Why Should Employers Use a Background Check Company for Education Verification?

BySmartHire
Education Verifications

Candidates will go to great lengths to land a job. That includes fabricating information on their applications and resumes. In fact, one study revealed that 70% of US-based workers admitted to lying on their resumes.

That’s why running background checks, including education verifications for employment, is essential for employers to ensure they’re hiring honest and trustworthy employees.

What Are Education Verifications for Employment?

Education verification is a type of background check that employers can use to verify a candidate’s academic credentials and qualifications during the pre-employment screening process. Education verifications for employment verify the applicant’s dates of attendance and degrees or certifications earned through vocational schools, high schools, and colleges.

Why Should Employers Run Education Verifications for Employment?

Unfortunately, too many employers refrain from running education verifications for employment. Some choose this because they want to save time and money, while others think the process is tedious. Some employers also think it’s not that important. However, that’s far from the case.

Running education verifications for employment provides several benefits, including protecting the company from:

  • Potential liability in the event of something happening on the job that could have been prevented if the organization had done their due diligence during the pre-screening process.
  • High turnover costs due to terminating employees who aren’t capable of doing the work they said they were trained and educated to do.
  • Hiring employees who are dishonest and can’t be trusted.
  • Increased training costs due to a new hire lying about their skills.

How Can Employers Verify Education?

Employers have different routes they can take when verifying education for employment purposes. They can choose to:

  • Do it in-house by assigning an internal employee to the job.
  • Hire a third-party vendor to run the background check for them.
  • Forgo checking a potential employee’s education.

As mentioned, the latter can cause unnecessary risks, so the first two options are best practices. Regardless of whether you choose to do it in-house or hire a background check company, the education verification process includes:

  • Collecting the information needed from job candidates
  • Requesting sealed transcripts from issuing institutions
  • Requested diplomas from appropriate parties
  • Contacting an educational institution or issuing organization directly to request the information needed

Based on each specific circumstance, the types of information required from job candidates include:

  • Their full name and any other names they’ve gone by in the past (i.e., their maiden name)
  • The name of the educational or issuing institution
  • The address of the institution
  • The dates of attendance using the month and year
  • The degree title
  • The certification title
  • The date the certification was received
  • The name and date range of any specialized training
  • GPA and honors (if requested)

You will also need a signed background check authorization of release form from the candidate before initiating any aspect of a background check screening. None of this should be new to a candidate who’s been through the hiring and onboarding process for another organization.

Why Should Employers Use a Background Checks Company to Verify Education?

Using a background check company to verify education is a wise step for employers who want to weed out dishonest candidates and ensure they’re only hiring the best. When working with a background check company, you:

  • Can rest assured you’re receiving the most accurate information.
  • Save valuable time by allowing a third-party expert to handle the process.
  • Avoid frustration in having to follow up with institutions that are taking too long to provide the verification.
  • Receive quick results to know whether to move forward with a candidate so you don’t delay the hiring process.

What Do Education Verifications for Employment Show?

When you work with a background check company for education verifications for employment, you’ll receive results that include:

  • Verification of whether the applicant attended the school they said they did
  • The dates of attendance
  • Proof of whether a degree, diploma, or certification was obtained and when
  • When requested, GPA and honors received

It’s important to note that certifications are often verified through the education verification process when they’re received as part of the program the candidate attended, like a certification through a vocational school or college course.

However, certifications outside of that, including certain professional licenses, will typically need to be verified through a professional license verification, which entails similar steps to the education verification process.

How Far Back Can Education Verifications Go?

In most instances, it’s possible to go back as far as necessary to verify education. Regardless of dates of attendance or when the degree, certification, or diploma was received, educational institutions should be able to confirm it.

Select a Background Check Company for Education Verification to Save Time and Stress!

Selecting a background check company for education verifications for employment means you save time and frustration when trying to do it yourself. Check out USA Fact’s background check services and have peace of mind sooner rather than later!