Frequently Asked Questions about the Office of Human Resources

1. Volunteers under the age of 18 are NOT required to obtain any clearances.
2. Student volunteers are NOT required to obtain clearances if:
   • he/she is currently enrolled in a school
   • he/she is not responsible for a child's welfare
   • he/she is volunteering for an event occurring on school grounds
   • the event is sponsored by the school at which he/she is enrolled as a student
   • the event is not for children who are in the care of a child-care service
3. Student employees who have no direct contact and/or routine contact with a "non-matriculating" minor/child during the course of their employment duties.

All three clearances are valid for five years from the date on the clearance results.

The Office of Human Resources will contact you via email when it is time to reapply for your background clearances.

Any person who has obtained the required clearances may transfer or provide services to another subsidiary or branch established and supervised by the same organization, or serve in a volunteer capacity for any program, service or activity, during the length of time the person's certification is current (within five year timeframe). 23 Pa.C.S. 6344.3(f)(1).

Any employee who begins employment with a new agency, institution, organization or other entity that is responsible for the care, supervision, guidance or control and routine interaction with children shall be required to obtain a new certification of compliance. 23 Pa.C.S. 6344.3(f)(2).

IUP-HR, in accordance with the above Pennsylvania statute, will follow the guidelines below regarding substitutions of clearance results:

• Employment clearances obtained through the Department of Education cannot be accepted for employment (student or non-student) at IUP.
• Employment clearances (regardless of employer) can be accepted for volunteer work at IUP.
• Volunteer clearances cannot be accepted for employment purposes at IUP.
• Clearances processed for employment at another State System school can be accepted if the clearances are less than five (5) years old. IUP-HR will work with the sister school to verify results.
• Department of Education FBI fingerprint clearances are NOT acceptable, per Pennsylvania State System legal counsel. New fingerprints must be collected with IUP-HR through the Department of Public Welfare.

No. At this time, the university is covering all background clearance expenses for faculty, staff, student workers, affiliates (employees of the Student Co-Op Association, Foundation for IUP, Research Institute), and university volunteers. Payment details are included in the instructions provided by the Office of Human Resources.

Independent contractors paid through Procurement Services are responsible for the cost of obtaining their own background clearances and must produce results within 72 hours of the university's request.

Related to the protection of minors on campus, all current employees are required to report to the Office of Human Resources if they have been arrested or convicted of crimes enumerated in the Child Protective Services Law, 23 Pa.C.S. 6344(c).

As of December 31, 2014, employees must contact our Human Resources Office if you have been 1) arrested for or convicted of a reportable offense, or if you have been 2) "founded" or indicated as a perpetrator in a report of child abuse.

If you are convicted of a reportable offense after you complete background checking, you must provide such written notice to Human Resources within 72 hours of the arrest, conviction, or notification that you have been listed as a perpetrator in the statewide database.

Failure to make a written notification as required by law could be a misdemeanor of the third degree and could subject you to discipline up to and including termination. Contact our Human Resources Office for more information.

Each background clearance is reviewed by Human Resources on a case-by-case basis to consider the type of offense, how long ago it happened, and your duties at IUP. In cases where the background investigation will result in an adverse employment or appointment decision:

• The university will provide a copy of the report to the individual, as well as all required notifications pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other applicable laws.
• The individual must be given a reasonable opportunity (at least five [5] business days) to submit information to the Human Resources designee disputing the accuracy and/or completeness of the report before a final employment or appointment decision can be made.
• For current employees, to the extent applicable, the university shall follow the disciplinary processes outlined in relevant Collective Bargaining Agreements (faculty, administrators, or staff) or university or Board of Governors' policy.

All student employment positions should be posted and applied for online via Hire-A-Hawk. Student supervisors have been trained to send information to the Office of Human Resources regarding new student hires through the Hire-A-Hawk hiring process. The Office of Human Resources reviews each student record and initiates the background clearance process within 24 hours of receipt of the Hire-A-Hawk notice if needed.

Volunteers under the age of 18 are NOT required to obtain any clearances.

Student volunteers are NOT required to obtain clearances if:

• he/she is currently enrolled in a school
• he/she is not responsible for a child's welfare
• he/she is volunteering for an event occurring on school grounds
• the event is sponsored by the school at which he/she is enrolled as a student
• the event is not for children who are in the care of a child-care service

If you do not fall into any of the categories listed above, you WILL NEED TO COMPLETE CLEARANCES. Your supervisor needs to submit the Contractor/Volunteer Notification Form, located on the Human Resources website, under Policies: Background Investigation Policy. Once HR receives the clearance request from your supervisor, instructions will be emailed to you.

For any questions regarding your clearances, please contact the Office of Human Resources at 724-357-2431.

The IUP Office of Human Resources only accepts original results for each clearance.

However, if you are unable to present your clearances to the IUP Office of Human Resources in person, you can mail your original results to our office at the below address.

• Office of Human Resources, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 1011 South Drive, G8 Sutton Hall, Indiana, PA 15705

We will scan the results into our system and return the originals to you using the return address on the envelope.

Please call the Dept of Human Services/Childline at 877-343-0494 or visit the COMPASS website [Keystone ID/password required for logon].

The Act 34 PA State Criminal Record check completed by the Office of Human Resources. HR personnel receive the results of the clearance directly. No further action is necessary on your part.

No. Your original FBI Fingerprinting clearance results will be mailed within 10–14 business days to the address entered on the IdentoGo system when registering for fingerprinting.

By law, for this clearance to be considered complete you must present original results to the Office of Human Resources within 90 days of your first day of work (Program Start Date for GA's).

You may choose to mail your original results to: IUP-HR, G8 Sutton Hall, 1011 South Drive, Indiana, PA 15705. Once reviewed and scanned into our system, original results will be mailed back to the address shown on the results. 

If you do not receive the results in the mail from the Department of Human Services within 30 days of being fingerprinted, please call Childline, 1-877-371-5422, ext. 2 then ext 4, to request another copy of your FBI Fingerprinting clearance results.

No.  IUP has an internal process for its own employees, students and volunteers.

Act 34: PA State Criminal Records Check: Please email human-resources@iup.edu to request a copy of the results certificate.

Act 151: PA Dept of Human Services Child Abuse History: Hard copies are mailed to your home address only if you selected "mail me a copy of my results" during the online application. Otherwise, you may call the Department of Human Services/Childline at 877-343-0494 or visit the COMPASS website (Keystone ID/password required for logon).

Act 114: Federal Criminal History: The fingerprinting results letter would have been mailed directly to your home address. The Office of Human Resources requires applicants to present the original to be scanned into our files and promptly returned to you. To request another copy of your results, please contact the Department of Human Services at 877-371-5422, option #4.