Universities and Colleges Many universities have their own verification service, which is usually free. Google “academic verification” and the name of the institution to get to the correct page. Universities will need the student's full name, date of birth, course of study and year of graduation. You can check the qualifications by asking to see the candidate's certificates. Alternatively, you can consult with the contracting authorities or use one of the verification services.
Your Personal Learning Record (PLR) is a permanent online record of your grades and achievements. It is in the hands of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), which is an executive agency of the Department of Education (DfE). If a person claims to have a specific degree, the University can confirm that particular award. They will not comply with a request about, for example, “what grade did this person get”.
Students or graduates should not use Hedd to verify their own degrees. After the urgent background check of 3,000 foreign doctors, Prospect urges employers not to apply for degree certificates to the letter. If you have a candidate who claims to have earned a degree, HND or HNC in the UK, instead of asking them to show their degree certificate, employers can check the HEDD website. Now that controls begin on more than 3000 doctors working in the United Kingdom, let's hope that this perverse and abhorrent breach of trust is an isolated case.
It also offers a free online service to check if a UK university or college is a recognized degree-granting body. Forged certificates have some common features, such as outdated terminology, but it's essential to check properly with the agencies that issue them. In addition to looking for references, you should also check the candidate's qualifications, especially when the qualification is essential for the position you want to fill. Billing through HEDD comes at a cost, but with an initial price of £12, it's worth paying a price to avoid the hassle and expense of getting rid of an unsuitable employee.
Thanks to Internet Diploma Mills and Photoshop, employers can no longer rely on visual verification of certificates, so if a qualification is a prerequisite for a given position, it's vital that you check with the agency that grants it.
