Central New Mexico Community College
On the leading edge of Higher Education
Launched
December 2017
Sector
Education
Partner
Office of the President
Educational Achievement
In December 2017, CNM became the first community college in the United States to issue digital diplomas, securely anchored to the blockchain, giving students the power to manage their own credentials using the free Blockcerts mobile app.
“We are very excited to begin adopting this technology that’s going to provide more value, independence and convenience to our students throughout their lives,” CNM President Katharine Winograd said. “Students put forth tremendous effort to earn their higher education credentials and we’re going to start empowering more students with stewardship over their own educational achievements.”
“We’ve seen the vulnerabilities of the internet, and Blockchain is definitely the future because the data that lives there is not only verified, but also immutable and totally trustworthy.”
Bill Halverson
Senior Technology Advisor to CNM Ingenuity
The credentials issued to students within CNM’s Ingenuity programs use the BTC blockchain, which means they can never be tampered with and can easily be verified by any potential employer. As of today, Ingenuity has issued roughly 300 Blockcerts to students completing workforce training programs.
CNM has expanded the use of digital credentials in phases across all programs at the college. In August of 2018, all graduates across CNM were granted the option to receive a digital diploma. To date, CNM has issued over 3000 digital diplomas to graduates. More details were shared in an interview with E-Campus News:
“We thought it was going to be a slow adoption curve among employers, and we’re actually getting quite a bit more use than we anticipated.”
— Tobe Phelps, Senior Director CNM
In February of 2019, CNM began issuing open badges that communicate measurable skills along an education path, thus unlocking more summative academic records. Often referred to as “stackable certificates” they contain the history of previous accomplishments that preserves the learning pathway.
