Case Study: Columbia College achieves nearly $6M in prevented financial aid fraud with ProctorU

Columbia College Uses Technology to Combat Financial Aid Fraud

Columbia College faced rising risk of financial aid fraud as online education expanded and fraud rings increasingly exploited distance programs. To address this, Columbia College partnered with ProctorU, using its student authentication services and live online proctoring to verify remote student identities.

ProctorU implemented a multi‑layered authentication solution—live proctor review of government- or school‑issued photo ID, keystroke biometric profiling, challenge questions from public records, and webcam photo capture—while Columbia College also employs staff to investigate suspected fraud. Together with ProctorU, the college avoided disbursing nearly $6 million in fraudulent financial aid, while strengthening retention and lowering loan default risk.

Columbia College

René Massey

Associate Dean