TWU wins $150K grant for portable transcript project

Feb. 12, 2021—DENTON—Imagine an employer quizzing a job candidate about her academic credentials and internship experiences during a pivotal interview. The employer is eager for verified information to make a quick decision.

Now imagine the prospective employee grabbing her cell phone, swiftly tapping a few keystrokes, then delivering an email to that employer seconds later with a comprehensive report on her academic background.

It’s a valuable tool that will serve many future job candidates graduating from Texas Woman’s University and several other North Texas universities under a project that aims to establish a shared platform allowing students to store and share their educational records with colleges and employers.

The project, led by Texas Woman’s University, was awarded $150,000 from the American Council on Education (ACE) as part of its Blockchain Innovation Challenge, a national competition funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

The competition seeks ways that blockchain technology can help disadvantaged learners gain more control over their educational records and more equitably access economic opportunity. Texas Woman’s was one of four national winners announced Feb. 11 by ACE for the first phase of the competition.

"TWU is very pleased to partner with other institutions to develop a technology platform that will allow greater agency for students, which we believe will increase student success rates as well as employability in North Texas," said Monica Mendez-Grant, TWU’s vice president for Student Life.

Other partners in the project are the University of Texas-Arlington, Texas A&M University-Commerce, North Central Texas College, Carrolton-Farmers Branch Independent School District, and GreenLight, the Metroplex company that provides what effectively is a mobile transcript service.

The digital transcript could include certified and verified skills and competencies earned. The record can be made accessible to employers, postsecondary and scholarship programs.