Giving Compass' Take:

• Education Dive reports on how more colleges are adopting the blockchain method to keep track of students' records, making them more accessible, while protecting privacy. 

• How can we integrate better technology in higher ed overall? Would there be ways to reduce costs by streamlining certain administrative operations? 

• Colleges are also starting to teach blockchain. 

The blockchain is an Internet-based digital ledger on which transactions can be stored and easily shared. While it gained popularity as a medium for transactions of digital currency like Bitcoin, it is also finding use in the field of logistics and to track regulatory compliance. In higher education, some colleges and universities see it as an efficient channel to track student credentials.

Learning Machine CEO and founder Chris Jagers told attendees at the annual Educause conference earlier this month that the goal of blockchain credentials is to give students more accessible documentation of their accomplishments. "Credentials that are issued to students should be vendor-independent and recipient-owned," he said. "The ultimate end goal is for these records not to be … locked up in any way but actually to belong to the student in a useful format that they can use for the rest of their life."

Learning Machine also worked with MIT to pilot blockchain diplomas for students in two of its programs ahead of a full-scale implementation this past spring. MIT looked to blockchain for several reasons, including students' frequent need for immediate records verification and the college's large share of international students, said Mary Callahan, the university's senior associate dean and registrar. Having a largely tech-focused student body didn't hurt, either.

Read the full article about colleges using blockchain by Hallie Busta at Education Dive.