New faculty hires at Dartmouth are apparently exempt from background checks. Everyone else? Not so much.

Joseph Asch of Dartblog reports.

Background Checks: Profs Get a Bye?

My love for the members of the faculty is immeasurable, my respect for them immense, but nonetheless, I can’t see why the College’s policy on background checks for new hires would exclude faculty. What if an academic department tried to hire Professor Moriarty?

Section I: This policy sets forth Dartmouth’s procedures for conducting pre-employment background checks for all staff positions….

Section III: B: Background check: Checking any or all parts of the finalist’s employment references and employment, educational, criminal, sex and violent offender, credit, and license histories.

D: Criminal history check: Verifying that the finalist does not have any felony or
misdemeanor convictions or pleas which are acknowledgements of responsibility
(e.g., plea of no contest or nolo contendere) which have not been annulled or
sealed. This verification will include a search of convictions or pleas which are
acknowledgements of responsibility during the seven (7) years immediately
preceding the finalist’s application to Dartmouth.

E: Sex and violent offender check: Verifying with state and federal registries that the
finalist does not have any convictions of certain sex or violent crimes.

Section IV: F. Exceptions to the Background Check Policy

Exceptions to this policy may be made at the discretion of Dartmouth through the Vice President of Human Resources or his/her designee. Categories of workers that are excluded from this policy include faculty (including research associates not hired through the Office of Human Resources), temporary employees not directly paid by Dartmouth, student employees, unpaid interns, and volunteers, unless a background check is required by state or federal law or accrediting body.

In fact, all of the omissions seem curious, especially given that obtaining a thorough criminal background check is so easy.