Dartmouth College Background Check FAQ's
Frequently asked questions
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Why has Dartmouth instituted a background check policy?
How will the background check information be used?
When are background checks required?
When will I receive the background check form?
How long does it take to fill out the background form?
How long does it take to complete the background check process?
When can I start work?
What if I object to having a background check?
How do I access the background check forms?
What information is required in a standard background check?
What information do I need to fill out on the background check form?
Should I list professional certifications and/or corporate trainings in the "Education" fields?
The HireRight vendor has contacted me and asked for W-2's or a 1099 because they can't verify my
employment dates
My employer has gone out of business or been purchased/merged with another employer.
I am a current Dartmouth College employee; do I still have to list 7 years of employment?
I am a current Dartmouth College employee; do I have to have my education verified?
What if I do not agree with the information that is verified by HireRight?
I have a question, who can I call at the College?
Technical Tips
Browser requirements
Moving between pages
Customer Service email and phone numbers
Sample Email Invitation from HireRight
Sample Applicant Data Form
Why has Dartmouth instituted a background check policy?
Dartmouth College (“Dartmouth”) is committed to ensuring that its academic and research missions are
supported by qualified staff members and that its community is as safe as possible. Dartmouth is also
committed to taking meaningful actions to protect its finances, property, and other assets. This policy sets
forth Dartmouth’s procedures for conducting pre-employment background checks for all staff positions.
How will the background check information be used?
Information discovered through the background check process will be used solely for the purpose of
evaluating a finalist’s suitability for employment. It will not be used to discriminate against a finalist on
the basis of race, color, religion/creed, sex/gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression,
national origin, genetic information, marital/familial status, disability, military, or veteran status.
When are background checks required?
Background checks are required on the finalist for all staff positions, except temporary employees not
directly paid by Dartmouth, student employees, and unpaid interns and volunteers, unless background
checks are required by state or federal law, or an accrediting body.
A background check will also be required on a current employee of Dartmouth if he/she is promoted into
a new position and if he/she has not already had a background check. Current employees who are
transferred or promoted will be required to have a background check if they have never had a background
check before. Subsequent background checks will be required only if the current employee is promoted or
transfers into a position with substantially different responsibilities and if the new position requires
additional background checks, such as a license or credit check. If additional background checks are not
required, a current employee will not be required to have a background check if they have had one within
the two (2) years immediately preceding their application.
When will I receive the background check form?
Once you have been notified that you are the finalist selected for the job and you have accepted the offer
of employment contingent upon the successful completion of a background check, you will be emailed
a link by a third party vendor, HireRight, to consent to the background check process.
How long does it take to fill out the background form?
Allow for approximately 30 minutes.
How long does it take to complete the background check process?
The background check process takes approximately 5-10 business days.
When can I start work?
Once you have filled out the applicant data form and signed the consent to be background checked and
submitted this information to HireRight, you may start work with the understanding that continued
employment is contingent upon the successful completion of the background check process.
What if I object to having a background check?
Refusal to consent to a background check will make you ineligible for employment.
How do I access the background check forms?
Dartmouth has contracted with a third party vendor, HireRight, to conduct background checks. You will
be supplied (via secure email) a user name and password for temporary access to their online web-based
system. To ensure that your information verification proceeds efficiently, please complete all sections of
the form that are applicable; see sample form at the end of FAQ's.
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The background check applicant data form will be emailed to you by our third party vendor,
HireRight.
The email subject line will appear as:
Dartmouth College Background Verification for Samuel Brown.
Return reply will go to: HireRight Customer Support [email protected]
What is included in a standard background check?
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Verify your last seven years of employment, including your current employer
Verify your highest degree completed
Criminal and sex offender histories
Licenses, if required by the position, such as: driver's license or a specific professional license
A credit check may be required if the position gives an employee access to money or credit
information
What information do I need to fill out on the background check form?
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You will need to provide your name, address, date of birth and social security number.
You will need to provide the following details for your employers of the last seven years,
including your current employer: name of company, city, state and country, start date and end
date of employment, job title, phone number and contact person or department to verify dates of
employment. Please do not enter any salary information; this is not required. NOTE: If this is
your first job, you will be able to choose "no employment" as an option.
You will need to provide the following information on the school(s) where you obtained your
completed degree(s): name of school, city, state, country, dates attended, date graduated and your
major. Please note that if High School is your highest level of education, in the "major" field,
enter "general." If you have no education, there is a field to indicate this.
Please do not list degrees in progress/pending.
Should I list professional certifications and/or corporate trainings in the "Education" fields?
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Please do not list corporate trainings or professional certifications.
We only want your completed degree information; if you have a Graduate Certification from a
College or University, then that may be listed.
