Criminal Background Check
Obtaining your background check
Pricing information for the background check
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.mystudentcheck.com and select your school/program from the School drop down list, then select your Program from the Program drop down menu. Additionally you will be required to select the package that is specific to your citizenship status, depending on your residential history for the last seven years. The packages are listed as Groups A, B, or C.
IF YOU ARE A U.S. CITIZEN OR CANADIAN RESIDENT PROCEED TO THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR GROUP C LISTED BELOW!!
If you are providing international residential history please use the street address or city fields to indicate the country. You may enter your state or province information in the state field or you can enter “XX” if not applicable.
Group A (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents)
The package titled “Background Check for Students (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents) With Any International Residential History – Group A” covers the following locations:
| American Samoa | British Virgin Islands | Guadeloupe | New Zealand | St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla |
| Anguilla | Cayman Islands | Guernsey | Northern Ireland | St. Vincent & Grenadine |
| Aruba | Dominica | Ireland | N. Mariana Islands | Trinidad & Tobago |
| Australia | Dominican Republic | Isle of Man | Philippines | Turk & Caicos |
| Bahamas | England | Jamaica | St. Lucia | Virgin Islands (US) |
| Barbados | Grenada | Martinique | St. Martin | Wales |
| Bermuda | Guam | Mexico | Scotland |
Group B (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents)
The package titled “Background Check for Students (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents) With Any International Residential History – Group B covers the following locations:
| Andorra | Ecuador | India | Nauru | Suriname |
| Argentina | El Salvador | Indonesia | Netherlands | Sweden |
| Austria | Federated States of Micronesia | Israel | Nicaragua | Switzerland |
| Belgium | Fiji | Italy | Nigeria | Taiwan |
| Belize | Finland | Japan | Norway | Thailand |
| Bolivia | France | Kenya | Palau | Tonga |
| Botswana | French Polynesia | Kiribati | Papua New Guinea | Tuvalu |
| Brazil | Germany | Korea | Paraguay | Uruguay |
| Brunei Darussalam | Greece | Liechtenstein | Peru | Vanuato |
| Cape Verde | Greenland | Lithuania | Poland | Vatican City |
| Chile | Guatamala | Luxembourg | Portugal | Venezuela |
| Colombia | Guyana | Maucau | Samoa | Zimbabwe |
| Cook Islands | Haiti | Malaysia | Singapore | |
| Costa Rica | Honduras | Malta | Solomon Islands | |
| Cyprus | Hong Kong | Micronesia | South Africa | |
| Denmark | Iceland | Myanmar | Spain |
If you have international residential history in the last seven years in foreign countries outside of those listed above please contact PreCheck at StudentCheck@PreCheck.com or call 713.861.5959.
Please note Canadian residential history is covered by the package “Background Check for Students with Only U.S. or Canadian Residential History.” Complete all required fields and hit Continue to enter your payment information.
Pricing Information
Group A
Background Check for Students (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents) With Any International Residential History – Group A -Texas residents with prior International residential history from the above list will pay $106.63 and NM residents will pay $105.64, while all others pay $98.50.
Group B
Background Check for Students (Non-Citizens or Non-Permanent Residents) With Any International Residential History – Group B - Texas residents with prior International residential history from the above list will pay $156.42 and NM residents will pay $154.98, while all others pay $144.50.
Group C
U.S. or Canadian Residential history – Group C- Texas residents with prior U.S. or Canada residential history will pay $53.50 and New Mexico residents will pay $53.02. Residents in all other states will pay $49.50.
The payment can be made securely online with a credit or debit card. You can 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. For your records, you will be provided a receipt and confirmation page of your background check order placed through PreCheck, Inc.
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 or call 713.561.5959.
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.
Why do we require 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 provides documentation to the hospital that certifies that the student has completed a background check. If the hospital wants a copy of the report, they must contact the student's 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.
How long does the report take to complete?
Most reports are completed within three business weekdays. Those with international searches or in more rural jurisdictions can sometimes take longer.
Do I get a copy of the report?
Yes. Log into www.mystudentcheck.com and click on “here”, put in your SSN and DOB. If your application is complete, then you click on the application number to download and print a copy of your report. This feature is good for 90 days after submittal. After 90 days, you will be charged $14.95 for a copy of your report.
Does PreCheck need every street address where I have lived over the past 7 years?
No, just the city and state.
I have been advised that I am being denied entry into the program because of information on my report and that I should contact PreCheck. Where should I call?
Call PreCheck’s Adverse Action hotline at 800.203.1654. Adverse Action is the procedure established by the Fair Credit Reporting Act that allows you to see the report and to dispute anything reported.
I have a criminal record. What should I do?
Disclose the crime on your PreCheck background application.
How do I provide my International Identifier?
Our system is in the process of being updated to accommodate international identifiers. In the interim you may insert the numbers 111-11-1111
For additional questions, contact PreCheck at: 713.861.5959.
