Education and Background Requirements: Ensuring Honest and Qualified Hires

In today's competitive job market, verifying a candidate's education and background is crucial for making informed hiring decisions. Employers need to ensure that potential employees are honest, qualified, and suitable for the position, while also protecting themselves from potential liability. This article explores the various aspects of education and background checks, including the types of checks, the verification process, and the importance of compliance.

Introduction

Hiring the right candidate is essential for any organization's success. However, relying solely on resumes and interviews can be risky, as some applicants may exaggerate or even falsify their qualifications. Education and background checks provide a means of verifying the information provided by candidates, ensuring that employers make informed decisions based on accurate data.

The Importance of Education Verification

An education verification background check confirms an applicant’s education claims, verifying their attendance and degrees earned at high schools, colleges, and vocational schools. Too many employers forgo education verification, often thinking the process is too complicated. In reality, the process is quite simple. Education verification can help employers:

Weed out dishonest candidates: Many candidates lie on their applications, exaggerating their degrees and qualifications. By conducting an education background check, employers can confirm that a candidate has the education they claim to have, ensuring they are hiring someone honest.
Ensure qualified hires: An education background check not only ensures a candidate has good moral character but also ensures they have the qualifications to do the job. A candidate with the proper education will adequately fulfill their role.
Protect from liability: Hiring a qualified candidate protects employers from liability, which is crucial in healthcare, education, and other highly specialized fields. If you hire someone who falsified their credentials, your company will be responsible.
Remain compliant with hiring regulations: Education verification helps employers in certain industries and jobs remain compliant with hiring regulations that require employers to verify a candidate’s educational history.
Reduce hiring based on inaccurate education claims: Some candidates may exaggerate or falsify their educational background, and verification often catches these discrepancies before hiring decisions are made.
Support workplace fairness and transparency: When candidates’ reported education matches official records, hiring files remain accurate, and discrepancies can be resolved with documentation.

Types of Education Background Checks

Education background checks can encompass various levels of verification, depending on the employer's needs. These checks may include:

High School Diploma Verification: A high school diploma is a necessary qualification for many industries and roles, especially in the public sector. Conducting a high school diploma background check verifies that the academic credentials listed on the candidate’s application or resume are valid so you can better understand their qualifications for the role. A high school diploma background check is a type of education verification that confirms whether an individual earned a high school diploma or GED. The process verifies basic details like the school name, graduation date, and credential type.
College Degree Verification: This type of check confirms the degrees earned by a candidate, including the type of degree, the major area of study, and the date of completion.
Professional License Verification: Suppose an employer needs to confirm that an applicant has certifications to work in a specific field. In that case, they’ll have to use another type of background screening known as professional license verification. Via background screening providers, employers are able to verify professional licenses and certifications to make sure that a candidate has the accreditation they claim to have. There are thousands of licenses that can be verified, including, but not limited to, licensing and certification for medical doctors (MD or DO), registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurse (LPN), certified public accountant (CPA) and lawyers (JD), as well as for stockbrokers, teachers, engineers, pilots, and other exam-certified professionals.

The Education Verification Process

Employers verify education by requesting diplomas, sealed transcripts, or contacting educational institutions directly. Some companies employ third-party verification services to ensure accuracy. The process typically involves the following steps:

Collecting Information from the Applicant: The employer starts by collecting basic information from the applicant, including the full name of the candidate (be sure to get the full name that the person graduated under; for instance, a female candidate might be applying under her married name but graduated under her maiden name), the name and address of the degree-granting institution, the dates attended (month and year should be sufficient), the title and field of their degree, and a signed authorization release from the applicant.
Contacting the Institution: The employer contacts the institution and provides the information collected from the applicant. Then, the institution will complete verification.
Verifying the Information: The institution verifies whether the applicant attended the schools they claimed to have attended, proof of degrees, training, and certifications, and dates of attendance. Generally, education checks can go back as far as they need to search for official records. Employers can confirm a candidate’s diplomas and degrees no matter when they received them. In some cases, an education background check shows GPA and honors earned. An employer will request this information if it is relevant to the position they are hiring for (such as a higher education teacher).
Using a Third-Party Verification Service: The easiest thing to do is to hand it off to a third-party education verification service. These services verify your applicants’ credentials directly with their respective institutions or a 3rd party service called the National Student Clearinghouse. If the verification is a high school, the verification service will reach out to their registrar’s office.

