Background Checks

Chapter 4015

Revised March 16, 2001, October 19, 2016, August 2, 2021, June 13, 2022, June 19, 2023, and May 21, 2026

Table of Contents

.010 Introduction

In compliance with Kansas Board of Regents policy, the Kansas State University background check procedure is conducted to facilitate employment decisions that are in the best interest of University students, employees, resources and overall institutional mission.

The Kansas Board of Regents requires that each state university shall perform a criminal background check on persons hired for university positions. This includes newly hired or rehired (after a break in service of one year or longer) faculty and staff appointed to regular or temporary positions including term positions.

To comply with this policy, criminal background checks will be performed on rehired faculty and staff (even if a break in service is less than one year) if it is determined that the rehired person did not have a completed background check during their previous employment.

In addition, university employees and third parties participating in university programs who may interact with individuals under 18 years of age shall perform a criminal background check (PPM 3130).

Kansas State University is committed to maintaining a safe teaching, learning and working environment for its students, employees and visitors. One aspect of this commitment is to assure, to the extent possible, that appropriate policy and procedures are in place which work toward reducing the likelihood of unknowingly hiring persons with felony or misdemeanor convictions or who are registered sexual offenders.

To further serve the foregoing commitments, as well as the University's operational and organizational interests, Kansas State University will also request additional background checks for certain positions as determined to be necessary, including but not limited to motor vehicle reports, media reviews (including but not limited to review of social media accounts), education verification, employment verifications, credit history checks and public records checks.

.020 Policy

Felony, misdemeanor and registered sexual offender status criminal background check procedures apply to each full and part time person hired for a state university position, other than 1) positions to be filled by a vendor or contractor; 2) hourly student employees; and 3) interns. This exception does not apply to undergrad and graduate student interns working for Extension, Veterinary Medicine interns and residents, and Environmental Health & Safety student employees and interns.

Background checks may be requested during the recruitment process in accordance with applicable laws. All necessary background checks will be performed on any new employee, on any employee transferring from another state agency, on rehired employees who have been separated for more than one year from the university, and on rehired employees for whom the University did not complete a background check previously during their employment. The university may also perform more extensive checks than those described above.

.030 Background Checks

The background check shall include:

  1. Criminal history record searches for felony and misdemeanor convictions at county and federal levels in every jurisdiction where a candidate currently resides or has resided. Such searches should cover a minimum of the last seven years.
  2. Sex offender registry searches at the county and federal levels (or state) in every jurisdiction where the candidate currently resides or has resided.
  3. Other verifications as required by law or determined to be appropriate for specified positions. Human Resources shall determine the types of background checks for particular positions based upon consideration of several factors, including but not limited to the resonsibilities of the position, the position's job duties, and the general role the position plays within the University's operations. Human Resources shall maintain a record of positions for which it has determined additional background checks are appropriate along with the type of checks conducted.

.040 Exemptions

Certain departments (e.g., Police, Biosecurity Research Institute, Nuclear Engineering) already require extensive background checks as a prerequisite to employment and those background checks are deemed to satisfy this policy and applicants will not be required to undergo an additional background check. Background checks conducted by Federal Homeland Security for international, non-citizen job candidates as part of the visa process will be considered adequate for University purposes only if Kansas State University is the candidate's first U.S. employer upon securing the work visa. International job candidates transferring their existing visas from an alternate U.S. based employer, institution, etc. or those residing within the U.S. for 30 days or longer will be required to have a background check.

.050 Custodian of Record

Records related to background checks and other forms of candidate screening will be confidential and maintained by Human Resources. HR shall be the custodian of background check and candidate screening files. Any background checks performed under this policy will comply with State of Kansas and Federal Fair Credit Reporting Acts.

.060 Questions

Human Resources (HR) is responsible for this policy. The Chief Human Resources Officer or designee must approve any exception to this policy or related procedures. Questions should be directed to Human Resources at 785-532-6277 or kstatecareers@k-state.edu.