It is said that screening is knowledge, and knowledge is power. Conducting an education check of a potential candidate can help you save time, energy, and resources. It safeguards your business from unqualified applicants with inaccurate or misleading education records.
Educational institutes also do this check on students or applicants who wish to pursue a degree.
According to EconomicTimes, Eight out of 100 candidates lie or misinform during a job application. It further adds that the top discrepant checks are address, employment, identity, and education verifications.
Education background verification of faculty & staff
Education background verification is done to ensure that a specific degree or training mentioned in a candidates’ resume is valid or authentic. When you hire someone based on their educational qualification or training, you expect them to leverage the same for your advantage.
Considering that educational institutions shape a significant part of an individual’s lifetime, it is pivotal to create and provide their students with a safe space for their growth and development.
How is this done?
The faculty background screening includes different checks, ranging from employment and certification checks to digging deep into criminal records checks. Doing so ensures that the applicant being hired is an honest and qualified individual.
Pre-verification
In this stage, the educational institute evaluates the applicant’s educational background. Then they screen out applicants who may have forged and exaggerated their qualifications. This can be done:
- Via direct contact with the school
- The aid of a third party like trusted background screening companies
- Name of the candidate when graduating(especially for women)
Verification
The candidates are asked for certain documents, which are then verified in this step. They include:
- Name of candidate — based on the university, college, or school
- The precise address of university, college, or school
- Dates or duration when they attended or date of graduation
- The exact name of the degree acquired. For example, B.Sc, B.Com, B.A, etc.
- Registration number, matriculation number, hall ticket number, roll number, etc.
- A scan or copy of the diploma, certificate, or degree
- A scan or copy of the release of authorization
NOTE: Some educational institutions conduct a drug check along with a background check.
3 reasons why stringent education check is needed
Protection from forgery
Some employees may resort to unethical means to find a job. As per a survey conducted by ResumeLab, 36% of respondents admitted lying on their resumes.
But out of this number, only a third were caught.
Forging degrees has emerged as one of the many unethical practices in the employment field. With an overall literacy rate of 69.3%, our country has produced 2 to 2.5 million graduates a year.
Alongside, rising diploma mills and unregistered institutions are also responsible for churning out frauds.
By doing a background check, you can prevent hiring fraudulent employees.
Right Person, Right Seat
The above tenet holds utmost value. The idea is to identify whether the individual hired for a job is equipped with the talent — and the right knowledge to fulfil all the requirements.
Some individuals may have knowledge gaps, not making them suitable candidates to fill a vacant position.
Education checks can help justify – Right Person, Right Seat. Besides, the level of education, type of degree, and subjects can also help the employer understand whether an individual can resonate with the role.
Reviewing foreign degrees
As per MEA (Ministry of External Affairs), in 2020 alone, 261,406 Indian students went abroad. But how do you review & evaluate them?
However, the challenge is that international universities’ curriculum may not exactly tone with your company’s job description.
Furthermore, an international institution must verify the value of its degree. This process can be frustrating and time-consuming.
Validating licenses
There are Professional License verifications required for some professions. This may include specific training as well as an active professional license.
An education background check reveals if the candidate is licensed to work in a specific vocation and reports the credential title, current status, and issue and expiration dates.
How IDfy conducts an education check?
With IDfy’s solutions, you can get accurate and reliable information about the educational claims made by your candidates. IDfy also helps with the complete background verification process.
We will check the educational records of applicants who have earned degrees at colleges and universities in more than 100 countries. We will check the end to end of your candidate’s educational background in a matter of 3-5 days!