Education Background Verification
Education background checks are an integral component of hiring decisions, providing employers with evidence of candidates' degrees and attendance claims.
Unfortunately, candidates sometimes embellish or falsify their academic credentials in an attempt to stand out during interviews and thus put companies at risk for negligent hiring lawsuits.
Education background Services can be conducted quickly and affordably. Here's how.
Verify the Name of the School
As applicants compete to secure jobs in an increasingly difficult job market, the temptation for applicants to embellish their education may be strong. Research indicates that up to 30% of resumes contain falsified education claims (Hire Right).
But regardless of its allure, verifying education information before making hiring decisions is vitally important. After all, many positions require specific degrees, certificates or licenses that could put your business at risk from legal liabilities should they be falsified by candidates.
At background checks, it's straightforward and easy to verify education claims of candidates. Simply ask candidates for details like school name, dates of attendance and degrees earned; then a specialist will reach out directly to confirm. While online databases claim enrollment/graduation data, professional verification services provide more accurate results.
Verification specialists also stay aware of diploma mills, which offer fake credentials with names similar to well-known universities. Verification specialists can detect these fraudulent credentials and protect companies from hiring unqualified candidates.
Quality verification processes must always be transparent. Maintaining an open line of communication with educational institutions while documenting all requests and responses will facilitate faster verification process and ensure consistency in accuracy. Keep in mind that the Fair Credit Reporting Act doesn't restrict how far back education records can be checked.
Securecheck360 can help if you're seeking education verification experts, with its in-house verification team being capable of cutting turnaround times and improving accuracy by directly contacting schools directly. Plus, our FCRA compliance is ensured. Contact us now to set up your free demo!
Check the Accreditation of the School
When reviewing a candidate's education background, it's essential to check their school accreditation. Diploma mills exist that offer degrees for a fee. You can verify school credentials on the U.S. Department of Education website as well as asking candidates for official transcripts to confirm they're legitimate.
After verifying a candidate's school name and degree type/graduation date, it is also vitally important to investigate their degree type and graduation date. You can access this information directly from their school, as well as through an independent third-party verification service that offers comprehensive reports about an applicant's education - this would typically include dates of attendance, type/degree, graduation/completion of program dates as well as gaps. A reputable verification company would typically also note any gaps.
Education background checks can be an excellent way to combat resume fraud, since many individuals embellish or falsify their educational credentials to boost their resumes. Examples may include falsely claiming graduation from more prestigious schools than they attended or misrepresenting the degree as they didn't complete its program - something which can significantly undermine company reputation as well as safety of employees, customers, and students.
Though some companies opt to conduct education background checks themselves, it's best to entrust this task to an outside consumer reporting agency. Doing this will ensure the process complies with regulations such as those contained within the Fair Credit Reporting Act while streamlining it further with their data collection and verification system.
Education background checks should be conducted on all new hires to ensure a safe working environment, while regular background checks on existing staff ensure they possess up-to-date information and you remain proactive in protecting employees, customers, and the reputation of your company.
Check the Graduation Date
Many job applicants embellish their resumes with false education credentials, making a background check to confirm educational backgrounds crucial in hiring honest and qualified employees. Unfortunately, confirming education records can often take too much time due to name variations and inaccuracies within school records - for this reason securecheck360 provides a reliable education verification service which makes the verification process quicker and simpler for their clients.
Education background checks generally verify a candidate's claimed schools, enrolment dates and degrees, along with majors pursued and the date of graduation. Although these reports typically don't provide GPA or honors data directly, employers needing more extensive verification can request official transcripts for further verification purposes.
Some employers opt to conduct education verification themselves using either the National Student Clearinghouse portal or contacting schools directly to request enrollment and degree verification reports. Unfortunately, this method can be time consuming when dealing with multiple colleges or universities and may violate privacy regulations such as Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Background checks conducted by an accredited consumer reporting agency compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act can quickly provide education verification results. A reliable provider will always adhere to applicable laws when conducting these services. They will notify the applicant, obtain consent, gather details and arrange verification directly with the school, college or university for accurate and complete results. HR teams can use this information to save considerable time and effort while verifying claimed education credentials through established databases or direct institution checking. Like other forms of background checks, education verification cannot be completed without written permission from candidates. Therefore, Certn offers an online platform which makes the verification process as smooth and painless as possible for them by simply providing educational details and photo ID to verify.
Check the GPA
Employers in certain fields such as finance, healthcare, law and engineering require education verification of employees prior to hiring them; such positions often require certain academic credentials and degrees for success. Unfortunately, it's all too easy for candidates to embellish or falsify their education credentials or experience; according to one survey 75% of employers have caught an applicant lying about them on their resume - sometimes listing schools they never attended or degrees they never earned which may expose the company to negligent hiring lawsuits.
Conducting an education verification during your screening process is an effective way to avoid these potential problems. Although verifying applicants' GPA may be challenging, an extensive education background check should cover several key areas:
Verifying Degree or Diploma Date, Degree/Diploma Received, Major and Attendance. Utilizing a provider with in-house verifiers helps speed up turnaround and accuracy while tailoring results to best serve you in terms of impact and efficiency.
Finally, it is vitally important that an education background check be performed on foreign institutions and suspicious residency claims. Diploma mills often create fake credentials from nonexistent schools abroad which makes them harder to detect without an extensive investigation.
Some companies manage education verification themselves by contacting institutions directly and asking for transcripts or degree verification, however this can be a lengthy process that often requires candidates to fill out forms to release their records. It is also crucial not to violate privacy regulations like Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
No matter whether you conduct an education background check yourself or work with a screening firm, it is crucial that you conduct adequate research. When reviewing candidates, make sure to review both their educational background as well as any details like previous work history, criminal record checks and credit checks - this will enable you to spot any discrepancies quickly and make more informed hiring decisions.
