Talking Stick - May/June 2013 - 11

Texas Background Check Almost Law
At the end of March, the Texas state Senate approved legislation (SB 146) that would
give public colleges and universities the authority to run background checks on
students. Some say these are needed as an addition to campus safety plans, while others
say they won’t use them because the housing application already screens students by
asking them if they have ever been convicted of a crime or if they are a registered sex
offender. Such is the case at Texas Tech University in Lubbock where their no felon/
sex offender housing policy went into effect about 10 years ago. If a prospective student
falsifies answers to these questions, they would face judicial proceedings for falsifying
information on official university applications.
“Smaller schools and community colleges often with ‘open’ enrollment and that do
not have their own police force will probably utilize this law (SB 146) to better protect
their campuses,” says Sean Duggan, managing director of university student housing at
Texas Tech. “I believe they have been the driving force behind this law. Due to situations
that have happened in the past, if they could have checked backgrounds, some incidents
might have been prevented. When I have spoken to colleagues from the larger Texas
schools, they have not expressed a need for the law.” The legislation still needs to pass
the Texas House and then move on to Governor Rick Perry to sign it into law.

In the
next
Talking
STick
Coming in the
July + August issue:
· A look at
the latest
technologies
that help
architects and
campuses
visualize design
· Building a better
understanding
of the budget
and reporting
process
· Exploring new
developments
in sustainability
practices

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We are entering our Resident Assistant Group Process
and interview weekend and are having a discussion
about the amount of paper that we use throughout the
process.
Has anyone taken a look at their processes and had
this issue? Have you accepted this as a necessary evil
of the selection process? How have you incorporated
technology to streamline the logistical aspects of your
process?
Nathan Paul Johnson, Assistant Director of Residence
Life, University of Miami

We are in the middle of RA recruitment as we speak. This is
our first year going paperless with most of the process, and our
staff members are loving it. We use iPads in the interviews and
utilized Wufoo for the creation of our interview questionnaires
and evaluation forms. During the interviews, our staff members
are entering in the information on the forms, and then I run an
export of all entries which is then placed in a Dropbox file. I’d be
happy to talk with you more in detail if you’d like.
Hope this helps!
Brooke Lyon, Assistant Director, Student Development and
Educational Programming, University Housing and Residence Life,
Jacksonville State University
May + June 2013

Talking Stick - May/June 2013

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