Board to vote on background check plan

The IU board of trustees is expected to vote on a measure Friday that would implement background checks for academic appointees and certain members of the faculty if approved. This idea has received mixed reviews from several members within the faculty and the administration. \nThe proposal states "background checking is an aspect of the appointment process which may be done before initial appointment to a position at Indiana University, or before a subsequent appointment to a different position within the university." The proposal defines position as a tenure track position or dean. \nBut, the background checks will only be exercised for those working with "vulnerable populations," which include positions involving contact with juveniles, younger students, senior citizens and mentally or physically disabled people. All persons not working with "vulnerable populations" will be subject to a routine check of work experience, academic credentials, any required licensure and an examination of at least the last seven years of employment.\nThe reason IU must adopt a policy on background checks is because the Indiana General Assembly passed a law stating that all "bodies corporate and politic" must have one. \nThis proposal has created a buzz among professors, administrators and certain \ntrustees. \nBoard President Fred Eichhorn said he has not decided whether he will vote to approve the measure yet, but he has studied the material.\n"(The board of trustees has) been over it previous to this meeting and I think everybody is pretty comfortable with it," he said. "I think background checks are clearly indicated in some situations but probably not universally."\nSue Talbot chairs the Academic Affairs and University Policies Committee, which has oversight over the proposal before the vote. She said if it was implemented, the process would be extremely lengthy, but some situations warrant a check.\n"There was some discussion about the areas of vulnerability of our students," she said. "We do have students who are as young as 14 years old here. We are responsible for any (student) that would be in a threatening situation with a professor ... We hope never to hope to employ anyone with a criminal background."\nDean of Faculties Jeanne Sept said the faculty does not object to background checks if the checks are relevant to the performance of their faculty jobs.\n"Faculty who work specifically with the 'vulnerable populations' specified in the state policy, such as minors, or people in clinical settings, already undergo criminal conviction and sex offender background checks by their schools as part of their normal licensing and professional standards," she said. "The BFC has argued that almost no other institution has interpreted state law in this way (e.g. Purdue does not require criminal background checks for its faculty), and questions why it would be necessary. For example, why would an old misdemeanor conviction be considered relevant to a faculty hiring decision?" \nSept said other concerns have been brought to her about the checks. For instance, she said, how serious would a criminal record have to be before the University would consider it disqualifying, and who makes that decision? Also, she said another important issue is the cost of the checks, which currently cost $35 for each check done by a third party vendor IU contracts for this purpose.\n"For example, in Bloomington we appoint about 2,500 associate instructors every year, almost $90,000 in potential background checks," she said. "Who pays for that in this era of reductions in state support and increasing tuition costs, and what real security does it actually buy? As we all know, there is no guarantee that anyone who has a clean criminal history for seven years cannot turn around tomorrow and do something heinous. A $35 criminal history check of individuals offers no actual protection or support for students or others who face the reality of hate crimes or rapes or any other crime in our community. There are other ways to invest in a safe and healthy campus that actually offer benefits to students, not a false sense of security." \nAccording to the proposal the "intent of the policy is to limit criminal background checks for academic appointees at Indiana University to those appointees being considered for positions of this type, unless clearly dictated by professional norms or by applicable law."\nIUPUI has had a similar background check program for a year. The difference is that IUPUI checks all of their faculty.