Record verification is an essential part of any early childhood registry.
TECPDS includes a record verification process for early childhood professionals’ career records. Professionals can enter their education, professional development, and work experience into their personal accounts on TECPDS and upload documents (records) that can be used to verify this information. Also known as record validation, the record verification process on TECPDS includes reviewing users’ records for accuracy and authenticity.
Types of records that may be reviewed and verified on TECPDS:
- Education records, including transcripts
- Education certificates/diplomas
- Professional development/training certificates
How does it work?
- Early childhood professionals upload their professional development and education records into TECPDS
- Approved record verifiers review records for accuracy and authenticity
- Professionals can view their record status in their accounts
Some professional development records will be automatically sent to your personal TECPDS account with a “verified” status, saving you the step of uploading documents, and later verification. TECPDS has an established agreement that automatically confirms these certificates’ authenticity. Currently, professional development certificates from these organizations are automatically sent to your TECPDS account with a verified status:
Record status
After review, individual records will have a status assigned:
- Verified: the record is accurate and authentic
- Non-Verified: the document is not yet reviewed (this is a record’s default status)
- Deferred: the review was inconclusive, and more information is needed to be verified
- In Progress: applied when something is started (like a college course or CDA certification) but not yet completed
- Invalid: the document cannot be verified or accepted
Where can I see the status of my records?
When you upload records of your early childhood career into your TECPDS account, they are always visible from your dashboard after logging in.
- Your TECPDS account: Review your records and the verification status from your TECPDS account.
- Find My Career Pathway Tool: All records, regardless of their verification status, are used to calculate your career pathway level. Once your records are verified, you will receive an additional “verified” career pathway level on your career pathway report.
Please note: record verification is required for participants in some Texas statewide quality improvement programs but is not applicable for all TECPDS users at this time.
How can professionals save time with record upload and ensure their records are verified?
Follow these recommended tips to ensure records can be reviewed and verified.
- Be sure to include legible documents (scanned or photos)
- When looking for professional development opportunities, consider these options to save time uploading records later:
- Attend trainings hosted by Registered Trainers
- For online trainings, consider organizations that automatically send verified training certificates to TECPDS (see links to organizations above)
- If you deliver trainings for your staff, use the free TECPDS Certificate Generation Tool to award certificates and deliver them directly to participants’ TECPDS accounts.
Record verification has changed the way that Texas can review and report on our workforce data. TECPDS used aggregate record data to compile the State of the Texas ECE Workforce Report.