The Case of What Should Have Been Known

Sunrise Academy, a privately run technical college, has been operating now for four successful years. Executive Director Ron Phillips is responsible for overseeing the college. He has just been reviewing the latest enrollment figures and is pleasantly surprised again by the projected number for the upcoming school year. This will mean that a new professor will be needed in the business administration program. Ron picks up the phone and calls the director of human resources to start the process for drafting a job posting to advertise the position both internally and externally.

A week goes by and HR calls Ron to indicate that they have many applications available to be reviewed for potential interviews. Ron reviews the applicants and a short list is developed and called for interviews. After a round of four “okay, but not spectacular” interviews, Ron was beginning to think they would never find a good candidate. However, the last interviewee, Rita Miller, turned out to be the successful choice and was subsequently offered the position. HR checked two references prior to offering Rita the position in writing. HR also asked Rita to bring an original copy of her Masters of Business Administration degree once it was received, as this degree was a requirement in the professor posting.

Rita brought a copy of her degree to HR within a week of being offered the position. HR’s policy is also to call the issuing institution to verify degrees. Things became busy in the department so it was nearly two months later when someone finally checked Rita’s degree. The results indicated Rita’s degree was forged. HR called Ron with the news, and Ron has asked you to come in to help him decide what to do next.

QUESTIONS

I Are there any legal implications to be aware of as a result of this selection decision?

II What should have been done differently in the selection process?

III How should the background-checking process be improved at Sunrise Academy?