A blockchain-based information management system for academic institutions: a case study of international students’ workflow
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IDD-01-2021-0010 |
| Published date | 18 October 2021 |
| Date | 18 October 2021 |
| Pages | 343-352 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Library & information services,Lending,Document delivery,Collection building & management,Stock revision,Consortia |
| Author | Weiru Chen,Seyed Mahdi Bohloul,Yifang Ma,Ling Li |
A blockchain-based information management
system for academic institutions: a case study
of international students’workflow
Weiru Chen
Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA and
Department of Computer and Information Science, Arkansas Tech University, Russellville, Arkansas, USA, and
Seyed Mahdi Bohloul, Yifang Ma and Ling Li
Department of Information Technology and Decision Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to explore the impact of applying a blockchain-based information system in the international students’administrative
workflow in the context of a public research university in the USA.
Design/methodology/approach –Specifically, a prototype of the blockchain-based information system was developed and tested. The system has
the potential advantages of being more efficient, more transparent, faster and safer.
Findings –The results show that digital registration could increase student registration efficiency with a blockchai n-based application.
Research limitations/implications –There are also some limitations of this study. As an early exploration of the use of blockchain technology in
higher education, this study could be further extended in several aspects: different institutions (e.g. private vs public school) may have different
operational strategies towards international student affairs. The different administrative processes should be discussed in the context of different
institutions, and thus the proposed system should be tested and evaluated based on the requirements of different institutions. Use experience and
feedback from different users such as university administrators and students should be considered and investigated with respect to the necessary
improvement of the proposed system. The extensibility and scalability of the system should be assessed to accommodate any potential modifications
of the administrative process.
Originality/value –The findings show that a blockchain-based information management system has the potential to improve data transmission
efficiency and protect information privacy.
Keywords Information technology, Information services, Information systems, Information management, Information science,
Document management, Blockchain technology, Administrative workflows, International students
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Blockchain is a promising technology within different
industries (Nofer et al.,2017). The industrial applications of
blockchain offer lots of business and industrial benefits (Al-
Jaroodi and Mohamed, 2019). The earliest application of
blockchain was cryptocurrencies and financial technology
(Eyal, 2017). Eyal (2017) states that although blockchain is
popular in cryptocurrencies, financial technology is different
because it has higher demand on security. Researchers are
focusing on the principles of blockchain technology behind
cryptocurrency to achieve more comprehensive applications
(Mougayar, 2016).
Within a blockchain system, individuals can review any
recorded transactions, but no one can alter or remove any
record. This feature makes blockchainmaintain the immutable
history of activities. The transaction history is shared by all or
selected individuals.Blockchain offers high levels of traceability
of all recorded transactions, so all the transactions are
transparent that enablesanyone in the blockchain to review any
transaction.
With the growing number of international students
worldwide, more challenging issues have emerged in recent
years. These issues have existed in academic environments,
such as the university’s administrative process, academic life
and student services. Over the past decade, universities
worldwide have tried to provide solutions to the issues related
to international student service. In recent years, blockchain
The current issue and full text archiveof this journal is available on Emerald
Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-6247.htm
Information Discovery and Delivery
50/4 (2022) 343–352
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2398-6247]
[DOI 10.1108/IDD-01-2021-0010]
The authors sincerely appreciate the valuable comments from the
anonymous reviewers who provide great help to improve the quality of this
paper. The presented results and findings do not represent the opinions of
any organization.
Received 25 January 2021
Revised 1 April 2021
10 June 2021
14 July 2021
2 August 2021
2 September 2021
Accepted 25 September 2021
343
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