title: Transforming a Graduation System with Blockchain: A Social Impact Assessment study in a United Arab Emirates Higher Education Institution
Creators: name: Rasheed, Zainab
Publisher: name: University of Liverpool Repository
Year: 2525

description: The recent development of distributed computing and blockchain technology has influenced various aspects of traditional education system. Governments worldwide have set policies for mandatory educational qualification verifications for the hiring procedure or admission in an institution of higher education, or for the relocation purpose. The main purpose of verification of an academic qualification is to avoid counterfeit credentials. However, the manual process of educational qualification verification is a time-consuming and challenging process for the individual, officials as well as the educational institutions. Educational researchers and technology specialists are investigating the integration of blockchain technology in educational institutions for transforming the graduation system and educational qualification verification. Several institutions are experimenting the integration of blockchain in educational environments but still, there is a lack of research on the impact of blockchain on the social lives of people involved. The objective of this study is to arrive at an enhanced understanding about the social impact of integrating blockchain technology in an educational organisation. This study identifies the stakeholders, determines the factors to be measured for each stakeholder and evaluates the social impact of the real-life implementation of blockchain technology for e-credentials. The theoretical basis of this study is developed from the Social Impact Assessment methodology, which contains the procedures of analyzing the social consequences of social change processes invoked by a planned intervention. With the implications of social assessment methodology, this study has established a social impact assessment model for the analysis of blockchain technology in an educational environment. The objective of this research is accomplished by studying the social impact of the integrating blockchain on the educational leaders, management, graduates, and external organizations by using social impact assessment model. The study reveals that the integration of blockchain technology has an overall positive impact on the social lives of people involved in the educational organisation. Blockchain technology-based credentialing systems positively impact future technological advancements, industrial relations, and alumni relations. This study presents qualitative data to analyze content based on the factors that help in assessing blockchain technology and measuring its social impact on relevant stakeholders. The technique of one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data using frequency analysis and cross-tabulations. The quantitative data included the response of 18933 students who have accessed the application and provided their ratings and reviews. A total of 459 user reviews and ratings were collected on each verification transaction. The management staff noted advancements concerning trust and security of transactions, resource optimization, improved services, and process transformation. This reduces the intermediary requirement for directing the transaction between parties. The study contributes to the prevailing literature on the assessment of social impact by realistic integration of blockchain in higher education environment of United Arab Emirates, which can be observed through knowledge, practice, and theory. It also provides a methodological Social Impact Assessment model for the integration of Blockchain technology in an educational environment.