Verifying International Education

Some applicants may have received their degree abroad. If this is the case, you’ll want to be extra careful. It can be easier for a candidate to falsify credentials from a foreign school. So, ensure you are thorough. Also, make sure that the diploma is equivalent to the required credentials.

Anticipating Problems

In a perfect world, education verification would be easy. However, the truth is that employers often run into problems. Issues like the following can slow down the process:

You received the wrong information from your applicant (incomplete degree name, their maiden name instead of the name they graduated under, etc.).
The institution only allows former students to access information.

By anticipating problems like these, you’ll keep the process moving along smoothly.

Watching Out for Diploma Mills

Throughout the education verification process, you need to watch out for diploma mills. Diploma mills are essentially phony universities. They are unaccredited and sell fake degrees to “students.” Diploma mills might try to appear legit by accepting prior work experience or providing bogus online courses. Others will outright sell fake degrees. So, when verifying education, be sure the institution has recognition from a valid accreditation agency.

What a Diploma Verification Report Includes

A diploma verification report confirms basic graduation information but doesn't include academic performance details. Here's what employers typically receive:

Included information: Graduation status, school name, graduation date, diploma type (regular or GED).
Not included: GPA or grades, disciplinary records, attendance records, course transcripts.

The included information is returned when the school or database can successfully match the candidate's identifiers. Items that aren’t included on a verification report may require separate processes.

How Long Does Education Verification Take?

Education verification takes just a few days in most cases. However, turnaround time is dependent on the responsiveness of the educational institution being queried and how readily available the information is to them. Some institutions have procedures that drag out the process. But, for the most part, employers expect the results within a few days.

The Cost of Education Verification

Employers might avoid education background checks to cut down on expenses. In reality, background checks are very affordable. The cost of background checks will depend on several factors (including how many you’re running). You can save big when you run multiple background checks. The small price you pay will end up saving you money in the long run. You’ll be hiring someone good that will help your company profit. And you won’t have to go through the recruiting process all over again.

Other Types of Background Checks

While education verification is crucial, it's essential to conduct other background checks to get a complete picture of a candidate. These checks may include:

Criminal History Checks: Criminal history searches-whether at the county, state, or federal level-are central to most employee and teacher background checks. Schools look for a history of violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, or neglect - though other crimes, including drug offenses, may also be considered red flags.
Employment History Checks: As with most other employee background checks, teacher checks typically include an employment history check. This background check allows schools to verify past employment listed on a teacher’s resume and get a sense of the teacher’s professional experience. If a teacher were fired from a past job for misconduct, this background check would often reveal that information. Schools may also use reference checks, speaking to a teacher’s former employers or colleagues to learn about their teaching style, work ethic, manner with students, and other characteristics.
Credit History Checks: A credit check reveals information about an applicant's financial responsibility and can be relevant for positions that involve handling money or sensitive financial information.
Driving History Checks: For positions that require driving, a driving history check is essential to ensure the candidate has a valid driver's license and a clean driving record.

Background Checks in Specific Sectors

Background checks are particularly important in certain sectors, such as:

Education Sector

Schools and school districts have the added obligation of providing a secure, nurturing learning environment for their students. Teacher background checks are a core of this equation and a crucial step that schools take to ensure that they are doing their due diligence and living up to their responsibilities.

