Why do you have my information?
Verification Services are provided by the National Student Clearinghouse, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which provides educational reporting, verification, and other services to colleges and universities throughout the US. As the authorized legal representative of its participating schools, the Clearinghouse is considered a primary source for enrollment, degree, and attendance data. We confirm this data to requestors on behalf of our participating schools without additions or changes. Upon your written request, we will provide you with information on any requests we have fulfilled for your student record.
Can I verify the exact date of graduation?
It depends on how the school maintains the information. Many schools only maintain the month and year of the degree award date, particularly for older degree records. If your verification response only contains the month and year, then that is the format the school uses to maintain degree award dates and you should consider it complete information. For high school diploma verifications, we return only the year the diploma was awarded (YYYY format).
What if I did not receive the expected degree from the requested school?
For postsecondary requests, if the results do not return all earned degrees at the requested school, you can submit another request and specify the degree you are looking for by using Degree-Level Filtering.
Alternatively, you can submit a dispute request. We will research your request with the school and send you an update via email once more information is available.
Is grade point average (GPA) provided?
No. Schools do not provide GPAs to the Clearinghouse.
Is the Clearinghouse a primary source for education verifications?
Yes. As the authorized legal representative of its participating educational institutions, the Clearinghouse is considered a primary source for degree and enrollment data. This allows the Clearinghouse to supply student data to the US Department of Education, state student loan guaranty agencies, and organizations performing verifications for professional licensing and credentialing. The Clearinghouse confirms the degree and enrollment records provided to us by our participating schools to requestors without additions or changes. To comply with Department of Education requirements, the Clearinghouse is subject to an annual audit by an independent accounting firm, which it has never failed.
Is the Clearinghouse governed by any federal regulations?
Clearinghouse services are designed to facilitate an institution’s compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Higher Education Act, and other applicable laws.
Is the Clearinghouse approved for credentials verification by the Joint Commission?
Yes. The Joint Commission has approved the Clearinghouse to serve as an agent for colleges and universities participating in our Verification Services, enabling them to use us as a primary source for academic credential verification.
Does the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) accept verifications performed by an agent like the Clearinghouse?
You can verify credentials through an agent as outlined in NCQA’s CR 1: Credentialing Policies Standard for providing requested credentialing information. The Clearinghouse has a contractual relationship with each school that participates in Verification Services, appointing us as the school’s agent for the purpose of performing degrees and/or enrollment verifications.