Supporting College Graduate Career Pursuits through Degree Verifications

This spring, millions of students will graduate from their higher education programs. As they pursue their careers, the National Student Clearinghouse’s DegreeVerify service stands ready to verify their hard-earned academic credentials. We spoke to Brian Kolonich, Manager, Strategic Accounts, about the latest trends in degree verification.

1. Why has it become increasingly important for employers to verify academic credentials?

Not everyone is honest about their education on their resume, including the degrees they’ve earned and even the institutions they attended. According to one survey, 64% of people said they had lied about skills, experience, or references at least once, up from 55% in 2022. Given the costs of finding quality candidates and filling jobs, preventing a company from making a bad hire saves a great deal of money and time.

2. Can the Clearinghouse verify everyone’s education?

Nearly all colleges and universities participate in the Clearinghouse’s degree verification program. As a result, we can verify over 90% of the requests we receive, and verify 80% of them immediately. If the record isn’t readily available, the Clearinghouse goes directly to the institution for information. Our process of verifying a degree or attendance is fast, reliable, and efficient for employers, institutions, and job seekers.

3. Why do higher education institutions partner with the Clearinghouse to handle degree verification?

Without an efficient digital process, higher education institutions would be constantly picking up the phone, having to verify the identity of the person calling, and then tracking down the information they’re seeking, costing these institutions valuable resources, time, and money.

4. Which industries are more likely to verify degrees?

The degree types most commonly verified are those in regulated industries, such as health care, financial services, and transportation. However, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the average cost of a bad hire is up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings. So, degree verifications are an important part of the hiring process for any industry.

5. Are degree verifications primarily for big employers?

While the Clearinghouse often works with screening companies contracted by large employers, small companies can access the service through the Clearinghouse website. After going through a credentialing process to ensure students’ information is protected, a company can simply pay by credit card to verify their applicant’s information.

Verifying academic degrees is a best practice that supports informed hiring decisions, legal compliance, and maintaining the integrity of the hiring process. Learn more at https://www.studentclearinghouse.org/solutions/business-verifications/.

Additional Resources:

• Learn about our verification services for businesses
• For colleges, find out about online verification services