially those underserved utting on this project

“MIT and their partners are focusing on solutions that can provide students and workers greater access to their own skills and credentials,” said Sean Murphy, Senior Manager, Opportunity at Walmart. “With a strengthened focus on underserved students, this work on digital credentials can help ensure that all learning, whether in a classroom or on the job, can count.”

The digital wallet project comprises three phases. First, MIT will work with university partners College Unbound (CU), San Jose City College (SJCC), and Georgia Tech on a pilot program. CU serves primarily low-income adult learners in degree completion programs; SJCC is a community college that provides non-degree credentials for high-demand tech skills through their TechNest program; and Georgia Tech is a member of the DCC and a leader in the UX design of digital credential wallets. The pilot will explore how students can effectively share credentials with current and prospective employers. The project team will also develop a web-based version of the wallet, providing access to digital credentials for those without smartphones.

The project team will prepare a report on bridging the gap between credentials and employment, which will identify challenges in the current system that prevent more widespread adoption, and recommend solutions. Finally, the project will continue to engage with the

W3C Credentials Community Group to explore the connection between verified credentials and various other standards for digital credentials, and ensure interoperability between related efforts.

Philipp Schmidt, Director of Digital Learning & Collaboration at the MIT Media Lab and the PI on this grant, adds: “This project is an exciting next step for MIT’s work on digital credentials, moving our focus from standards design and community-building, to developing software that makes it easier for more institutions and organizations to start realizing the benefits of digital academic credentials.”


Expanding access to digital credentials was originally published in MIT Open Learning on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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