CU:

Background Check Procedures for the College of Arts and Sciences

(revised December 1, 2007)

For the College of Arts and Sciences, in order to insure the confidentiality of our employees' criminal, financial, and motor vehicle records, several steps will be handled centrally by a Background Check Coordinator (BGCC). The complete policy, most recently approved December 1, 2007, is available on the web at: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/backgroundcheck.html.

The Dean's office will serve as liaison between the department, Human Resources, and the outside agency conducting BGCs. Department staff will be notified when the check has been satisfactorily completed, and the Chair or Director contacted if there are concerns that need to be discussed. If the final applicant has requested to receive a copy of the results, they will be sent to the applicant directly by the outside agency.

Three types of checks are available to be requested: criminal, financial, and motor vehicle.

Reference Documents

Several documents discussing BGC requirements are available for review. Among them are:

  1. As mentioned above, the University's complete policy, most recently updated December 1, 2007, is on the web at: http://www.colorado.edu/policies/backgroundcheck.html.
  2. You may wish to review several documents available on the Human Resources (HR) web site at http://www.colorado.edu/humres/policies/index.html#Background.

Business references should be checked for every hire. This is the Department's responsibility. A Reference Check Form available at the HR website at http://www.colorado.edu/humres/policies/index.html#Background will help guide you in making reference checks. If former employers are reluctant to discuss details, at the very least they should be willing to verify employment dates and job title. A good question to ask is "Would you be willing to rehire this person?" Hiring units may contact HR to review previous performance evaluations for employees currently on campus. Records for people who work or worked in other state agencies are available in Denver. HR also has the ability do to a degree check.

Forms Used in the Process

  1. "University of Colorado at Boulder Background Disclosure and Authorization Form" (on the web at: http://www.colorado.edu/police/forms/forms.html ). (This form may be removed, as responsibility for background checks has moved from the Police Department to HR.)
  2. Reference Check Form available at http://www.colorado.edu/humres/policies/index.html#Background

Offer Contingency

Turnaround time for the BGC may be as long as 10 days, although normally the information is available within 72 hours. In order not to delay making an offer until the BGC is completed, the following paragraph is included in offer letters: "This offer is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of a criminal (and financial, if appropriate) background check as required by the University. You will receive an e-mail from one of our department staff members with details regarding the background check requirement. Shortly thereafter you will receive an e-mail from the University of Colorado Office Human Resources (hr-bgc@colorado.edu ), with a link to the University's external vendor, where you will be able to complete the authorization form on-line. The background check must be completed prior to employment."

Handling Background Check Results

Reports that adversely affect the decision to hire an employee may be appealed by the candidate. The Department must await results of the appeal before making an offer to another candidate.

Although Human Resources coordinates processing of the requests, the checks are conducted by external companies. There is no charge to the Department requesting the check(s), but the average cost per check, paid by a central University fund, is around $40.

Miscellaneous

  1. Students must list a permanent address and not a dorm address on the Background Disclosure and Authorization Form, as no results will found using a temporary address and social security number/driver's license comparison.
  2. If contractors or temporary agencies are used, they are responsible for paying for and checking employee's backgrounds. This requirement should be included in the contract.
  3. Students on internships who have access to money or who will work with children should have their backgrounds checked by the University and not by the business offering the internship.
  4. Simply having A-card access is not reason enough for requiring background checks, as that process currently has appropriate checks and balances in place.
  5. A criminal report shows only convictions and not arrests or pending court activity.