Teacher Background Checks: Teacher background checks tend to be among the most in-depth of all employee background checks in the educational sphere because teachers are entrusted with educating and watching over kids and teenagers. Schools and school districts are well aware of the potential for educator sexual misconduct and are eager to avoid those risks. As such, teacher background checks are among the more thorough pre-hire background checks of any occupation or industry. First, teachers must undergo a background check to become licensed to teach - what those checks entail can vary slightly between states. Second, schools and school districts (as well as universities, trade schools, or other educational institutions) run their own background checks to make sure they avoid hiring a dangerous person.
Faculty Background Checks: The norms around college faculty background checks tend to be more relaxed than standard for K-12 teachers. Part of this is that college or university professors don’t have the same professional standards or expectations as primary, elementary, or secondary school teachers. Most higher education institutions will consider many of the same aspects that K-12 school districts do - including criminal history. Colleges and universities will also watch for inappropriate behavior from faculty, such as college professors who are romantically or sexually involved with their students. Overall, the rules, regulations, and background check requirements for higher education faculty are usually slightly looser for college educators than for K-12 teachers.
Administrator Background Checks: Administrators often have significantly less contact with students than teachers or professors, though principals and vice principals tend to be exceptions to that rule. Meanwhile, these jobs often come with high levels of responsibility that directly impact a school or district’s ability to operate effectively. As a result, most educational administrators face background checks that are just as thorough as teachers, if not more so. Criminal background checks, education and employment history checks, professional license verifications, reference checks, and credit history checks may all be part of the administrative vetting process.
Volunteer Background Checks: School volunteers are the most overlooked group when it comes to background checks in education. Still, the fact is that school volunteers often work with kids as closely as teachers do and more closely than most administrators. As such, every school or school district must have smart and well-document protocols for vetting volunteers. Criminal background checks, sex offender registry searches, and child abuse or neglect background checks are crucial for all school volunteer roles.
Youth Sports Background Checks: Just as schools need to vet teachers thoroughly to make sure they are safe, trustworthy, and qualified, they should always do the same for coaches, assistant coaches, and other school sports employees or volunteers.

Federal Positions

Applicants for the federal positions are required to complete a questionnaire and undergo some form of a background check, specifically a suitability review or, for some positions, a security clearance. It is important to realize that all offers of employment for federal positions are initially conditioned on successfully completing these processes. The background investigations are only begun after the applicant has accepted the offer and completed the requisite forms.

Suitability Review: All applicants for federal positions, including summer interns and volunteers, must undergo a suitability review, which is an evaluation of a person’s character traits and conduct to decide whether that individual is likely to act with integrity and efficiency in their job. The agency first determines whether a position is sensitive or non-sensitive. If it is non-sensitive, the agency then designates the position as Low, Moderate, or High Risk, depending on the position’s potential for adverse impact to the integrity and efficiency of that office. The kind of investigation conducted for a suitability review varies with the level of risk.
Security Clearance: A security clearance is different than a suitability review. A security clearance is designed to determine eligibility for access to classified national security information and entails an evaluation of whether an individual is a security threat. The security clearance process typically includes a FBI reference check of former employers, coworkers, friends, neighbors, landlords, and schools along with a review of credit, tax, and police records. There are three levels of security clearances which correspond to the sensitivity of the information to which the applicant will have access: Confidential, Secret, and Top Secret.

Compliance with Regulations

Staying compliant with regulations while running education verification checks centers on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Clear policies document when employers may order background checks and how decisions may be made. Under the FCRA, employers must provide candidates with a clear, standalone disclosure explaining their intent to run a background check. The disclosure explains that a background check including education verification may be obtained. Employers must also obtain written consent from the candidate before ordering the check. Key compliance requirements for running a background check include permissible purpose, accurate procedures, adverse action process, dispute rights, and data security.

The Consequences of Lying About Education

Lying about your high school diploma is considered falsifying application information. Common examples include claiming graduation without completing requirements, listing the wrong school, or submitting fake documents. When a candidate’s dishonesty is discovered before hiring, employers may withdraw the job offer. If found after hiring, potential consequences could include termination, demotion, or removal from promotion consideration.

Potential outcomes include:

Personnel file notation: Policy violations and "not eligible for rehire" status
Professional impact: Potential references may not recommend the candidate due to falsified information
Industry consequences: Candidates may not be eligible for future roles requiring clearances or licenses
Legal exposure: Forged documents can lead to civil or criminal processes

Not all discrepancies indicate dishonesty-name changes, school closures, and data entry errors can cause mismatches. Candidates can resolve legitimate errors by providing proper documentation and disputing inaccuracies with the background check provider who conducted the report.

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