GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota University students looking to go into social work could face one more test before they can graduate: background checks.
Earlier this year, the North Dakota State Legislature passed a law requiring background checks in a number of fields, including higher education. The North Dakota University System now has the authority to conduct FBI criminal background checks on faculty, administration and even some of the students.
For employees, the tentative list includes top administrators, employees with wide access to buildings, those who handle financial, medical, or computer information, and those who work in close contact with the students. Students working towards degrees in education, physical therapy and social work could also be subject to background checks.
According to State Senator Larry Robinson, the bill’s main sponsor, the law was inspired by the death of student Mindy Morgenstern last September. He says her murder alerted the community to North Dakota’s lack of a comprehensive background check system.
Some representatives fear the campus background checks could be taken too far. However, others do not believe the new law invades students’ privacy. The criminal information in the background checks is already available to the public, and a determined individual could figure it out with enough time and money.
University officials still have not decided if the background checks will be mandatory or optional, or at what point they will be performed in a student’s career.
