December 20, 2019

 

Dear HR Community,

In order to enhance our candidate experience, we have updated the foreign education verification procedure and will no longer require that candidates utilize WES (World Education Services) to verify degrees received from foreign institutions. Instead, effective January 1st, our background check vendor will verify foreign degrees which are the highest degree earned for paid employees, eliminating the responsibility of the WES cost previously placed on the candidate, and reducing the overall length of time associated with verifying foreign degrees.

Per REG. 05.20.40, Faculty and Instructors of Record must still request original transcripts of their highest degree(s), whether foreign or domestic and send them directly to NC State Human Resources. In addition, the department head, or equivalent for an interdisciplinary program outside of a department, is still responsible for justifying and approving the qualifications of Instructors of Record and Classroom Instructors for each course offered by the department/program before instructors teach the course for the first time. Please note that all verifications must be completed within 90 days of employment.  If you would like for a candidate to begin working prior to the completion of the education verification, please submit a request using the exception request form.

It is also important to note that no changes were made that impact how hire actions are entered or approved by your department. There are no changes to the regulation regarding instructor qualifications.

 

August 1, 2019

 

Dear HR partners,

After much discussion with campus workgroups, the Background Check Program is implementing changes that will streamline the university’s hiring process. We are determined to continue to align University Human Resources with industry best practices, and these new procedures are part of that effort. The changes will address challenges related to the time it takes to hire candidates; improve candidates’ experience with our hiring process, and better serve the campus community.

The changes below will go into effect August 1.

Consistent Background Check Completion Time Frame

All employee background checks must be completed no more than six months prior to an employee’s start date. Background checks will be valid for 12 months. If a background check on a current employee was completed within the past 12 months, the results of that check will be used to confirm whether the employee is eligible to continue to work at NC State.

For employees who terminate employment and are later rehired, a background check will be conducted under the following circumstances:

• The background check records in the employee’s file are more than 12 months old.

• The employee had a break in service longer than 30 days.

Implementation of a Formalized Exception Process

The Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources or the Background Check Program Manager may authorize an applicant to begin work before satisfactory background check results are received, according to NC State University regulation 05.55.08.

Under this new procedure, HR leads and their designee’s can submit an exception request form, requesting an exception for candidates whom they want to start work before the completion of a background check. Exception requests will be approved after an assessment and at the discretion of the associate vice chancellor for human resources or an authorized UHR designee.

Employees may be eligible for an exception request if they meet any of the following criteria:

• The employee is a rehire.

• The employee was hired to meet critical business needs due to exceptional circumstances.

• The employee is not in a security- or safety-sensitive position as defined below.

Security or safety-sensitive positions include the following:

• University administrators and others with significant financial oversight responsibilities: Provost; Vice Provosts; Deans; Assistant and Associate Vice Provosts; Assistant and Associate Vice Chancellors; Department Heads; Department Directors; Business Managers
• Positions that have unsupervised contact with minors or are responsible for the supervision of minors who are not enrolled students of the university
• Positions with unrestricted access to residence halls

• Other positions designated by an AVC or vice provost as security- or safety-sensitive

Education Verification

A hiring department can make an exception request for candidates whose education credentials can’t be verified due to circumstances beyond the university’s control.

All required education credentials must be verified within 90 days of hire for SHRA and EHRA non-faculty employees who are not instructors of record. Education credentials for all instructors of record must be in compliance with NC State regulation 05.20.40.