Evolution of a Background Check Policy in Higher Education

Introduction In the current higher education environment controversies exist over campus safety and security policy. Policy debates often emerge regarding what (and how much) security is needed to keep campuses safe while at the same time respecting, as much as possible, the privacy of staff and students. Fueling these debates are recent violent campus incidents involving students and/or staff. As a direct consequence of the April 2007 Virginia Tech campus shootings, the Department of Education revised the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Effective as of February 2009, "the new rules try to strike a better balance between privacy and safety" (Lake, 2009, p. A27). These new FERPA rules may help moving forward; however, unresolved campus tensions between privacy and security still exist. These tensions have led some campus communities toward adopting a patchwork of fragmented background check policies that do not include careful consideration of the wide array of risks and complexities involved with background checks. For many years, the use of extensive background checks in the business-corporate sector has included pre-employment investigations of private information such as criminal histories, driving records, and personal credit. According to a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) report (2004), from 1996 to 2004, the frequency of these investigations has increased. SHRM (2010) followed-up with similar surveys that reported similar results compared to 2004, indicating that 80% of organizations conducted criminal history searches, 76% of organizations conducted reference checks, and 79% conducted drug testing for either all job candidates offered positions, selected candidates for safety sensitive positions, or when testing was required by law. Credit histories are used more infrequently than the above mentioned background checks. According to the 2010 SHRM report on credit histories, only 13% of organizations surveyed conducted credit histories on all job candidates. Of the organizations surveyed, 91% reported only using credit histories primarily for positions with a fiduciary duty. The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) released a public statement by Finkin, Post, and Thomson (2004) on background checks, which addressed several significant questions and problems surrounding the perceived need for, and use of, extensive pre-employment background checks in higher education. The release of this 2004 statement was strong evidence that the topic had entered the mainstream of higher education policy issues. In a more formal follow-up regarding its stance on the topic, the AAUP included the 2004 statement regarding background investigations in its tenth edition of Policy Documents and Reports (2006) making it a permanent addition to its governing guidelines. Literature Review Summary Frank Vinik (2005) highlighted three main factors contributing to the growing support for extensive pre-employment background checking in higher education. Factor one is improved use and availability of electronic data-collection techniques, making it quicker and easier to obtain personal information on applicants. Factor two is a change in the legal atmosphere due to high-dollar judicial verdicts against organizations and institutions for negligent hiring. These verdicts have forced employers to become more conscious of potential liability. For a comprehensive review of the legal concerns surrounding negligent hiring see the work of Rodolfo A. Camacho (1993). Factor three is a major social shift triggered by the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11th, 2001. After this event "people are accepting greater intrusions into their privacy if it helps protect their communities" (Vinik, 2005, p. B13). These technological improvements, judicial decisions, and social changes have strengthened support for extensive pre-employment background check policy in higher education, but the AAUP has warned of several concerns that warrant attention. …