The HireRight vendor has contacted me and asked for W-2's or a 1099 because they can't verify my
employment dates.
Please supply HireRight with your last W-2 for the employer you have listed; please send this information
in a timely manner to HireRight so the hiring process can be completed.
My employer has gone out of business or been purchased/merged with another employer.
If your employer has been purchased or merged with another company, please indicate the current/new
name of the company and provide a phone number to their HR department. If your employer has gone
out of business, if possible, please provide a name and phone number for your supervisor.
I am a current Dartmouth College employee; do I still have to list 7 years of employment?
Current Dartmouth College employees only need to indicate that Dartmouth College is there current
employer and the HR Recruitment Department will verify your employment with the College.
I am a current Dartmouth College employee; do I have to have my education verified?
If it is determined that your new position with the College will require a background check, we will verify
your highest completed degree, criminal and sex offender histories, and employment dates at the College.
What if I do not agree with the information that is verified by HireRight?
If you disagree with the degree verification, employment dates, or you have questions regarding
information that HireRight Customer Services is requesting from you, please contact the Office of Human
Resources at Dartmouth College and ask to be connected to the Recruitment Department – 603-646-3411.
If the information you disagree with is in regard to a criminal finding, you will need to address this
through the adverse action process; you will receive a written Pre-Adverse Action Notice along with a
document detailing your rights. You will receive a copy of the background check report upon which
Dartmouth intends to rely. You will be able to discuss the Adverse Action Process with one of our HR
Consultants should you have questions. Please call the Office of Human Resources at 603-646-3411 and
ask to speak to an HR Consultant regarding your background check.
I have a question; who can I call at the College?
You may contact the Office of Human Resources at 603-646-3411 and ask to speak to one of the HR
Recruitment team members.
Technical Tips for HireRight Applicant form:
It is very important to check your Browser prior to starting:
Below are instructions on how to check your computer to see which browser you have installed; if necessary,
you may need to install a different browser before proceeding to the HireRight form. Below are the accepted
browsers for the HireRight web site; you will not be able to complete the background check form unless you
have an accepted version of the browser. This website is not compatible with Internet Explorer 10.
NOTE: Table below lists supported browser versions for HireRight web application.
Web application
Hireright Enterprise
Internet Explorer FireFox
6, 7, 8, 9
1.5+
Safari
Chrome
3.2, 4.0, 5.0.1, 5.1
12-14
Open a browser: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari. Your tool bar will say:
File Edit View History Bookmarks Tools Help. Click on "Help" and a text box opens
Open About Firefox to view the
browser version. If it is not on the
list of HireRight supported
browsers, then install a supported
browser before signing into
HireRight's site
When you click on About
Firefox > a box opens and
identifies the version of
your browser. Here is
Firefox 17.0.5; anything
greater than 1.5 is
supported, so 17.0.5 is
supported.
Moving between pages:
NOTE: Do not use the back button on the screen; you will be kicked out of the form.
At the bottom of each page is a link in blue that says
click on Next
to proceed forward
Click on Previous
to move back a
page
Previous, click on
Previous to go back and
Click on next to
move forward a
page
Contact Information:
If you have any problems with the HireRight forms, please use the following customer service
numbers:
Domestic Customer Service: (866) 521-6995 (Sunday 5 p.m. to Friday 9 p.m. Pacific Standard Time)
Domestic Fax: 1-877-797-3442
International Customer Service: (949) 428-5800
International Fax: 949-224-6020
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact HR Recruitment at Dartmouth College:
Dartmouth College Human Resources 603-646-3411; ask for Recruitment if you are having difficulty
with the HireRight Process
Let's begin the background check process:
You will be sent an email inviting you to consent to a background check:
The email subject line will appear as: Dartmouth College Background Verification for Samuel Brown.
Return reply will go to: HireRight Customer Support [email protected]
Sample of the Email you will receive from HireRight on behalf of Dartmouth College is below:
Dear Applicant Name,
Congratulations on being chosen as a finalist for a position with Dartmouth College ("Dartmouth"). As you
may know, employment or continued employment with Dartmouth is contingent upon consent to and
successful completion of a background check with results acceptable to Dartmouth. Dartmouth has selected
HireRight, Inc. ("HireRight") as its vendor to facilitate the background check process. HireRight will verify the
information that you provided to Dartmouth during the application process and will check your background
for information that will be helpful to Dartmouth in making its ultimate hiring decision. Please rest assured,
however, that both Dartmouth and HireRight will keep the information confidential and will only share your
information with those at Dartmouth who have a business need to know about the information.
