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The goal of this project is to replace the current vendor for identity verification (IDV) on edx.org, Software Secure, with a new vendor, Persona. On edx.org, IDV is used solely for verifying certain name changes requested by certificate-bearing learners via the Name Affirmation feature in the frontend-app-account MFE, but IDV may be used for other purposes in the Open edX community (e.g. to block generation of a verified certificate).

We propose leveraging the various extensibility mechanisms that the platform supports, but we need guidance around how “pluggable” the solution must be and what IDV-related community needs must be met, particularly since 2U uses IDV for a smaller set of features than the platform currently supports.

Problem

The backend implementation of IDV is in the edx-platform verify_student Django application, and the frontend implementation of IDV and the Name Affirmation feature that uses IDV is in the frontend-app-learning MFE and frontend-app-account MFE, respectively. All three repositories The backend implementation of Name Affirmation is in the edx-name-affirmation plugin. The first three repositories are in the openedx GitHub organization and are a part of the Open edX platform.

We propose an integration approach that balances the needs of 2U and the community. We propose leveraging the various extensibility mechanisms that the platform supports, but we need guidance around how “pluggable” the solution must be and what IDV-related community needs must be met, particularly since 2U uses IDV for a smaller set of features than the platform currently supports.

There are also parts of the verify_student application that have an unclear purpose and may have limited need in the community save for an operator or two. For example, the ReverifyView does not appear to be used anywhere. We do not have the bandwidth to do deprecation at this time, but it would be helpful to know which parts of the codebase are core and which are unused legacy code.

Use Cases

edx-name-affirmation is in the edx GitHub organization but it is installed into the platform.

The problem that we are solving is adding the necessary extensibility mechanism to the platform to make IDV generic such that additional IDV implementations can be added to the platform seamlessly and without disruption to the core.

Use Cases

• As an Open edX operator or developer, I do not want to have to navigate through vendor or implementation specific IDV code in the core.

• As an Open edX operator or developer, I need to be able to integrate an IDV implementation into the platform with no disruption to other Open edX instances or the core, because I need to verify learners' identities. I need to be able to integrate whichever IDV implementation that suits my needs.

• As a learner who has earned a certificate, I need to be able to verify my identity after requesting a name change, because this validates that I am who I say I am. This maintains the value of a certificate and ensures that the certificate is attributable to me.

• As a learner who has purchased a verifiable course mode, I need to be able to verify my identity so that I can receive a “verified certificate” when I meet the requirements for earning one.As an Open edX installation operator, I need to be able to integrate an IDV implementation into the platform with no disruption to other Open edX instances, because I need to verify learners' identities so that they can earn verified certificates. I need to be able to integrate whichever IDV implementation that suits my needs.

Proposed Solution

Our proposed solution involves three categories of changes.

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