Press Release
Five More Universities Go "Live" with Clearinghouse's DegreeVerifySM Service
HERNDON, VA, March 21, 2001 --- Five nationally recognized universities became officially "live" with DegreeVerify last month. The five schools are: Montgomery College, University of South Alabama, University of Richmond, Washington State University, and Western Michigan University.
DegreeVerify is the National Student Clearinghouse’s service for verifying student degrees, certificates and other educational achievements on behalf of University Registrars. Instead of calling the University Registrar’s office, employers can receive degree verification via telephone, fax or through the Clearinghouse’s interactive, password-protected Web site 24-hours-a-day.
Carolyn S. Boggs, Registrar at University of Richmond said, "the Registrar's Office is always looking for ways to streamline our operations and improve services to our students and graduates. We signed on with the Clearinghouse for enrollment verification many years ago, and participating in the new DegreeVerify service seemed like the next logical step."
"We decided to use DegreeVerify for two reasons," said Carolyn Parham, Registrar at University of South Alabama. "With all of the budget cuts going on in our state, we needed to be able to save as much staff time as possible and this allowed us to significantly reduce the amount of time our staff has to spend verifying degrees. Furthermore, we felt that it would be a benefit to our graduates since the prospective employers will be able to verify degrees much quicker and easier using the Clearinghouse system."
By participating in such services, institutions can take a proactive role in combating fraudulent credentials by being part of the solution. "The concern about forgeries of academic documents is on the rise. As more companies check academic credentials, we feel the effect on our office operations," said Carrie Cummings, Supervisor of Academic Records at Western Michigan University. "The Clearinghouse gives employers an alternative source that is available 24/7 to give access to the information when our office is closed."
"We eliminated most of our verification workload in 1997 when we first linked up with the Clearinghouse. This year, we are reducing an additional 100 verifications a day on average now that employers, and background screening firms, go to the Clearinghouse for degree and enrollment verifications. Registrar staff can take on other assignments. Their new services have helped us become more productive without increasing expenses," said Sherman Helberg, Director of Records and Registration at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland.
"DegreeVerify offers a value-added service for students and requestors at no cost to our university. We are excited about the added efficiency both for our alumni and for their prospective employers," said Richard Backes, Senior Associate Registrar, Washington State University.
Press Inquiries:
Kathleen Dugan
Marketing Director
703-742-4208
dugan@studentclearinghouse.org
