Background Checks

Cape Fear Community College is committed to providing a safe and welcoming environment for
students, employees and all visitors to the College. Therefore, the College shall conduct
background checks on all prospective new employees, volunteers, contractors and current
employees as set forth in this policy.

A background check shall be required of all potential College new hires after a conditional job offer
has been made. Current employees, both part-time and full-time, contractors and volunteers may
be subject to background checks and ongoing monitoring as required to meet business needs of
the College. This may require annual re-checks.

The Human Resources Office, under direction of the Vice President of Human Resources, will be
responsible for working with a third-party provider to conduct background checks. The Human
Resources Office shall secure and store the information obtained separate from the main personnel
file and shall consider only information pertinent for decision-making that ensures protection of
College students, employees, other visitors, and College assets. Background information will be
kept on file for five (5) years.

Previous convictions shall not automatically disqualify an individual from consideration of
employment or continued employment with the College. The President and the Vice President of
Human Resources will evaluate the following factors in determining whether to hire an applicant
with a criminal history and, when necessary, in determining the continued employment or
contractual relationship of an employee, contractor or volunteer with a criminal record: the nature
of the crime and itsrelationship to the position; the amount of time since the conviction; the number
of convictions; whether hiring the applicant would pose a risk to the College, students, employees
or other campus visitors; the actions and activities of the individual since the conviction;
explanations or other information provided by the individual; and whether the individual has
demonstrated that they have the integrity or honesty to fulfill the duties of the position.

The discovery of either a conviction(s) or falsified conviction(s) information may result in denial
of employment or continued employment. If an applicant, contractor, volunteer or an employee
fails to reveal previous convictions, then they may be disqualified from employment at Cape
Fear Community College for falsification of an application, regardless of when discovered. The
applicant, contractor, volunteer or employee will be provided a copy of the criminal record and
given an opportunity to review the results of the background check. The applicant, contractor,
volunteer or employee will be allowed a reasonable opportunity to dispute the accuracy or
completeness of any information contained in the report by contacting the third-party provider that
conducted the background check. The College will consider information derived from such
opportunity promptly.

The President shall have final authority in determining the employability of the applicant or the
continued employment or contractual relationship of an employee, contractor or volunteer. The
President shall also be responsible for determining the appropriate background checks required for
each position based on specific program agreements, applicable laws or other such position or
business requirements.

Definitions

New Employees – All individuals with conditional offers for any position with the College
including part-time, full-time, or temporary employment; both instructional and non- instructional.
This also includes former employees being rehired who have not been employed by the College in
the past twelve (12) months.

Background Checks – Includes information necessary to comply with the business needs of the
College. This may include, but not be limited to information from any of the following:

• Nationwide or State Sex Offender Registries
• Department of Corrections Databases
• Residency History Checks
• Federal Records
• Multi-State Criminal Indexes
• Social Security Number Verifications
• Credit Reports
• Any other records, as required

Revision History:
November, 2022