Student background checks performed by 66% of US colleges

many colleges perform student background checks as a part of their admission process, in an attempt to increase the safety of their students and staff. In fact, statistics shows that 66 percent of US colleges perform a criminal background check before admitting students for their undergraduate and graduate programs. [caption id="attachment_4961" align="alignleft" width="300"] Source: Hendrix College[/caption] State and federal laws don’t provide much guidance on student background checks, except in a few instances. The onus remains on the individual institutions to implement policies and processes that match their own needs. The North Carolina college system, for example, mandates all of its 16 college campuses to perform student background checks. That said, many state laws do require a background check for those enrolled in specific courses, like teaching and health care, and on students who are proposed for internship training or clinical experience. The biggest benefits of such checks? Increased public safety and protecting both the reputation – and future – of the institutions. Furthermore, these checks protect universities from claims of negligent admissions and provide opportunities to the most deserving students. Incorrectly performing student background checks, however, can land colleges in a bad spot. Get this wrong, and institutions can quickly find themselves in trouble. These risks often stem from the fact that university employees who do the checks have little or no training, and have no written policies to guide them. Shockingly, 40 percent of the schools running checks do not train their staffs on how to conduct them. The use of untrained employees for background checks contrasts with how screenings are typically performed in the private sector, where only trained individuals or organizations conduct them. Also missing from the college process are standard policies on how officials should handle or respond to students’ criminal records. If employees aren’t properly trained, they might not even know what they’re looking at. To avoid these risks, it may be a good idea to leave student background checks to those who specialize in them. If you would like to learn more about MYB may be able to help you, get in touch today.  ]]>