GRAND FORKS N.D.
A new law that gives the North Dakota University System wide-ranging authority to conduct FBI criminal background checks could affect as many as 4,000 students and 800 employees in the state, officials say.

The law passed by the Legislature earlier this year affects a number of agencies, ranging from the real estate commission to the racing commission.

A tentative list of university system positions where applicants would be required to undergo background checks includes employees who handle financial information, computer records or medical records; workers with extensive access to buildings such as custodians; employees with extensive contact with students such as counselors and coaches; and top university administrators.

Background checks are being considered for students in fields dealing with vulnerable populations, such as education, physical therapy and social work, university system officials said.

Stacey Holte, an elementary education major at the University of North Dakota, said she isn't bothered by the idea of the fingerprint-based check.

"In any job where you're going to be working with children, it's a good thing to keep them safe, and this doesn't really hurt anyone," Holte said.

University system officials are still debating the scope of the background checks as well as other questions, such as whether the checks will be mandatory or optional and at what point in a student's education the checks will be performed, said system attorney Pat Seaworth.

Rep. Eliot Glassheim, D-Grand Forks, said he worries that campus background checks might go too far.

"All I know is when you're in public life, if there's an opportunity to protect yourself more, you'll usually take advantage of it," Glassheim said. "So, my sense is there will be more background checks required than are necessary."

The new law was inspired by the killing last September of Valley City State University student Mindy Morgenstern. Sen. Larry Robinson, D-Valley City, who is the school's director of university advancement, was the bill's chief sponsor.