Despite huge technological advancements, many sectors still carry out a manual document verification process. One of the major industries with a huge document processing load is education. Apart from background checks on students, these institutions need to perform regular assessments on their staff as well. With the increasing rate of international student enrollments and hiring processes, it becomes near impossible to perform accurate document authentication manually.
Under such conditions, it is essential to find a way to automate these tasks. An online document verification process is the way to go when faced with such a dilemma. This post gives an overview of how it can help the education industry altogether.
A Quick Overview of the Document Verification Process
Essentially, there are three steps to a good verification documents process:
- Submission and Collection of Information: The system prompts a user to upload a photo of the document as well as a selfie. These two-layer checks minimize the risk of identity fraud.
- Verification: In the second step, the submitted files are checked for forging, tampering, and any other form of imitation. Then, the files are matched with the selfie for further document attestation.
- Results: Finally, the client is notified about the document verification process of the user identity.
Types of Documents to Verify
The real advantage of online document verification lies in the versatility of the solution. Here are some of the documents that can be verified using the system:
- ID Card: In recent years, global identity fraud has risen to dangerous levels. Thus, steering the market to invest in automated solutions. In 2021, the identity verification market touched $8.6 billion globally.
- Passport: It is mandatory for international students to keep their immigration and travel documents in order. However, scammers can find ways to penetrate the system. For this purpose, educational institutions can incorporate an extra layer of security for document checking.
- Bank Statement: Almost all universities in the US require some form of bank statement to verify the financial standing of students. It can be quite a tedious task when applications are in thousands. A document verification process is the solution that can cut the workload and be accurate as well.
- Employee Letter: Educational institutions are constantly on the lookout for better academic talent and get a plethora of applications for vacant posts. A document attestation system for employee letters can help screen candidates who have qualifying experience.
How Can Document Verification Help in the Education Sector?
Boost Education Quality
A robust document verification process can authenticate the submitted documents in an automatic and quick method. Thereby, reducing the secondary workload on staff. It also ensures that the submitted academic documents are in order. Hence, no unqualified students will be enrolled in the institution or any of its programmes. Using a document verification process will enable the institution to shift the staff and monetary resources to boost the quality of education.
Reduce Staff-Related Issues
The document verification process can not only help vet the right students but also the right professionals in the institutions. The quality of education depends on the experience and ability of the teachers. With the solution in place, it will be quicker and more accurate to screen individuals who possess verified certifications and training. Furthermore, document checking will make the hiring process more efficient, faster, and transparent for both the applicants and the institution.
On the same note, the reputation of an institution can be permanently tarnished by the inappropriate actions of the staff. Online document verification will ensure comprehensive background and identity checks to secure the welfare of students from potential violators.
Regulatory Requirements for Data Security
Unlike the EU, there are no federal data privacy laws in the US. However, data security is still taken seriously in the US on a national level. Moreover, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) still applies to EU students studying in US universities. Keeping this in view, it becomes essential for universities to deploy solutions for data privacy and security.
The background and document verification process allows universities to stay ahead of any malevolent activities. When choosing a document checking solution, extra care must be taken to ensure the solution is compliant with GDPR and other regulations.
Cost Reduction
As per legal requirements, educational institutions must perform document authentication especially of the staff. Therefore, they must deploy either a manual or automatic process. In the case of the former method, it will cost the institution countless man-hours as well as a huge chunk of funds. For the latter solution, the institution can implement a comprehensive document verification process at a fraction of the cost.
Conclusion
Having a sturdy document verification process in place can help institutions stay on top of the legal regulations and enjoy an untarnished reputation. On the same note, such a solution can free up integral resources. The institution can then use these resources to boost the education quality, for the welfare of students, and to get well-equipped academics on board.
