Overview
Education verification confirms the schooling a person listed against what the school has on record. A screening company contacts the institution, or a service acting for it, and asks it to confirm attendance and any degree awarded.
Schools generally do respond, which sets this apart from employment verification. What limits the answer is a federal privacy law that governs what a school may release and to whom.
The check is common for roles where a degree is a stated requirement, and for licensed professions where education is a condition of practice.
What Gets Confirmed
| Attendance | That the person was enrolled, and the dates. |
| Degree or diploma | The credential awarded and the date it was conferred. |
| Major or field of study | Where the school records it. |
| Honors | Distinctions awarded at graduation, where the school releases them. |
Grades and transcripts sit outside a standard verification. A transcript is an education record protected by federal law, and a school will not release one to a screening company without the individual’s written consent.
The Privacy Rule Behind It
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, known as FERPA, governs student records at schools that receive federal funding.
FERPA divides student information into 2 categories. Education records, which include grades, transcripts, and disciplinary files, require the student’s written consent before release. Directory information, which a school may release without consent, typically covers items such as name, dates of attendance, degrees awarded, and field of study.
Each school decides what it treats as directory information and publishes that definition, so the categories are not identical everywhere. Students also have the right to opt out of directory disclosure, and a student who has done so will not be confirmed without their consent, even for basic attendance.
In practice a screening company obtains the individual’s written authorization anyway, since it needs authorization for the background check as a whole. That authorization resolves most FERPA questions before they arise.
Where the Confirmation Comes From
- A centralized verification service. Many U.S. colleges and universities route degree verification through a shared service that holds enrollment and degree data and answers requests electronically. The National Student Clearinghouse is the most widely used. Where a school participates, verification can return in minutes.
- The registrar’s office. The traditional route, and the one that applies where a school does not use a service. Handled by phone, email, or a web form.
- A third party the school has designated, which some institutions use to handle verification requests on their behalf.
High schools are almost always contacted directly, since the centralized services are built around higher education. District offices sometimes hold records for schools that have closed.
How Long It Takes
A school that participates in an automated service can return a result the same day. A school contacted directly takes as long as its registrar’s office takes.
Two timing factors are specific to schools. Academic calendars create closures, and a request submitted during a summer or winter break can sit until staff return. Older records are sometimes held on microfilm or paper rather than in a current system, which means someone has to retrieve them by hand.
Accreditation and Diploma Mills
A verification confirms that a school issued a credential. It does not establish that the credential means anything, and those are separate questions.
Accreditation is the process by which an outside body reviews an institution against academic standards. In the United States, accrediting bodies are themselves recognized by the Department of Education or by a national council, and both maintain public directories of recognized institutions and programs.
A diploma mill is an operation that sells credentials with little or no academic work required. Such an operation will confirm a degree when contacted, because confirming degrees is the service it sells. The verification succeeds and establishes nothing.
This is why a check of accreditation status sits alongside verification for roles where the credential matters. The question is not only whether a school says the degree was awarded, but whether the school is recognized.
Accreditation can also change. An institution may lose accreditation after a student graduates, or gain it afterward, so status is assessed as of the relevant period rather than only in the present.
Schools Outside the United States
Foreign institutions are verified directly, and the process differs in several ways.
FERPA does not apply, so each country’s own privacy rules govern what a school may release. Time zones and language add steps. Some countries route verification through a national education authority rather than the institution. Documentation requirements vary, and some schools will not respond without a signed release in a specific form.
Foreign credentials are also difficult to compare against U.S. ones, since degree structures and program lengths differ. A separate service called credential evaluation addresses that question, assessing what a foreign qualification corresponds to in the U.S. system. It is a distinct product from verification and answers a different question.
Our page on International Screening covers how records outside the United States are obtained.
When a School Cannot Confirm
- The school closed. Records are often transferred to a state agency or another institution, and tracing them takes time.
- Records predate the current system. Older attendance may exist only on paper.
- The name on file differs. A person who attended under a former name will not be found under a current one unless the search includes it.
- An unpaid balance. Some institutions place a hold that restricts release of records, including verification.
- The student opted out of directory disclosure and no authorization is on file.
An unable to verify result means the confirmation could not be obtained. It is not a finding that the person misrepresented their education.
Discrepancies and What They Mean
| Attended but no degree | The person enrolled and did not complete the program. Common, and material only where the role requires a completed degree. |
| A different graduation date | The date a degree was formally conferred often differs from the date coursework ended. |
| A different degree or major | The credential recorded by the school differs from the one described. |
| No record at all | Frequently a name difference, a campus or branch listed as a separate institution, or records held elsewhere. |
| An unaccredited institution | The degree was issued. Whether it carries academic standing is a separate question. |
The distance between what was claimed and what the school confirms is what makes a discrepancy significant. A conferral date 2 months later than remembered and an unearned degree are different findings.
Where It Fits Under the FCRA
An education verification obtained by a screening company for employment purposes is part of a consumer report. Written disclosure and authorization are required before it is requested, accuracy obligations attach to what is reported, and the individual has the right to dispute anything incorrect. Our FCRA Overview covers those requirements in full.
FERPA operates alongside those requirements rather than replacing them. FERPA governs what the school may release. The FCRA governs what the screening company does with it once released.
Where a discrepancy or an unconfirmed verification contributes to a decision not to hire, the required notice steps apply. This matters here because a school that never responded, a closed institution, or a records hold produces the same unconfirmed result as an inaccurate claim. See The Adverse Action Process.