Kingston University

The Challenge 

Kingston University prioritises ensuring that any new prospective student upholds the University’s values, exhibits professional conduct during placements, and meets the behavioural standards expected in classroom settings.

Because the University processes between 1,000 and 1,500 students every year, formed of a combination of traditional candidates, those returning to medical or pharmacy practices after career breaks, individuals boosting their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credentials, those located in the UK and overseas, and mature candidates, there is a wide range of screening and vetting requirements that must be adhered to. The University wanted to transform its Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) procedures and address the challenges presented by these varied requirements, including verifying the identity of candidates before being placed into courses.

The University had previously utilised First Advantage’s Online Disclosures legacy platform but required a solution to even further streamline its admissions procedures and bolster a previously fragmented user experience. It also faced challenges managing DBS checks across multiple different courses, faculties, and areas of the institution, which resulted in unduly complex processes. University executives also prioritized a tech-forward approach to help support regulatory compliance requirements on an ongoing basis.

The University also recognised the need to implement social media checks as a precautionary measure to gain greater trust in new students and to ensure the University was following the Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025 guidance, which recommends thorough online checks for roles involving children. Social media checks would also help prepare students for the realities of the modern job market, where employers increasingly review digital footprints.

The Solution 

As an existing customer, Kingston University looked to First Advantage to support significant improvements to their screening programme.

The University first upgraded to First Advantage’s Know Your People in 2022 to enhance its candidate experience, supporting maximum possible accuracy and compliance adherence, and ultimately optimise the entire digital identification verification process.

Know Your People offered other bonuses and complementary elements via its advanced technological solutions, which Kingston University saw as the solution to the additional improvements they were looking to make. The University also moved its DBS checks earlier in the enrolment process to accelerate student placements. The piloting of social media checks was the next step, complementing existing safeguarding measures and reinforcing the University’s commitment to more trusted recruitment in teacher training.

The Impact 

The introduction of social media checks has been seamless, supported by Kingston University’s long-standing partnership with First Advantage. Over 70 social media checks have been completed since implementation, with only a small number of cases calling for further scrutiny. Any discrepancies found were addressed proactively and constructively, providing an opportunity to guide the candidate on professional standards and classroom expectations.

Candidates responded positively to the new processes. Clear, advance communication from the University admissions team, in collaboration with First Advantage, helped candidates understand the reasons behind the checks. Additionally, the Know Your People’ user-friendly design facilitated smooth adoption and expedited the overall process.

Students can now complete DBS checks remotely via mobile devices, with approximately 60% opting for this method, 35% using the Post Office, and 5% completing the process on campus. This increased flexibility has accelerated enrolment and improved the overall applicant experience.

In addition, the University has identified secondary benefits, as academics are now better equipped to recognise students who may need additional support in developing professional behaviours, which has helped to enable more tailored guidance during training. By adopting this approach ahead of many peer institutions, Kingston University has further established itself as a leader in safeguarding its community and has enhanced the future employability of its student cohorts.

Ben Stone, Admissions Manager at Kingston University, shared the following:

“We’ve been delighted with the impact of working with First Advantage throughout our partnership, and most recently we have seen significant improvements in our admissions processes for secondary teacher PGCE courses by undertaking social media checks, and through our adoption of the organisation’s leading platform. Having worked with First Advantage, and Kelly Dakin specifically in previous roles, I knew the value they could bring when I joined Kingston and, over the last two years we’ve seen significant enhancements, delivering continuous improvements in both processes and service.

“First Advantage provides the best technology, offering robust but flexible data structures that allow us to review and manage information effectively, providing a real advantage for our busy admissions team. In 2026/27 we will expand social media checks across all education courses, while also advancing with API integrations and Single-Sign-On to further streamline data flows and improve our processes further. The recent introduction of bulk data imports has also already saved considerable administrative time and resources.

“We wanted to lead the higher education sector in admissions practices, and working with First Advantage has enabled us to do exactly that. The partnership has added real value to Kingston University and allowed our team to operate more efficiently and effectively.”