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Tips for Spotting Phony Education Credentials

In an effort to help businesses combat the growing problem of job applicants listing phony academic credentials on their resumes or applications, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Education and the Office of Personnel Management have teamed up to offer tools to help companies spot fake degrees and maintain the integrity of their hiring process. The following is a list of the agencies' tell-tale signs for spotting bogus degrees:

Out of sequence degrees: Anytime you are reviewing an applicant's education claims and you see degrees earned in a pattern other than the traditional degree progression - high school, followed by bachelor's, master's, and doctoral or other advanced degrees - warning bells should sound.

Quickie degrees: It typically takes at least two years to complete any type of degree, so any degrees that an applicant claims to have earned in a short period of time should be cause for suspicion.

Degrees from schools in locations different from the applicant's job or home: A quick cross-check of the locations listed on a resume or application can often point to a diploma mill. If an applicant claims to have worked full-time in Chicago while attending school in London, chances are that the applicant has visited a diploma mill unless the degree is from an accredited distance-learning institution.

Sound-alike names: Some of the trickier diploma mills use names that sound or look like those of prestigious or well-known universities. If the name sounds familiar, but the location does not, check it out.

While the tips above can help you catch some of the more common calling cards of diploma mills, InfoMart offers a thorough screening so you can be certain that you "Get the Whole Story" about your applicants' education history. InfoMart's Verifications Department not only researches and tracks the operations of diploma mills through an extensive database and library, but the staff is also trained to examine each profile with a fine toothed comb.

For more information on InfoMart's Education Verification service, please contact sales@infomart-usa.com or 770-984-2727 option 4.

(source: http://www.ftc.gov)