Verifying an education degree is an important basic step that is often overlooked by organizations. Various studies indicate that the falsification of the existence of a degree occurs approximately 25% to 33% of the time.
Verification of a degree is obviously very important if its achievement is a necessary requirement of qualifying for the position. BUT, we would like to suggest that this verification step be performed regularly as it can be a very important indicator of the quality and character of an individual. Accordingly, it can be ordered regularly if it is done consistently by job position.
We have always maintained that people will perform and behave for you in the future as they have performed and behaved in the past. Just like obtaining the motor vehicle record report to reveal character verifying the educational degree can indicate the trust worthiness of an individual. If an individual falsifies this piece of information on your application, they will most likely falsify information while in your employ.
However, implementing this verification step is just half the story. If you do decide to verify education, you have to be aware that there are “diploma mills” on the internet that sell fake degrees for both high school and college. When it comes to verifying education, both the existence of a degree AND the accreditation of the institution issuing the degree should be verified. Last year the Federal Trade commission released a story about a high school diploma mill. This particular mill took in more than $11 million in exchange for fake diplomas.
The Federal Trade Commission listed the existence of important some web sites that can help you verify the accreditation status of institutions issuing degrees. Those web sites are:
Database of Accredited Post-Secondary Institutions and Programs
There are similar stories of diploma mills available from the Department of Education. More information about diploma mills and how to spot them can be found here.
