Tuition fee hike may lead to more CV lies

Anna Scott

Students are more likely to lie about their qualifications on their CVs  due to the increase in tuition fees, a survey has suggested. 

As part of the Higher Education Degree Datacheck (HEDD) initiative, Graduate Prospects surveyed 559 UK students and graduates about their views on fraud in light of the £9,000 tuition fees introduced last year.

Two thirds of respondents said they know someone who has lied or exaggerated about their qualifications.

The most commonly reported CV lie is giving a higher class of degree than that achieved, reported by 46% of respondents. More than one quarter (28%) said they have completed a course when only part was finished. Fifteen per cent said they have a degree when they do not, and 11% have given a different course subject to suit a job’s requirements.

“A tough jobs market coupled with high tuition fees may be making it more tempting for people to make false claims on their CVs, but organisations need to routinely verify qualifications as part of their recruitment process,” said Jayne Rowley who leads HEDD at Graduate Prospects said.

“One of the biggest problems we face, at detriment to the hundreds of thousands of genuine, hard-working students who have invested in a UK degree programme, is the number of bogus universities – of which the UK remains their favourite domicile in Europe. We alone have identified more than 130 degree mills since we launched HEDD, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

HEDD is a secure online degree verification system backed by the government and Universities UK address fraud in higher education and streamline qualification authentication. It enables universities and employers to easily and efficiently check applications to employment or further study.