Consumer support and offer redemption
If a consumer experiences issues verifying their student status, direct them to the SheerID Verification Help Center for assistance or customer support routing. If a verified consumer encounters issues applying a discount or redeeming an offer, your customer support team must assist them directly.
Audience overview
SheerID student verification allows you to offer exclusive promotions to students enrolled in educational institutions. The platform supports both full-time and part-time students. Depending on your program setup, eligible institutions can include degree-granting universities as well as non-degree trade programs. The default minimum age for all student verification programs is 16 years old.
Student sub-segments
Available sub-segments vary by region. Review the supported consumer audiences by country guide to confirm coverage for your target market.
Best Practice: Be inclusive
Including all available student affiliations maximizes offer reach and reduces consumer support requests, but it depends on your business needs and product positioning.
University students
This segment includes degree-granting institutions recognized by the official governing body for education in that country, such as a Ministry of Education. Recognition standards vary globally, and SheerID continuously updates institution lists to maintain coverage accuracy.
Post-secondary students
This segment includes non-degree granting institutions above the secondary high school level. Examples include vocational schools, trade schools, technical colleges, culinary institutes, beauty schools, and IT training centers. Programs that offer only short courses are not included. Eligible institutions must offer extended courses, such as semester-long or year-long programs.
High school students
High school verification applies to students who are 16 years of age or older, except in India where students must be at least 18 years of age. To comply with regulations such as the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), SheerID verification forms block users from submitting birth dates that indicate they are under 16 years old.
High school students accepted into a college (US only)
The high school students accepted into a college (college bound) option expands US student coverage to include high school seniors accepted into a higher education institution. Data sources identify pre-college students who have a high likelihood of attending a university. Once the academic year begins, these users can be verified as enrolled university students.
University graduates (US only)
SheerID's graduate verification will verify if a consumer has graduated from a US university, regardless of the type of degree granted (BA, BS, MA, MS, Phd). Graduates can be added to an existing student program if it is US and University only. If not, you will need to create a separate program.
Privacy and age restrictions
Collecting verification details from consumers age 16 and older complies with major global privacy standards, including GDPR and CCPA. SheerID does not verify individuals under 16 years old because global privacy laws require explicit parental consent to collect personal data from younger minors.
When a consumer does not meet program eligibility requirements, the verification form displays an error message. Brands should place clear eligibility messaging on promotional pages before directing consumers to the verification form. See the highlighted error message below:
Student verification confirms student status rather than exact age. If your offer requires strict age verification, add Government ID Check to your program. This step helps prevent underage access and ensures full data privacy compliance.
Verification methods and unsupported groups
Verification methods
You can verify students using authoritative data sources, single sign-on (SSO), email loop, or document review. Read more about default verification methods here.
Unsupported groups and detail levels
- Homeschool students: Homeschool verification is not supported. Because central databases and standardized documentation do not exist for homeschooled students, SheerID cannot verify them accurately. Attempting to include homeschoolers would reduce offer protection and increase support requests.
- Degree levels: Student verification programs cannot distinguish between undergraduate and graduate students. Verification documents typically do not specify the level of study.
Additional program settings
Add School Request form
Nearly all student verification programs include the Add School Request (ASR) form by default. If a student cannot locate their school on the lookup menu, they can submit a request to add their institution.
College bound program timing
You can add the college bound option to an existing US student program to expand audience reach during seasonal campaigns, such as back-to-school promotions. The college bound list updates annually every September to include graduating seniors for the upcoming school year.
You can learn more about supporting a student audience in the Center of Excellence.