This article will help you understand what an education verification is, why it's important, and what type of information it provides.
Employers need to verify education to ensure their candidates have earned the credentials necessary to perform the job.
The education verification service provides confirmation of the claimed degree, diploma (or GED) or certificate obtained or attended, as reported by the candidate. In addition, attendance dates, graduation date and major (or field of study) may be verified.
Orange Tree's education verification process
A request is sent to the candidate to provide their name at the time their degree/diploma was earned, the name of the institution attended, the city/state of the institution, the type of degree and subject studied, and the month/year the degree was earned. Once candidates have provided their education history and we have confirmed the accuracy of information, our verification team will proceed with confirming the information.
Orange Tree makes three valid attempts over three days to contact the institution for verification. “Valid attempts” include contacting a confirmed resource. This contact is with an authorized contact in the registrar’s office or similar department.
Orange Tree offers the following add-on services:
- We acquire valid documentation of the degree or diploma from the candidate. While we provide the mechanism for enabling the candidate to easily upload a copy of their credential via our CandidateConnect® portal, the client verifies that it meets their requirements.
- We make additional attempts as defined by our client’s business requirements.
Understanding Education Verification Results
All education verification services have the same reporting format. The city and state
the school is located, details on who verified the information, and the service completion
date is provided. 
The 'Provided' column is the information provided for the order. The 'Actual' column is the information verified. Any discrepant information will be in bold font.
Discrepancy and Attention Criteria:
Discrepant
- Degree Type – Unable to verify a degree earned when applicant reported having received a degree
- Attendance – Unable to verify attendance (or degree) when applicant reported attendance
- Degree Type – Verified difference in degree level for all degrees (e.g. Bachelor and Master), and or difference in degree type (within same level), where level is higher than Bachelor (e.g. Master of Social Work and Master of Business Administration)
- Major – Verified difference between the major reported and the major verified, where fields are dissimilar
- Graduation Date – Verified graduation date is more than 1 year different (before or after) from graduation date that was reported.