Access management remains problematic, particularly when the integration of personalisation functions is required.
Authentication and authorisation requirements are being explored but the solutions/ development paths need further clarification e.g. limitations of Athens, Shibboleth, SSO. There is a need to pay attention to the integration of personalisation functions across VLE/DL, including the wider issue of interoperability between the broader range of administrative systems. Some useful lessons on this are emerging from the JISC 7/99 Programme, although as noted in the section on Individualisation for the Learner EDNER has collected some evidence that users do not rate personalisation highly as a required feature.
The Athens website has a wide range of information on the use of the Athens service for access management, including new developments such as the Shibboleth service.