Prof. Dr. Chartchalerm Isarankura-Na-Ayudhya
Dean of Faculty of Graduate Studies
New Dimension of Preventing Fraudulent Academic Credentials Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University announces its first launch of a pilot system, called "QR Code Transcript Verification System"
Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University has developed a system to prevent transcript fraud by using encrypted QR code, by which the authenticity of transcript can be verified. The system shall allow employers, both in government agencies and private sectors, to verify graduates' transcripts issued by Faculty of Graduate Studies, Mahidol University.
Today, fraudulent academic credentials have increased and made the headlines in the newspaper. Forged education certificates and transcripts can be ordered and purchased, and has become an option among students of all education levels, especially in prominent institutions; Mahidol University is one of them. In recent years, among academia, more counterfeit academic credentials have been used to apply for lecturers' positions in Thai universities. The incidents have tarnished good name and image of Thai educational system. Even though arresting and sentencing the suspects who falsify education certificates and transcripts constantly occurs, it is still hard to get rid of this problem. Therefore, each university has to consider a policy and adopt a process that can verify and ensure the authenticity of documents.
Prof. Dr. Patcharee Lertrit, Dean of the Faculty of the Graduate Studies, Mahidol University, shares her great concerns about the fraudulent documents, especially transcript fraud and its prevention as well as the university policy. Currently, an increasing number of requests for transcripts have been made by graduates of Mahidol University since the transcripts are necessary for employment applications and applications for admission to academic programs. Meanwhile, government agencies and private sectors also require verification and authenticity of the documents.
In order to expedite the transcript verification process, Deputy Dean of Information Technology, Dr.Noppadol Wanichworanant and the team from Information Technology Department has developed "QR Code Transcript Verification System" in which encrypted QR Code on the transcript is used for individual authentication. Each QR Code represents each individual, and it cannot be forged. Using a mobile-phone to scan the QR Code in the upper right corner of the transcript, graduate's personal information, program of study, faculty, year of graduation, and academic record will appear. Based on the standards of control protocol, the system is considered accurate, fast, and reliable. When forged or unrecognized transcript is detected, the system will say "This transcript is not in our database. Please contact us at grwww@mahidol.ac.th." Planning for the future, the Faculty of Graduate Studies aims at further reducing risks involved with counterfeit documents and degree certificates.
The System shall be implemented from 18 December, B.E. 2560 onwards. Graduate students or graduates of the Faculty of Graduate Studies that make requests for transcripts after the date will receive the integrated QR code in printed transcripts. For further information, please contact: Ms. Warin Navakitkanok, Computer Technical Officer. Tel. +66 2441 4125 ext. 316.