These questions and answers are intended for business utilizing SheerID. If you are an educator and need help with your verification, please visit our consumer Help Center.
Who can SheerID verify with educator verification?
SheerID's educator verification covers teachers, faculty, and administrators at an educational institution. Depending on the organization type(s) associated with the educator program, educators for different levels of institutions may be verified (i.e. K-12, high school, university).
How are the audience segments defined?
Educator audience segments are defined by the organization type. The following organization types are configurable within an educator program, and their availability varies by country. You can determine which organization types are to be included in your program, as this will control which kinds of educators can be verified. Learn which consumer audiences are supported by country here.
- K-12 faculty. This encompasses primary and secondary schools.
- High school faculty. This includes educators at organizations supporting grades 8-12.
- University faculty. These are degree-granting schools, and are recognized by the local body in charge of education (this structure/entity varies by country, but is most often the Ministry of Education or equivalent). It is important to note that the threshold for what a country considers a legitimate school varies from country to country, and we have gone to great lengths to take that into account in our list creation. University has the broadest coverage and is the most commonly utilized Educator segment selected by SheerID clients.
- Post-secondary faculty. This includes non-degree granting schools, and organizations that may not be recognized by the local body in charge of education, but which do offer classes above the secondary (high school) level. This category can cover vocational schools, trade schools, and technical colleges. These can include, but are not limited to beauty/cosmetology, culinary, health and medical trade, emergency services, criminal justice, computer/IT, CDL training, massage therapy, welding, HVAC/R, automotive technician, and electrical schools. This set of organizations does not include schools that only offer short courses. Including Post-secondary organizations can expand reach, but could also allow in organizations like ‘Joe’s Mechanic Training School,’ if it offered semester/year-long classes.
Can multiple organization types be included in the same educator program?
It depends. The organization types desired must be available in all countries that the educator program is being created for. For example, if you would like to create a single program for K-12 and university educators for the entire world, this would not be possible, as K-12 educator verification is not available for the entire world. For this use case, two programs would be needed: one for university educators for the entire world, and one for K-12 educators for the countries in which K-12 educator verification is available.
On the other hand, if you wanted to create a program for United States K-12 and university educators, one program would be sufficient, as all of these organization types are available for the United States.
Are homeschool teachers included in educator programs by default?
No, though homeschool teachers in the US can be included in certain cases by request. These will be entirely document review verifications and tend to be lower assurance. If you would like to include homeschool teachers, an account-scoped organization for ‘Homeschool’ will need to be created within your account. Reach out to your CSM or the Product Support Team to get homeschool teachers added to your educator program. Be sure to provide volume estimates, both for the overall educator program, and for expected homeschool teacher submissions.
It is important note that homeschool teachers have very limited – and in some states, zero – documentation. For this reason, it can be very difficult for homeschool teachers to provide appropriate documents for review. This can lead to a support burden (and a poor customer experience), and can open up the program to increased offer abuse, as homeschool documents typically aren’t as “official.”
Commonly accepted documents from homeschool teachers
We are not limited to accepting only these document types, but these typically satisfy the requirements:
- Affidavit or Notice of Intent to Homeschool (letter or form)
- Annual Private School Affidavit
- Copy of course curriculum
- HSLDA membership card
Are graduate teaching assistants covered via SheerID's educator verification?
Yes.
Are school librarians covered within SheerID's educator verification?
Yes.
Can we verify retired educators?
No.
What happens if the educator verifying can't find their school?
All educator verification programs include SheerID's Add School Request (ASR) form by default. For more information about the ASR form, see the Add School Request FAQ.
What are the required verification form inputs?
- School name. This is a closed organization list, meaning that the user will need to select an existing school from the organization typeahead. If they do not see their school, they can submit an Add School Request.
- First and last name.*
- Email address.* SheerID strongly recommends that the educator provide their school-issued email address, as doing so will increase instant rates.
*Used to facilitate authoritative review.
What verification methods are used for educator verification?
Authoritative, SSO, and Document Review are used by default, with the option to include Email Loop and Domain Validation. Click here to learn more about SheerID's verification engine.
What can be used for Document Review?
If asked to upload proof of eligibility, consumer documents must be school-issued. SheerID can accept multiple documents if a single document does not display all the required information.
We are not limited to accepting only these document types, but these official documents typically satisfy the requirements:
- Dated and non-dated ID cards - if an issue date is present, it must be issued within the current academic year and cannot be expired.
- Paystubs dated within 90 days
- Screenshot with URL of faculty listing on the school/district website
- Official letter
- Signed job offer letter
Unacceptable documents:
- Email screenshots
- Business cards
- Voided paychecks
- Course Syllabus
- Diploma
- Teaching Certificate