Verifying degrees electronically

Seven universities have subscribed to the new QVS services. They include University of Johannesburg, Tshwane University of Technology, University of the Free State (UFS), Durban University of Technology, Northwest University and the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. Several more universities will be added to the online services within the next months.

Danie Strydom, MD of Qualifications Verification Services (QVS) said because the entire verification process could now be done electronically without any human intervention, the results were accurate, secure and immediate.

Student loans

Last year the Department of Finances at UFS had a meeting with a number of banks that grant study loans to students in order to introduce them to the QVS services and the self-help quotation programme of the university. This meeting marked a milestone event for their students as they will immediately be able to verify whether they have registered.

According to Chris Liebenberg, senior director finances at the university, the value that is added is the most important advantage of this initiative. The initiative promotes the university's endeavour to accomplish a more user-friendly registration process for students. The work load of UFS personnel is alleviated, because this paperless and electronic system eliminates all manual transactions.

"The UFS is now open to the market, within a regulated environment. Employees, for example, now also have access to academic information on our students," he said.

The implications of this are far reaching. It means among other things that student loans can be granted much quicker so that individuals can pay for tuition and buy books sooner. Students must give permission to have their details on the database and will have full access to ensure that the correct information is displayed.

"The system is secure and is fully automated in the sense that computers, rather than human beings do the processing," adds Strydom.