How SIH stopped making graduates wait for a manager

TL;DR: SIH, Stockholms Internationella Handelsskola, is a Swedish vocational college with programmes in economics, sustainability and safety. Graduation certificates used to be issued on paper and on site, which meant coordinating a management representative to be present, so a student who finished outside that window waited. Certificates are now issued digitally through TRUE in a much shorter timespan, with ready made templates for each type of document and blockchain security behind them.

Isabella Larsson is education manager at SIH, Stockholms Internationella Handelsskola, a vocational college whose focus areas include economics, sustainability and safety. She runs several of the programmes and follows the students from their first day until they graduate.

Graduation is exactly where the old process got in her way.

What did issuing look like before TRUE?

Printouts, and a person who had to be standing in the building. The college runs many programmes with many students in them, so the administrative load multiplied with every intake rather than staying flat.

“Our handling of certificates and diplomas before TRUE was a bit outdated and required a significant amount of administrative time. The process involved many printouts and required issuers to be physically present to distribute them. This was particularly time consuming given the variety of programmes and the number of students needing their certificates.”

What did that cost a student?

Time they had no way of shortening, for a reason that had nothing to do with them. A graduate is usually finishing in order to apply for something: a job, a further programme, a licence. The certificate is the thing standing between them and the application.

“One of the biggest challenges was that we were limited to issuing paper based graduation certificates on site. This restricted our ability to act quickly. If a student completed their education and needed their graduation certificate issued, the process was time consuming. We had to coordinate the presence of a management representative on site, which sometimes meant the student waited a long time for their certificate.”

Isabella Larsson, Education Manager, SIH

The wait was a diary problem between two colleagues, and it landed hardest on the student Larsson names: the one who completes out of step with the rest of the class. That is normally somebody who had to catch up, for reasons that were rarely academic. The old process made them wait longest of anyone.

What does it look like now?

Everything is handled digitally and the certificate arrives in a much shorter timespan. Larsson calls it a significantly smoother and faster experience for the students, and says it is an improvement the college is very happy with. Nobody coordinates anybody’s calendar to release a document any more.

What does the college get from it?

One place for a set of documents that used to be handled separately, which matters more than it sounds when a college runs several programmes and several kinds of proof. Every kind of certificate SIH issues now comes out of the same system, instead of out of whichever process happened to grow up around it.

“I appreciate the ability to gather all our different certificates and proofs in one place. It saves time and allows us to use ready made templates tailored to each type of certificate we need to issue. I also feel secure knowing that our documents are secured with blockchain technology, making them more resistant to forgery.”

Isabella Larsson, Education Manager, SIH

The templates are the part that compounds. Without them, each new programme arrives as a new manual process, and SIH adds programmes regularly: three started recently, in customs, growth marketing and content marketing, alongside the certification programme for security managers, now running in both Stockholm and Malmö. See how to design a professional certificate for what goes into one.

What would SIH like to see next?

Control of the design. Larsson wants users to be able to adjust the diploma templates themselves over time, or adapt one for a specific send out, without going back to anybody to do it.

Where to read more

SIH publishes its programmes on its own site: SIH. Two other Swedish vocational colleges that took the manual step out of a regulated diploma: TUC and IHM Business School. On the regulated side specifically, see digital diplomas in the Swedish vocational college system.

Frequently asked questions

What is SIH?

SIH is Stockholms Internationella Handelsskola, a Swedish vocational college offering a variety of programmes, with focus areas including economics, sustainability and safety.

Why did students at SIH wait for a certificate?

Because graduation certificates were paper based and issued on site, which meant coordinating a management representative to be present. A student who completed outside that window sometimes waited a long time.

How are certificates issued now?

Digitally, through TRUE. The college says this has given students a significantly smoother and faster experience and a much shorter wait.

What does SIH like most about TRUE?

Gathering all its different certificates and proofs in one place, with ready made templates for each type, and knowing the documents are secured with blockchain technology and so more resistant to forgery.

What is new at SIH?

Three programmes started recently, in customs, growth marketing and content marketing, alongside a certification programme for security managers. These run in both Stockholm and Malmö.