Re: Identity verification

["David L. Wasley" <david.wasley () UCOP EDU>]

First, it's important to realize that there are many kinds of
"identity" and the significance of an "identity" lies mainly in the
consequences of relying on it's assertion.

In the process of applying for admission, "sequential identity" is
often sufficient - e.g. "is the person sending in this essay the same
person who filled out the initial application?"  Once the process is
complete and the person has accepted an offer of enrollment, then a
"specific identity" based on that person's association with the
school can be created.

That said, a number of schools are moving towards issuing a PKI
certificate as part of the initial on-line application for admission.
That credential would only be accepted for subsequent steps in the
admission process, up to and including accepting an offer of
enrollment.

Once admitted, the student would be issued a new PKI certificate (or
equivalent) that would assert an identity useful for access to
university resources, etc.  The application credential would be part
of the I&A process leading to issuance of the permanent credential.

I've left out a lot of the details, e.g. digital signatures,
acquiring transcripts, etc.  Many of these details depend on
circumstance and are evolving as high schools, etc., incorporate IT
capabilities.  I expect someday there will be "college application
brokers" who will mediate many of these details.

       David Wasley

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At 12:53 PM -0600 on 2/13/04, Travis Brown wrote:

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>
> With the increase of identity theft and privacy issues, SSN is often
> no longer required for students when they apply to a university.
> However, without private information submitted during application,
> we will soon have trouble verifying identity.
>
> I am interested in ways other universities have dealt with this
> problem. How do you assign initial passwords or allow account
> activation? Distance students may never come to campus, so we cannot
> require students to be physically present to bring an ID.
>
> Travis Brown
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