A Safe College Campus Starts with Faculty and Staff: The Case for Screening at Higher Ed Institutions

Your faculty and staff play a significant role in your school’s credibility. A credible, trusted academic environment is fundamental for your students to thrive. In many cases, the impacts of the higher education environment also go beyond academics, with many students living on campus. 

Think back to your own university experience—did you feel safe navigating the campus? Were your professors and school staff approachable, helpful, reliable, and trustworthy? Just like unscreened candidates can put a business at risk, so can unscreened employees working at universities, colleges, trade schools, and other institutions. Students deserve to feel secure in their surroundings, to safely and comfortably approach trusted advisors when they need guidance, and to be confident that professors, administrators, and other staff are focused on their success. Your faculty members also deserve to feel safe in their daily work settings, knowing their fellow educators are qualified for the role and share their passion for teaching. 

A comprehensive background check on university faculty and other staff can help: 

• Improve safety for students, staff, and visitors 

• Reduce liability and remain compliant  
• Protect your university’s reputation and brand 

A safe campus environment and credible and experienced educators are vital factors for student success. Establishing a solid background screening program for new hires and current employees can put your university in a position to effectively provide good learning, living, and working conditions.   

Building trust from the start of employment

College and university faculty are often held up to a different set of standards than K-12 educators, meaning professional verifications may be prioritized at a higher level. Additionally, since they work primarily with adults, there may be fewer regulations on how faculty interacts with students, but this doesn’t rule out the need for a formal screening process to ensure student, faculty, and visitor safety. Unfortunately, cases of faculty misconduct in the college sector are not rare occurrences.  A study surveying 525 graduate students across multiple universities reports that 38% of women and 23.4% of men have experienced sexual harassment from a faculty or staff member. Another study found more than half of reported harassment cases are conducted by a professor with a history of harassment. These stats can add pressure for institutions to improve their methods for ensuring staff are safe, reliable, and qualified for their roles. 

Factors to consider when screening in the higher ed industry

College faculty and staff screening is a multifaceted procedure with many factors to consider, from verifying professional experience and certifications to checking for criminal history. Managing the process can be complex, especially for schools with multiple campuses and departments, but the right screening partner can simplify program management. Screening companies that specialize in higher education can offer the following: 

• A platform designed for the complexities that higher education can require. Depending on the school, account setup might include multiple locations with a variety of users. A solution like Verified Credentials’ Employment Screening Platform allows for account customization like unlimited business units, user roles, and billing the way the school needs it. 

• One stop for all higher education screening needs. Universities and colleges can have a need for more than just employment screening. A solution like Verified Credentials Scholar provides student background checks and requirement management that can be necessary for schools in allied health, nursing, and more. Safety-conscious schools might also prefer a partner that has a solution to ensure onsite vendors and contractors are screened to their safety standards with a solution like Certified Contractors. 

• A reliable team of industry experts that prioritize high quality reports and regulatory compliance. Many schools often have increased regulations to abide by—this level of detail is best handled by companies with extensive experience in the education sector. A company like Verified Credentials, which has over 40 years of experience providing background check solutions to educational institutions, can be better suited to understand the unique needs of colleges and universities.  

• Seamless integration options to effortlessly maintain candidate data. Institutions that already utilize platforms for hiring could benefit from a solution that seamlessly blends with their current processes to minimize any confusion or data transfer mishaps – more importantly, it can help save time. Verified Credentials continuously nurtures a growing list of integration partners to foster a clear pathway for swift and efficient hiring.   

Cost-effective and efficient faculty screening

In some cases, higher education faculty background screening might be dismissed as unnecessary or easy to do in-house. But screening faculty and others can be priceless when considering the potential for circumstances that put students at risk. 

Thoroughly vetting your professors, staff, and others across multiple campuses, or in multiple locations, comes down to partnering with a solution partner that knows the industry. With a proprietary platform designed to streamline collaboration, Verified Credentials can help you reduce the administrative burden and cost to help ensure student safety. When looking toward the future, a reliable background check solution for your faculty and staff can make all the difference in your school’s success.  

Learn more about vetting your higher education staff members from an industry expert. Get started with Verified Credentials today. 

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For the purposes of this article, college faculty and staff may include professors, lecturers, and administrative staff.