Crime Check Include faculty in background study Background checks on applicants for non-faculty staff positions have been conducted since June to ensure a safer campus community, said Director of Human Resources John Weis. Though they are looking for felony convictions, Weis said such a conviction does not automatically disqualify a job candidate. The nature of the offense and the duties of the job are taken into consideration before an applicant is dismissed. It's true, the university cannot be too cautious when dealing with issues of campus safety. Housekeepers, for example, have access to residence halls.
Librarians have personal contact with students every day.
It is important that students feel secure with this interaction. Likewise, it is important that students feel safe with faculty members, who are hired by committees through the individual schools and not by the university. Weis said there are no current plans for criminal background checks for faculty positions, but applicants can give a self-disclosure account if they want a part of their past to be known to the university. If background checks are being performed on non-faculty staff members, they should be performed on faculty members as well. Some students have just as much, if not more, contact with professors than they do with librarians and housekeepers.