Validate Candidate’s Educational History: Basic Guide in Crafting an Education Verification Offer Letter

When conducting background checks on prospective employees, education verification is an essential step. Some applicants may exaggerate their educational backgrounds and degrees on their resumes. If you do not verify your candidates’ education, you risk hiring unqualified and dishonest employees who will harm your company’s reputation.

We’ve written this guide to help you understand the education verification process, including instructions on how to write an education verification offer letter.

What is Education Verification?

Employers conduct education background checks to validate candidates’ certifications, training, and educational histories and to identify potential misrepresentations.

Employers frequently use consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to conduct education background checks. These services can aid in the verification of applicants’ high school diplomas, vocational certifications, and undergraduate and graduate degrees.

A background check on education reveals candidates’ dates of attendance, majors, and degrees at high schools and universities in the United States and other countries. Professional licenses are not verified using these types of checks. Professional license verification is a better option for these types of background screening services.

What is an Education Verification Offer Letter?

Sending out an education background check offer letter is a method of verifying job applicants‘ required education. This type of check usually serves to confirm attendance dates and whether the degree listed on a resume was earned. Most degrees can be verified by the applicant’s school’s records office, but sometimes the verification is performed by a third-party company, which usually pays an additional cost.

How do Employers Perform an Education Verification?

A hiring manager may request that you present your diploma so that they can keep a copy in your file. Other applications may request or require a sealed transcript. A hiring manager may also verify your education by contacting the schools or colleges you attended.

Companies sometimes hire third-party verification services to screen potential job candidates. Third-party services will request records from your school or university in the same way that an independent request from a company would.

Why Should Employers Verify an Applicant’s Education?

The following are several important reasons why education verification should be included as part of your background screening during the hiring process.

Make certain that your applicants are fully qualified

When you hire new employees for your company, you want to make sure that they meet all requirements and have the necessary education to perform the tasks of their jobs. Education verification allows you to confirm the level of education of your applicants in order to identify those with the necessary certificates, diplomas, or degrees for your open positions.

Avoid the risk of hiring mistakes

When you hire employees, you must ensure that they have the necessary skills, abilities, and knowledge to do their jobs. If you do not verify that they have the appropriate education and qualifications to perform their jobs, you may face a negligent hiring lawsuit if they cause harm to others due to incompetence. Screening applicants before hiring them assists in identifying those who may not be suitable for the positions for which they have applied.

Determine the authenticity of degrees and institutions

Diploma mills, or companies that sell fake qualifications and degrees, have proliferated online as a result of the advancement of modern technology. It is simple for people to place orders with these companies claiming to have attended nonexistent colleges and earned degrees they do not have.

Check to see if an applicant has the necessary certifications, degrees, and licenses

Certain industries, such as health care, education, the legal field, fitness, cosmetology, and others, require employees to have specific degrees, certifications, and licenses in order to be qualified for their jobs.

Recognize false statements about degrees awarded or schools attended

Education verification can assist you in quickly identifying any misrepresentations made by an applicant about the schools he or she attended and the degrees he or she earned, allowing you to hire only honest employees.

Receive timely and accurate results to expedite the hiring process

Verifying an applicant’s educational claims by contacting each institution listed on their resume and waiting for transcripts to confirm their claims can take several weeks. If an applicant omits a school from his or her resume, attempting to verify his or her educational background in this manner may yield insufficient results.

Feel confident that your company abides by privacy and data security regulations

It is critical to protect the confidentiality and security of sensitive applicant information. To protect your data and the sensitive information you handle, we always follow privacy laws and use encryption.

Steps to Write an Education Verification Offer Letter

Here are the steps in writing an education verification offer letter:

Begin your background check offer letter with the date it was written and the recipient’s name. Include its address so that employers know where to send their offer letter.
Use a proper salutation to demonstrate professionalism and respect.
Indicate the reason for the offer letter. You can inform them that the letter is for a background check.
Continue with the body of the letter and indicate the process’s completion date.
Leave on a positive note to keep applicants interested while they wait for the process.
Include your contact information so that they can get in touch with you right away if they have any questions or concerns.
Include your name, designation, and the name of the company if you are the employer in charge of writing the background offer letter.
Make sure to proofread your letters before sending them to ensure that there are no grammatical errors or misspelled words.

Sample and Template

If this is your first time writing an education verification offer letter, don’t worry because we’ve got your back!

Sample 1: Education Verification Offer Letter Template

Use this downloadable template to customize your own education verification offer letter.

[Date]

[Name of the Recipient]

[Address of the Recipient]

Dear [Candidate’s Name],

Good day! On behalf of [company name], we are assessing your suitability for placement in our university as [job position].

During our meetings, it was suggested that we seek employment references from your previous university, where you worked between Wed, 31 May 2023 03:02:03 +0000 and Wed, 31 May 2023 03:02:03 +0000. We guarantee that any information you provide will be kept solely confidential. Please call [name, title] if you prefer to provide this information over the phone rather than filling it out.

Thank you for your quick attention to the terms of this offer once more. We are delighted to have you aboard.

Best regards,

[Name of the sender]

[Designation of the sender]

[Organization’s name]

Sample 2: Example of Education Verification Offer Letter

Here’s an example of an education verification offer letter that you can use as your guide.

February 10, 2020

Chelzy Ambre

New Orleans, Louisiana 00123

Dear Ms. Chelzy Ambre,

Good morning! On behalf of Dreams of Hope, we are evaluating your qualifications for a teaching position at our university.

It was suggested during our meetings that we obtain employment references from your previous university, where you worked from January 10, 2018 to December 10, 2019. We promise to keep any information you provide strictly confidential. If you prefer to provide this information over the phone rather than filling it out, please contact Amie Chua, Principal.

Thank you once more for your prompt attention to the terms of this offer. We are thrilled to have you on board.

Best regards,

Gretchen Dee

Director

Dreams of Hope

Key Takeaways

An education background check is a method of ensuring job applicants’ required education by sending out an education background check.
A hiring manager may ask for your diploma so that they can keep a copy in your file.
Third-party verification services are sometimes used by businesses to screen potential job candidates.
Begin your background check offer letter with the date and the name of the recipient. To demonstrate professionalism and respect, use the proper salutation.
Explain why you’re writing the offer letter. You can explain that the letter is for a background check.
Continue with the body of the letter, noting the completion date of the process.
To keep applicants interested while they await the process, end on a positive note.
Include your contact details so that if they have any questions or concerns, they can contact you right away.
If you are the employer in charge of writing the background offer letter, include your name, title, and the name of the company.