Background Check and Verifications of Credentials

Background Checks

It is the policy of William & Mary to hire individuals into faculty & staff positions only after conducting criminal history and other background checks. These screening are essential to provide a safe working environment and indicators if any past conduct, if repeated at W&M, could adversely affect an important interest of the university or members of the campus community.

Background checks are conducted by University Human Resources. A background check will be initiated at the hiring officials request (and prior to an offer of employment being extended) via Truescreen, a third-party provider.

Process

• TrueScreen will issue an email to the applicant directing them to complete the required background screening information in Application Station and to provide authorization for the online background check and release of results.
• The results will be returned to University Human Resources.
• Most background checks conclude within a few days. However, some checks may last weeks. 
• Your UHR representative will alert the department should an employment barrier exist.
• A formal offer of employment with William & Mary/VIMS can only be extended after a clear background check is received and review by University Human Resources. 

Pricing

Fees are subject to change. A standard background check is presently $26. International background check fees vary. Fees are charged to the hiring department's cost code. The background check includes:

• Social Security Number search
• County criminal records search (conducted in all counties of residence in the past 7 years)
• National criminal file search (covers more than 375 million criminal, sex offender, and violation records; includes verification of hits)
• National sex offender databases search

Verification of Credentials

Designated personnel are responsible for requesting an official transcript for every new faculty hire, including both full‑time and adjunct appointments. Once received, the transcript must be uploaded to the university’s approved transcript‑storage system. The candidate’s verified degree information is then extracted from the official transcript and entered into the Faculty Success system to ensure accurate and complete academic records.