Education Verification: Why It’s Important to Give Degrees a Double-Check

Learning options are plentiful these days.

Online academies. Traditional colleges and universities. High schools. Even the School of Hard Knocks can teach plenty.

While each person’s educational path looks a little different, the objective is usually the same. Education helps us reach higher and better goals—no matter what our career. Having solid academic credentials is critical for just about any job seeker.

But experts say job seekers aren’t always completely honest on their resumes. Stats range from 53 percent of job seekers stretching the truth to a massive 85 percent of employers saying they found “lies or embellishments.” Yikes.

So, verifying those educational credentials? Essential.

The good news: it’s not tough for employers to confirm their instincts with a background check. A background check looks at a number of areas and education verification tops that list. Verifying education not only helps companies hire candidates that meet their criteria, but it also helps protect employers from negligent hiring claims.

Here’s how education verification works. With a job seekers’ prior written permission, screeners use an candidate’s full name, Social Security number, plus their school’s name, city, and state to confirm all the basics. This helps check their degree, years attended, graduation date, plus any graduating honors.

Most of the time, confirming education is pretty simple. But some elements that can cause conflicts or slow down the verification process, including but not limited to, name changes and wrong graduation dates.

Something else to watch out for: diploma mills. Diploma mills usually have names that sound very academic and completely legitimate (read some of the examples here), but snagging their highest degree isn’t tough. Typically, the only requirement is an exchange of cash.

Want to land the best employees for your company? Background checks play an important role in doing that. Partnering with an experienced screener like ClearStar can make your hiring process smarter and smoother. Want to know more? Call us!

At ClearStar, we are committed to your success. An important part of your employment screening program involves compliance with various laws and regulations, which is why we are providing information regarding screening requirements in certain countries, region, etc. While we are happy to provide you with this information, it is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and to understand how such information pertains to your employment screening program. The foregoing information is not offered as legal advice but is instead offered for informational purposes. ClearStar is not a law firm and does not offer legal advice and this communication does not form an attorney client relationship. The foregoing information is therefore not intended as a substitute for the legal advice of a lawyer knowledgeable of the user’s individual circumstances or to provide legal advice. ClearStar makes no assurances regarding the accuracy, completeness, or utility of the information contained in this publication. Legislative, regulatory and case law developments regularly impact on general research and this area is evolving rapidly. ClearStar expressly disclaim any warranties or responsibility or damages associated with or arising out of the information provided herein.