An article released by Mybackgroundcheck.com, a subsidiary of background-screening company Pre-employ.com, asks in bold heading, "Is there a killer on campus?" It's a dramatically posed question, but perhaps a fair one. The article lists several incidences of campus violence in the last few years, including University of Virginia student Yeardley Love, murdered by her ex-boyfriend and fellow student George Huguely in May.
After the murder, police discovered Huguely had a history of violent outbursts, including arrests for assault. Since Love's murder, UVA requires full background checks of all its students. Other universities, the company argues, should follow suit.Administrators at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, however, disagree, and do not foresee installing such a policy in the near future. "We don't (require background checks)," said Kelly Bartling, manager of news for the Office of University Communications. "However, if students are applying for jobs and internships in specific programs, there are some requirements related to background checks at that point."
Students in the College of Education and Human Sciences, for example, are required to produce background checks before participating in student teaching, which is an entirely different realm of security. Most of Mybackgroundcheck.com's college clients are medical schools, said Dennis Haws, marketing director for Pre-employ.com. The company seeks to extend it to other campuses as well. The company's recommended campus program consists of a $27.95 background check paid for by each individual student and sent on to his or her university. "We know that there's a burden of cost and time for most schools," Haws said. "So we want to provide something with no cost to the university itself."
Yet the burdens of cost and time, while certainly an issue and likely prohibitive to the university paying for screenings itself, are only part of the issue, Bartling said. She said she might argue that cost isn't even important."If higher education should be offered to any and all who are qualified to meet our entry requirements, should a conviction or something on that person's record that shows up on a background check affect their ability to educate themselves? You know, knowing certain information on someone's past is certainly instructive, but the question would become, ‘Does that put law enforcement or student affairs or housing in the position of believing that it's a predicting factor in future behavior?'" she said.
Haws acknowledged the moral predicament, but stressed the issues of flexibility on the part of each institution, as well as the issue of security. "Each community sets their own level of tolerance for violence and sex offense convictions. It is truly a decision made by each institution," Haws said. "Obviously jay-walking would not be a issue but a person applying for a co-ed dorm assignment who was released from prison last year for a rape conviction would be. Past actions don't always guarantee future actions, but they can at least give you an idea on what may or may not be possible with a student with this type of background. "Although many schools currently request that students self-report criminal records as part of their application, as UVA did before the murder, Haws said that those who would respond truthfully are "not the ones you'd have to worry about." Huguely's criminal record was not reported to the school during his application process.
Yet even the benefits from a security standpoint are not universally agreed upon. Owen Yardley, chief of police services for University Police at UNL and coordinator of the campus threat assessment program, questioned the usefulness of screening compared to its burdens and moral implications. "What we base a lot of our work on is behaviors. So I think we would put more credence in behavior than records," Yardley said. "Now, there may be some showing of patterns of behaviors through the criminal background checks, but that won't be an absolute ... It may be of some assistance, but looking at it from a broad perspective, I don't know how beneficial it would be."
Even in recent incidences of violence, Yardley was unsure if background checks would necessarily have been preventative. "In the context of incidences like school shootings, you still go back to dealing with the behaviors. I don't know if a background check would alert you to those behaviors. A lot of those are mental health issues which would not show up (in a background check)," he said.
Ultimately, the debate is one of practicality, usefulness and whether either offset the predicament it places upon the institution. "It's interesting that with universities, they'll check your scholarly history, require transcripts from all previous years and see whether scholastically you're up to par, but don't even look at personal history except for what you disclose yourself," Haws said.
For now though, this may be one area in which the university chooses not to emulate the working world.
"Absolutely the university is interested in protecting and keeping students safe on campus." Bartling said. "However, I'm not sure that it's the university's role to examine the background of every student coming onto this campus."
Original Source:
http://www.dailynebraskan.com/news/unl-officials-deny-need-for-background-checks-1.2350625