This article reflects its original publication date. Screening requirements and pricing may change; contact our team for current details.
Job applicants lying about their educational background is more common than employers may think. A 2023 Forbes article cites a survey that reveals that 11% of candidates submit false education credentials on their resume.
Advanced technology gives job seekers easier access to “diploma mills” or businesses selling fake degrees and certificates.
This underscores the growing need for pre-employment education verification to help businesses make the best hiring decisions. The ability for employers to verify education makes or breaks their entire hiring process.
What is Education Verification?
Education verification is a type of background check that authenticates a job candidate’s educational claims, including degrees earned, schools attended, additional training and certifications obtained, and recognitions and honors received.
Education background checks go hand in hand with other pre-employment verifications such as employment reference checking, criminal history screening, and social media screening to name a few.
How to Easily Spot Education History Red Flags
Education verification is a comprehensive process. However, employers can perform an initial screening to spot glaring education history misrepresentations in a candidate’s resume.
Employers can conduct a basic education verification check based on the following checklist of warning signs.
Inconsistent Dates
Check for any inconsistencies in the timeline of the candidate’s education history. Overlapping dates or gaps between the end of their education and the start of their employment may warrant further investigation.
Missing Details
A legitimate educational background typically includes the full name of the educational institution, the degree earned, and the dates attended. Vague or missing information can be a sign of falsification.
Lack of Progression
A candidate’s educational history should show a logical progression, such as completing an undergraduate degree before an advanced degree. An unusual order of degrees or certificates may indicate something is amiss.
Overly Impressive Credentials
Employers must keep a healthy level of skepticism when looking for credentials that seem too good to be true. Extraordinary claims, such as multiple advanced degrees earned in a short period or from prestigious institutions without relevant experience, should be verified thoroughly.
The Benefits of Education Verification
Is an education background screen required before making an offer?
The short answer is no. For example, certain roles may not require a bachelor’s degree or formal education. In this instance, education verification can be optional.
However, more often than not, education background checks can benefit a company’s hiring process in multiple ways.
Effectively Evaluate Qualifications
When hiring employees, companies need to confirm that candidates possess the necessary degrees, diplomas, and certifications to meet the competencies of the jobs they are applying for. This is especially important for roles that require mastery of theoretical and practical concepts.
Compliance with Applicable Laws
Professions in certain industries, such as health care, engineering, and the legal field, require employees to have specific degrees, certifications, and licenses to safely and competently carry out the responsibilities of their roles.
Education background checks help employers comply with local, state, and federal laws in industries with strict academic requirements.
It protects employers from potential negligent hiring lawsuits if their employees cause harm to others because of incompetency due to the lack of mandatory academic requirements and licenses.
Avoid Dishonest Employee Practices
When employers verify education history and discover discrepancies between the candidates’ declared credentials versus authenticated information, it brings into question not only their academic qualifications. It also identifies possible warning signs in their character.
Honesty is not only a nice-to-have character trait in potential employees. It shields employers from dishonest employee practices that may hurt their business’s reputation. Fortunately, education verifications can prevent an applicant with a questionable character from getting hired.
Hire the Best Candidate for the Job
Accurate education verification plays a vital role when employers face the challenge of selecting the best candidate among applicants equally matched in skills and work experience. In such scenarios, educational qualifications often serve as a decisive factor.
In competitive job markets, where many candidates might have similar work experiences and skill sets, employers can feel more confident in making hiring decisions when they know they are selecting a candidate with a verified educational background. This not only ensures the quality of hires but also contributes to building a reliable and competent workforce.
Prevents Overcompensation
Conducting a thorough education background check is essential in ensuring that employers are not overcompensate a potential hire based on misrepresented educational credentials. In industries where specific degrees and certifications are linked to salary brackets, thorough education checks are particularly crucial.
Legal Regulations Around Education Verification
Like all background checks, education verifications are subject to local laws, federal requirements, and state regulations. Skipping these steps may result in data privacy and security liabilities.
There are 3 main laws that employers need to be aware of before taking any step to verify education.
1. The Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires consumer reporting agencies and other databases to provide accurate and reliable data for all background checks. This includes education verifications.
The FCRA also mandates that applicants be informed about how their educational background will be used in employment decisions.
Job seekers need to consent before any education background check can be processed. Candidates should be aware of their rights and allow them to dispute any information from all education verification checks.
2. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is a federal law that protects the confidentiality of student records. With few exemptions, the FERPA requires students’ consent before educational institutions can release records to employers.
For companies that hire minors, all education verification checks need parental consent because the FERPA grants parents certain rights concerning their children’s education records.
3. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission protects job seekers from discrimination and ensures that all job seekers go through the same hiring process. This means that every candidate should undergo education background checks, not just individuals with a specific race, religion, gender, or age.
Education Verification Process: 3 Approaches
Now that the importance of education background checks has been established, it’s time to discuss the education verification process.
