STUDENT IDENTITY
VERIFICATION
FAQs - What every student at Strayer University
should know about the Acxiom Identity Verification
process and their individual information
Q: Is there a requirement for verifying the identity of online students?
Answer:
A new federal requirement has been put into place by the U.S. Department of Education
requiring schools to verify the identity of online students. In response to this
requirement, Strayer University has researched, pilot tested, and evaluated an array of
student verification and authentication systems. Strayer University is currently using the
Acxiom Identity Verification process to randomly check student identity.
Q: Which student identity verification system is Strayer University
using?
Answer:
After evaluating several systems and receiving feedback from Strayer University faculty
members, students, administrators, and members of the legal team, the Acxiom Identity
Verification process was selected to be the student identity verification platform for
Strayer University's online courses. The Acxiom Identity Verification process is the
same system used by Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo, Dell, Ford,
and Macy’s.
Q: How does Acxiom Identity Verification work?
Answer:
The Acxiom software randomly selects 50% of the student enrollment to verify their
identity. For those student enrollments that were selected the Acxiom system will ask
the user for a recent address and then present 2 random multiple choice challenge
questions when they click on their courses in Blackboard. If both questions are
answered incorrectly, a third question will be asked. The challenge questions are
formulated using a database of approximately 300 million publically available records
which include privately sourced data. This process is done on a secure connection
between the end user and Acxiom. Strayer University does not have knowledge of what
questions were asked and what was answered. Acxiom only provides Strayer University
a report of student enrollments and the percentage of correct responses.
Q: What type of challenge questions will the student be asked?
Answer:
Examples of a challenge question may include:
prior street address
last 4 digits of his or her current phone number
prior zip code
last 4 digits of his or her social security number
None of the information used to formulate the challenge questions comes from or is
retained in Strayer University records.
Q: How will Strayer University manage the information provided by
the student?
Answer:
The identity verification process takes place over a secure connection between the end
user and Acxiom. Strayer University does not have access to the detailed data of what
questions were asked by the system and what the student answered. Acxiom only
provides Strayer University a report of student enrollments and the percentage of
correct responses. Strayer University uses the report to investigate as necessary.
Acxiom retains the results for 90 days, during which time it will be available for reporting
purposes only. Thereafter, the records will be archived for 7 years. The retention and
storage locations are secure and SAS-70 certified.
Q: Do students need to prove their Identity every time they access
their course in Blackboard?
Answer:
No, not all students will be asked to participate in the Identity Verification system.
Students will be selected randomly and will only be asked an Identity Question once
during the quarter.
Q: How will students know if they were selected to answer Identity
Questions?
Answer:
Students will know if they have been selected to answer Identity questions if they see a
popup when they click on their course in Blackboard. The popup message will say that
the student has been selected to answer Identity questions and to click GO. Then
student will be taken to Acxiom Identity Verification system to answer Identity questions.
Q: Can students skip the identity verification process?
Answer:
Once a student enrollment has been selected to participate in the Acxiom Identity
Verification process the system will prompt the user to complete the process. If the
process is avoided by clicking on another area, the user will again be prompted to
participate in the Acxiom Identity Verification process once the user clicks on the
course. Once the user has completed the process the system will no longer prompt the
user to participate.
Q: Will students be able to access the course in Blackboard if they fail
the Identity Question?
Answer:
Yes students will still be able to access the course in Blackboard. But the failed
attempts will be recorded.
Q: Why are students asked to provide a recent home address?
Answer:
The Acxiom systems will need to uniquely identify the user in order to provide valid
multiple choice questions for the user. The user’s name is not enough information to
uniquely identify the user. The Acxiom system will ask for a recent home address to
help uniquely identify the user in order to provide applicable questions to the user.
Q: Is there a time limit to answer the Identity Questions?
Answer:
Yes the time limit to answer the Identity Questions is 2 minutes. If the student fails to
complete the questions on time then student will receive a message that the session
has timed out. The student has to click on “My Institution” tab and click on the course
again to continue and finish answering the identity questions.