It is our hope that the background checks process will be completed as quickly as possible so that the hiring
process can be finalized. Before logging onto the site using the link below, please be prepared to provide the
following information necessary to accurately and quickly process your background check:
* Education - Please list name of institution, location, dates of attendance, and contact information for
the highest degree completed (Please do not include degrees that are in progress, licenses (unless required
by the position description), or non-educational certifications); and
* Employment - Please list your last employers for the last 7 years (even if you were self-employed), including
employer name, location, title, dates of employment, and contact phone number. It is essential to include
your most recent employer.
If your employer or educational institution cannot be contacted or has gone out of business, HireRight will
attempt to verify your information using, for example, a W-2/IRS-1099 or official transcript.
Please note that HireRight may contact you for supplemental information during the verification process. If
this occurs, please return HireRight's call or e-mail promptly to ensure that your background check is
processed as quickly as possible. If you do not respond or do not provide the information requested above,
you will be ineligible for hire or continued employment.
Should you have any questions about the background check process, please do not hesitate to contact the
Dartmouth Recruitment Department in the Office of Human Resources at 603.646.8179 or 603.646.2901 or
via e-mail at [email protected]. On behalf of Dartmouth, we look forward to working with you and thank
you in advance for your cooperation with this very important part of our hiring process.
Sincerely,
The Dartmouth College
Recruitment Department in the Office of Human Resources
To access HireRight's secure website, use the link and password you will receive in the email from HireRight.
The login and password are case sensitive.
Follow directions: User name is your email address; password was sent in the HireRight email.
You will enter your
email address as your
User Name
You will enter the
password sent to you
with the email
invitation & then click
"login"
Start
You will now be directed to change your password and to answer a security question
This screen is optional: if you do not wish to provide your phone number, hit "cancel" at the bottom
of the screen and you will progress to the next page of the form
You are now on the
instruction page for the
HireRight Form
Please read carefully;
click on Next to start
filling out the
information.
Applicant Data Form will provide HireRight with the necessary information to verify education,
employment and check for a criminal background. Please fill this out carefully so the process will
move quickly. If you have any questions or need assistance with the form, call HR Recruitment at
Dartmouth College.
All fields with a red asterisks must be completed.
Page 1 Contact Information:
Date format is:
MM/YYYY, for single-digit
months, use a 0: 01, 02, 03 etc.
Page two of the Applicant Data form asks for your education and training information.
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If you do not have any education, check the box "no education to report" and click NEXT to
continue
Please do not list industry-specific licenses such as: real estate, PHR, SPHR, corporate
trainings, etc.
Only list education from a degree-verifying institution; call HR Recruitment at 603-646-3411
if you have any questions
No education to
report. No GED,
No High School,
No College
Page two of the Applicant Data form with multiple degrees.
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Enter the highest completed degree first in the Education 1 field. Do not list pending
degrees.
Enter the next highest in Education 2 and so on.
HireRight verifies degrees through the National Student Clearing House, a nationwide database of
Colleges and Universities.
Multiple degrees: please
start with the highest
degree completed. See
order of list below with
Doctorate being the
highest overall.
Master's Degree is the
highest completed
degree and is listed in
Education 1
Note the date format is
MM/YYYY, if the month is
a single digit you must
enter 01, 02, 03 etc.
,mm
Education 2 is the Bachelors
Please note you must
enter the name you were
using upon graduation
Page three of the Applicant Data form asks for your Employment history.
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You are required to list your current employer's name and dates of employment
If Dartmouth College is your current employer, then that is all the employment history needed
If Dartmouth College is not your current employer, please list your last 7 years of
employment/employers
Do not list greater than seven years of employment. After listing your last seven years of
employment, check the box "No employer to report," regardless of whether you may have
employment beyond those 7 years
Dartmouth College only background checks employees who have been referenced-checked,
including references from your current employer
The applicant's
current employer is
always listed in
Employer 1 field. This
applicant has listed
Dartmouth College as
their current
employer; no other
employment need be
listed
you
Your background
check is not complete
without verification
of your current
employment dates
This applicant's current
employer is listed in
Employer 1 field.
Please provide a phone number
for your Company to verify your
employment.
We do not require salary
information
It is the College's policy to verify
employment for the past 7
years. If you check "No" to the
question, "Do we have
permission to contact this
employer," this will delay the
hiring process.
Please note if there is a
change of name
Once you have entered 7 years of employment
history, you may check the box
No employer to report
Once you have completed the employment section, you will be taken to a summary page:
After you have carefully reviewed your
Applicant Data Form, read the Consent &
Submit Request
Electronically sign
Check both boxes and click on
Accept and Submit
Once you have completed and
submitted this form, you may
begin working, contingent upon
the successful results of the
background check