As mentioned, basic education verifications can be done by identifying obvious red flags in a candidate’s resume. Applicants who pass this initial screening will undergo the complete education verification process.
There are 3 common ways employers verify education.
1. Using the Services of the National Student Clearinghouse
The National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) is a nonprofit that provides education verification background checks in North America. While its database is extensive, there are a few drawbacks when employers conduct education verification checks via the NSC.
In terms of cost, the NSC charges separate fees for current enrollment, degrees, attendance, and high school diplomas. On top of this, schools may add a surcharge.
Since the NSC is limited to educational institutions in North America, confirming international education backgrounds can be challenging. Moreover, the NSC does not provide professional license verification.
There’s also no clarity on whether the NSC covers records for vocational schools, which makes it disadvantageous for companies that hire skill-based workers.
2. The DIY Method
Employers can also choose to perform education background checks in-house. Usually done by the HR department, this approach to verify education often involves multiple steps.
First, employers need to contact the educational institutions declared by the candidates in their applications one by one, which may delay the process.
Second, the HR department needs to verify the credibility of the schools and crosscheck it with a list of reported diploma mills.
Lastly, additional supporting documents may be required to complete the education background check.
Unless a company has a sizable HR department, DIY education verifications can take several weeks to complete.
3. Enlisting Third-Party Education Background Check Providers
One effective way employers can conduct education verification is by partnering with third-party education background check providers. These specialized companies have the resources and expertise to thoroughly verify educational credentials to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information they provide.
By outsourcing this task, employers can shorten the timeline for education verifications. Third-party providers have established relationships with educational institutions and access to extensive databases.
This allows them to quickly and accurately confirm degrees, certifications, and attendance records. These efficient education verifications benefit companies with high-volume hiring needs or limited HR staff.
How to Choose the Right Education Background Check Provider
There’s no shortage of companies providing education verification services, and deciding on one can be overwhelming.
Choosing the right provider for education verification background checks is crucial for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the information employers receive. Here are some key criteria to consider.
Comprehensive and Accurate Reports
When selecting a provider for education verification checks, ensure they have the necessary resources and expertise to deliver thorough reports. They should have access to trustworthy databases to confirm all relevant education credentials.
For employers who receive applications from candidates abroad, it is important to choose a platform that can conduct international education verification background checks.
Accurate education verification checks also involve the capacity to check the accreditation status of schools and flag diploma mills on applications.
Turnaround Times
Aside from accuracy, employers should ask about the turnaround times when partnering with a provider to conduct education verification checks on their behalf. The speed at which a provider can deliver verification results can significantly impact the hiring process.
A swift turnaround time ensures that employers can make timely hiring decisions, which is particularly important in competitive job markets where delays can lead to losing top candidates to other companies.
However, education background checks must balance speed with accuracy and legal compliance.
Expertise in Relevant Laws
Speaking of legal compliance, a service provider must deeply understand legal requirements and regulations surrounding education verification checks. This knowledge ensures adherence to various federal, state, and local laws, which can vary significantly.
A reliable background check company should stay updated on legislative changes and adjust its processes accordingly. This proactive approach helps ensure that its verification procedures remain compliant over time, even as laws evolve.
Comprehensive Pre-Employment Verification Capabilities
An educational background check is just one pre-employment background check employers need. They also need to verify criminal records, employment history, occupational health, and more.
Partnering with a service provider that offers a full range of services in addition to education verification and background checks can save employers time and money.
Instead of ordering verifications one at a time and reviewing several reports from different vendors, employers can get a complete report from a single source.
Make Educated Hiring Decisions with Education Verification
Verifying education is not just about validating credentials; it’s about building a capable and reliable workforce. Ensuring that every team member has the verified educational background they need, employers reinforce the importance of honesty and accuracy in professional representations and set a standard for future hires.
Education Verifications With Stellar Background Checks
Stellar Background Checks is an all-in-one service platform where you can verify criminal records, employment history, and more.
With affordable pricing and comprehensive data research, you can find all the essential information when hiring.
Contact us via email at info@stellarbackgroundchecks.com or call us at 1-800-301-4140.
FAQs About Education Verification Services
What is the typical turnaround time for education verification checks?
The education background check process usually takes between 24 to72 hours to complete. This may vary if service providers need to verify specific details in an applicant’s education history.
What does an education verification report cover?
Depending on the provider, accurate education verification checks include basic information such as attended schools, attendance dates, and recognitions received. Employers can also request additional information, such as international education and professional license verification.
Do education verifications show GPA?
Consumer reporting agencies usually omit GPA details in the education background checks they offer. For roles where a GPA is needed, it is advisable to request official transcripts directly from candidates to confirm their GPAs.
What laws do education verification checks need to follow?
As with any other background screening, education verifications need to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the requirements of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Additionally, education verification services should follow the guidelines set by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. There may also be varying local and state laws to be considered.