How to verify if someone is an alumni of an overseas university (US)?

Question

I am working in the Human Resource Department of a bank. My job involves checking the authenticity of the information that applicants declare on their CV/ job application. It's not so difficult for me when I check there home qualifications and working experience, for I am familiar with our home country administration system and regulation about signatures/ seals, etc. However, I find it a big challenge for me to check some overseas degrees/ working experience of the candidates. The supporting documents are strange to me and I'm afraid I cannot know if the candidates are cheating. In a recent case, the applicant wrote in the CV that he studied in University of Webster, but during the interview he gave us feeling of uncertainty and untrustworthiness. If the degree is forged, accepting him will bring big trouble. Could you pls tell me a way to avoid this?

Answer 1

I would never rely on a document given to me by the candidate him/herself as proof of a degree, even in the U.S. It is too easy to get a good forged diploma these days. The only way to know if a degree is legitimate or not is to tell the candidate that they have to have transcripts sent to you directly from the school to you. The candidate does not get involved in the transmission of the documents at all. The only problem is that in some countries, this can't be done as quickly as it can in others. I work in academia, and it is fairly standard for job postings to require transcripts with the application.

Answer 2

In the US we have a way of avoiding this for higher education, but I"m not sure what businesses do to avoid the problem. And it is a problem here in the US as well.

I don't think you can simply contact a university and ask this question, but it would not hurt you to send an email to the "Records Office" and ask if the candidate is a graduate and what was the graduation date. They will tell you if that information is not available. The university website should have the contact information for the Records Office. Sometimes it's called the office of "Admissions and Records."'

Whenever a student applies for admission to a university, they must supply an "official" transcript of their prior coursework. Every American student knows this. Some universities charge for this and others do not. The official transcript is a record of all courses taken at the university, as well as the grade earned and the unit hours earned. This document is SEALED with a special seal (and usually a signature also), and then placed in a sealed envelope and mailed to the student. The student MUST present it to the new institution unopened. Once the envelope is opened, no one will accept the transcript.

I don't know if your company will want to take the time and trouble to require an "official transcript," but that is what we use here for higher education, and graduates are very familiar with this procedure.

I myself have several sealed "official transcripts" of my education (at various institutions) in my files, because I know I may be required to present it at some time. When I was preparing to be a teacher, I had to present the official documents when I applied for the pedagogy program, and then I had to present them all over again when I applied to the state government for my teaching credential (license).

University graduates in my country should know the importance of keeping transcripts. Many of us have an unofficial copy with us too. You may be more comfortable if you could at least see the unofficial copy. The ONLY difference between this one and the official one is that the official one is supposedly directly from the university to you.

Oh, yes... I just read another excellent post which suggests getting the transcript directly from the university. The student can request the official transcript be mailed to himself, or to anyone he chooses to write on the request form.