ScholarChain: The Scholarship Management Platform with Blockchain and Smart Contracts Technology

Abstract

A smart contract is a set of computer code that works on a blockchain and creates set of rules that are agreed upon by all the entities involved in the contract. It means that when a milestone of a contract is reached and the payments are made, it is registered in the blockchain so that neither party can manipulate the truth or validity or registration. All of these provide additional security, transparency and efficiency. In the higher education sector, although there are blockchain studies that are focusing mainly on the originality of documents and information, studies involving smart contracts are less common. In this study, a blockchain and smart contracts-based platform is presented as scholarship management model in order to create and store contracts between students and the Credit and Hostels Institution (CHI) in Turkey. Then it is confirmed on the Higher Education Information System of Turkey that the student fulfills the continuation requirements at the end of the academic year and automatically authorizes the scholarship. The proposed scholarship management model involves many parties and processes, provides transparency and document integrity, and the most importantly, provides authorization of those who are entitled to receive a scholarship by automated rules.