Criminal Background Check
Obtaining your background check : FAQs
An increasing number of clinical training sites are requiring criminal background checks before they will sign an affiliation agreement allowing medical students to participate in clinical experiences and training. Hospitals and health education centers are requiring proof to protect patients and decrease their liability. Such checks will be part of a student's lifelong process of documenting and re-documenting their career credentials, as well as assuring the public they are qualified and adhere to the best of standards.
A.T. Still University requires applicants in the following programs to complete a criminal background check prior to matriculation as a student: Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Doctor of Dental Medicine, Orthodontics, Doctor of Health Education, Athletic Training, Audiology - Residential, Occupational Therapy - Residential, Physical Therapy - Residential, Physician Assistant - Residential, Advanced Physician Assistant - Distance (excludes students in the Education & Leadership track). The background checks are conducted by PreCheck Inc., a firm specializing in criminal background checks for healthcare workers.
Please select the appropriate link to obtain additional information regarding ATSU's Criminal Background Check Policy for students, instructions for submitting to a criminal background check, and a list of frequently asked questions.
Questions concerning this policy may be directed to the Office of the Registrar, 660.626.2356 or registrars@atsu.edu.
Obtaining your background check
A.T. Still University requires applicants to complete a criminal background check prior to matriculation as a student. Your final matriculation to an ATSU program will be contingent upon information contained in the criminal background report. Many of the hospitals and clinical rotation sites associated with our medical programs require background checks on incoming students to ensure the safety of patients treated by students in the program. Completion of a background check by PreCheck Inc. may not always satisfy the requirements of individual clinical rotation sites; therefore, it is possible that another criminal background check will be required with a vendor approved by the clinical site.
The background checks are conducted by PreCheck Inc., a firm specializing in background checks for healthcare workers. Your order must be placed online through StudentCheck. A background check typically takes three normal business days to complete.
Go to www.precheck.com, click on the StudentCheck link, and then click the Student button. You may also confirm the status of completion of your background check by visiting the same website.
Complete all required fields and hit Continue to enter your payment information. The payment of $48.50 (or $52.50 for Texas residents and 52.02 for New Mexico residents) may be made securely online with a credit or debit card. You may also pay by money order, but that will delay processing your background check until the money order is received by mail at the PreCheck office. You will be provided an order confirmation number and instructions on how to check the status on the completion of your report by email.
PreCheck will not use your information for any other purposes other than a background check. Your credit will not be investigated, and your name will not be given out to any businesses.
If you need assistance, please contact PreCheck at studentcheck@precheck.com.
FAQs
What does the background check consist of?
- Criminal History Investigation (seven years)
- Sexual Offender Registry / Predator Registry
- Social Security Number Verification
- Positive Identification National Locator with Previous Address
- Maiden/AKA Name Search
- Medicare / Medicaid Sanctioned, Excluded Individuals Report
- Office of Research Integrity (ORI) Search
- Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) Search
- FDA Debarment Check
- National Wants & Warrants Submission
- Investigative Application Review (by Licensed Investigator)
- Misconduct Registry Search
- Executive Order 13224 Terrorism Sanctions Regulations
- Search of Healthcare Employment Verification Network. (HEVN)
- National Healthcare Data Bank (NHDB) Sanction Report - which includes the following:
- A Sanction Check search was conducted to verify applicant's name(s) against the following database:
Federal Agencies:
- Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office of Inspector General (OIG), List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE)
- General Services Administration (GSA), Excluded Parties Listing System (EPLS) or those Excluded from Federal Procurement, No-Procurement and Reciprocal Programs
- Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Public Health Service (PHS), Office of Research Integrity (ORI), Administrative Actions Listing
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), Debarment List, and the Disqualified, Restricted and Assurances List for Clinical Investigators
- Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Denied Persons List
- Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Health Education Assistance Loan (HEAL), List of Defaulted Borrowers
- Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and Blocked Persons List (Terrorists)
- And the following "Most Wanted" Lists: (a) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, (b) FBI Most Wanted Terrorist List, (c) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Most Wanted, (d) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Most Wanted, (e) U.S. Marshall Service Most Wanted, (f) Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Most Wanted.
State Agencies:
- All State Agencies Reporting to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and to the National Healthcare Data Bank (NHDB)
- Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) Medicaid and Title XX Provider Exclusion List and other State Medicaid Exclusion Lists, where available.
The search report exceeds the U.S. Government minimum requirement for sanction screening as set forth in the DHHS-OIG's Compliance Program Guidance.
How much does the report cost?
$48.50
What is the process for doing the background check?
Go to www.precheck.com, click on the StudentCheck link and then click the Student button. Complete the required information. You will be provided an order confirmation and instructions on how to check the status on the completion of your report via email. County court records (felony and misdemeanor) are checked in every county where the student has lived for the past seven years. Next, PreCheck uses its exclusive partnership with the National Healthcare Data Bank (NHDB) to search for any government sanctions against an individual. The NHDB contains information from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the General Services Administration Excluded Parties List System (GSA-EPLS), and 53 other federal agencies, as well as all 50 state Medicaid programs.
Why do criminal background checks on students?
There are three primary reasons for performing these checks:
- A criminal record will likely prevent a student from receiving a professional license upon completion of the educational program. Most state licensing boards WILL perform a criminal background search as part of the licensure process, and it would be unfortunate to complete an education, yet be unable to be granted a license.
- Hospitals in which students work as part of clinicals are required to have a background check report on file for all providers of hands-on patient care, whether they are employees of the hospital or not. (This includes nursing students.) Hospitals are putting their JCAHO (Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) certification at risk by having an unchecked individual present in their facility.
- It may be the case that a student may have a criminal record and is not aware of it. For instance, an old conviction that is eligible to be purged from the student’s record must be expunged following a written request; if the student does not submit the written request, then the conviction will remain on the student’s record, even though it is eligible for removal. Such a conviction could prevent licensure or future employment. Finding out now allows the student to take the necessary steps to make proper amends. Also, if it is not possible to remove a conviction at present, it is recommended that the conviction be disclosed so that employment or licensure is not denied for providing false information.
What if there is a conviction on the report?
The student is allowed by law to examine the report and will be contacted if they want to dispute any findings contained in it, if they are turned down for clinicals because of negative information found in the background report. If a conviction was wrongly reported, the student may request that the report be amended to change this mistake. However, the occurrence of such errors is very infrequent. In some cases, one conviction may not be a permanent barrier to employment. Simply being honest about one’s past can potentially answer questions about character that arise based on the report.
Can the University share the report with a hospital?
No. The University is given a certificate to show the hospital that certifies that the student has passed a background check. If the hospital wants a copy of the report, they must contact the appropriate University program so that a copy can be requested from PreCheck and sent to the hospital. There is no charge to the hospital for this report. This is done for compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act to preserve the integrity of the report.
Can the student view the report?
If the student wants to view their background report, they may do so for an additional charge and by contacting PreCheck. However, the student cannot be given the report by the University or the hospital, but if the student wishes to dispute negative information found in the report, a copy may be requested from PreCheck, free of charge.
For additional questions, contact PreCheck at: 713.861.5959.
