Egyptian Informatics Journal (Jul 2022)
A blockchain-based models for student information systems
Abstract
Blockchain stores a series of transactions in form of a sequence of linked blocks. Hence, the concept of a single decentralized ledger is easily maintained. Transactions and interactions that take place among the participants accessing the distributed and decentralized but cooperative blockchain network are held through a single ledger. A student information system (SIS) can make use of a decentralized, reliable, and highly trusted ledger that stores vital information. Traditional education systems encounter problems such as centralized record keeping where fault tolerance depends on a single cloud provider; not to mention locally hosted databases. The implementation of blockchain in the education sector provides a new horizon for set of non-functional requirements including but not limited to: security, immutability, independence from the institution, immutability of official records and certificates. In addition, total trust in the accuracy and infallibility are all gathered in the decentralized ledgers of blockchain. The proposed models emphasize on the data availability; represented in students' ability to access all of their data at any time. This paper proposes three models for using blockchains to implement fully functional SIS that maintains transactions such as students’ and faculty members’ records, course registration records and student marks. In addition, avoiding the role of a super administrator or a centralized exposed store where data integrity is vulnerable. Using the proposed models pushes towards an electronic community where genuine certificates can be easily issued and published to the interested parties without the need for involving a centralized administration.
