AICTEC - Australian Information & Communications Technology in Education Committee

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Learner Identity Management Framework Project 

In April 2005, the Australian Education Systems Officials Committee (AESOC) endorsed AICTEC's proposal to examine the desirability, nature and options for the development of a national, cross-sectoral Learner Identity Management Framework (LIMF) for the education and training sectors. Specifically, the project was about developing protocols for a reliable and accountable system for jurisdictions and sectors to access and exchange the records, progress and characteristics of individual learners.

Convergence e-Business Solutions Pty Limited was engaged by AICTEC in October 2005 to develop a Learner Identity Management Framework (LIMF). The project involved widespread consultation with stakeholders across jurisdictions and education and training sectors, and intensive data gathering and research.

Charter of Principles for Learner Identity Management

This project resulted in the development of a Charter of Principles for Learner Identity Management (the Charter) which was endorsed by the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) in July 2006 and by the Ministerial Council for Vocational and Technical Education (MCVTE) in December 2006. 

The AICTEC Charter of Principles for the Management of Learner Information provides guidance for education and training providers in relation to the access, management and transfer of learner information.

1. Integrity and security

Collectors and custodians of learner data will develop and make publicly available policies that demonstrate their commitment to maintaining the integrity and security of learner information.

2. Identity resolution

Custodians of learner data will put in place policies and procedures for verifying the identity of individual learners and for ensuring any data they transfer to or receive from other custodians relates to the learner in question and to no other person.

3. Data management

Custodians of learner data will develop their data collections with a view to achieving terminology, definitions and meanings that are consistent with those used by other custodians.

4. Data exchange

Custodians of learner data will work towards achieving a common technical framework and language for transferring information across learner data repositories.

5. Policies and procedures

Custodians of learner data will establish and maintain robust policies and procedures for protecting the privacy of individual learners and for recording relevant consents.

December 2006

Final report

A final report of the Learner Identity Management Framework Project was submitted to AICTEC in March 2006. It identifies the key objectives of a LIMF as:

• addressing issues associated with learner mobility and smoothing learner transitions
• assisting in the detection learners of risk of disengagement
• supporting enhanced longitudinal research
• supporting evaluation of targeted programs, and
• supporting ePortfolios/Learner-controlled personal data.

The report proposes a framework comprising five elements to guide the sharing and exchange of learner data across jurisdictions and sectors:

• A 'Trust Scheme'
  This involves establishing ground-rules such that the owners of information can be confident that any data they transfer will be handled appropriately by the recipient.

• Identity Resolution
  The development of agreed approaches for establishing and verifying the identity of each learner.

• Data Management
  Consistent definitions of learner information types and meanings across sectors and jurisdictions.

• Data Exchange Protocols
  A common technical framework and language for transferring information across data repositories.

• Policy Enforcement
  Systems for protecting the privacy of learners and for recording their consents.

To bring the Framework into being, the report advocates a 'Learner Identity Management Architecture' ( LIMA). The Architecture identifies and expands each element of the Framework.

For example, the LIMA specifies that the establishment of a Trust Scheme will require action on the following fronts:

• Policy standardisation;
• Process integrity;
• Governance and audit;
• An 'enabling' legal environment;
• Scheme Terms of Agreement;
• Contracts, legislation and regulations; and
• Dispute resolution procedures.

The report also suggests that, as the LIMF is operationalised, learner information is either transferred directly between providers (who would acquire or develop a technical capacity to support connections with every other provider) or is transmitted via a central 'brokering' service, which would function as a national data clearing-house.