Introduction: Creating tamper-free degrees with QR codes
Having the most direct impact on one’s career, one of the essential documents in a person’s life is their educational certificate. It never ceases to be helpful throughout the productive life of a person. There needs to trust in cases of such documents. Employers, professors, and supervisors need to take the information on these certificates at face value. Recruitment decisions remain suspended, depending on whether or not there is complete trust in someone’s credentials.
And precisely because these documents are so crucial that fraud and fakes are so widespread. People try to move up the employability eligibility ladder by tweaking their certificates or getting completely fake ones. The traditional procedure of verifying whether documents are actual or not is to send an inquiring email to the institution in question. This process is quite a time consuming and expensive. On top of all that, the databases of the university or college can themselves be manipulated. Therefore, we need to place our trust in technology such that the procedure becomes easy and ensure a complete guarantee of the truth of the matter.
Reasons for adoption of QR code technology in the detection of fraud
Everyone would like to have access to academic credentials to increase their employability in today’s market economy. Still, sadly, not everyone can perform accordingly for a multitude of reasons. For the desire for a respectable life, people often try unscrupulous means. Along with this desire, access to sophisticated technology like Photoshop, scanners and printers, which can manipulate images easily, has led to an increase in the number of document fraud cases. Further, because globalization has made it possible for people to finish their education in one part of the world and work in another, the process of verifying the authenticity of documents has become even more cumbersome and time-consuming. This is why technology like QR codes and blockchain become helpful.
Benefits of using QR codes to generate mark sheets and degree certificates
There are several reasons why universities today are opting to embed their mark sheets with QR codes , and this straightforward solution works wonders in trying to secure the documents they issued. These codes can be printed on both certificates and transcripts both, and there are several other benefits of using QR codes in making tamper-free documents.
Works across media:
Unlike other technological solutions to age-old problems, QR codes apply to different kinds of media. It can be embedded on both electronic and printed platforms and then subsequently scanned with the help of simple applications available for download (or even within default ones) on almost all smartphones at this time. The process to validate a relevant document had never been this simple and accessible, and that is why it is being used at this rate by educational institutions. It’s so easy to validate documents on an ad-hoc basis. Anyone who has access to a smartphone can scan and validate- be it online or offline
Generation only possible by authorities
Even though generating a QR code is a relatively easy endeavour, it is not easily copied. Even when people try to replicate a QR code, it fails because that is how the technology functions. Such is how these codes can ensure no interference in official documentation by third parties. Only designated official authorities can generate a QR code, and changes can also be introduced by the management of the issuing educational institution with the power to do so. This makes documents more trustworthy to employers.
Easy integration with the current system
The QR generated can very easily be integrated with the existing system of documentation being used. This is important because institutions, especially educational institutions, are reluctant to try things that challenge their traditional working system, and it takes forever to introduce even the slightest alteration in the documentation procedure. Therefore, it was the need of the hour to present a plan that would make things easier and not infringe upon the sense of continuity for these institutions.
Building reputations and integrity of the organization
An organization can claim to be ultimately corruption proof when it comes to document creation and distribution if they have QR codes at their disposal. Embedding mark sheets and certificates is a practice adopted by most reputed institutions, which is why others of their kind who wish to be identified within the list of the same cannot opt out of it. The integrity and reputation of the educational institution are at stake when it decides on implementing quick response codes, thus playing a massive part in furthering its brand identities.
Faster acceptance of results
Employers and the authorities of higher educational institutions accept documents embedded with QR codes way faster than documents that don’t have the same level of security value. Having a QR code that links the form to sources that can verify the holder’s achievements saves the applicant a lot of hassle and questions, and it also holds the employer/authorities a lot of time and energy. This is so much easier and faster than the traditional ways of verifying the authenticity of documents.
Affordability
Generation of a QR code requires significantly less capital engagement. The fee one pays to get access to such technology is also inexpensive, even if we include the set-up cost. To preserve the integrity and brand name of your institution at such an affordable price is a great decision.
Fewer chances of being hacked
When QR codes are used, there is minimum or no need to access the central database or seek network access to verify documents. This makes the whole process of ensuring documents are tamper-proof and verifying their authenticity easier and more efficient. It also provides that the central system is not hacked into in any scenario because very minimal access to it is granted.
Conclusion
The problems of forgery can be efficiently dealt with with the help of document security QR codes. This technology allows a quick response code to secure both electronic and printed documents. Given the pervasiveness of crime in society, the steps to deal with it must also be trustworthy enough and straightforward enough for all these institutions to use without hassle. All of this is possible with the integration of QR code.