A tentative offer of employment is an offer of employment which is dependent upon the successful completion of certain criteria. This criteria may include a background screening, verification of a degree, reference checking completion, etc.

Upon your acceptance of a tentative offer of employment, you will be required to complete a background screening.  Additional requirements, if any, will be determined by the hiring department.

The University of West Florida is committed to protecting the safety and security of its employees and students, as well as safeguarding the interests of UWF. In an effort to help provide this safety and security, UWF conducts criminal history screenings on all final candidates for Executive Service, University Work Force (staff), Faculty, Adjunct, and OPS positions and certain student positions prior to employment.

The University pays the background screening costs.

There are two types of background screenings: a Level 1 and a Level 2.

• The Level 1 background screening is required of all Executive Service, University Work Force staff, Faculty, Adjunct, OPS, Instructor of Record, and Graduate Teaching Assistant finalists.
  • The hiring department submits a tentative offer letter for the finalist to Human Resources for review. Once a finalist accepts a tentative offer of employment, any pre-employment paperwork will become available in their onboarding portal.
  • Once the paperwork has been completed, the applicant will receive an email from HireRight requesting personally identifiable information. The applicant must respond to the email as soon as possible to initiate the Level 1 screening process.
• The Level 2 background screening is required of finalists for any position of special trust. Positions of special trust are those positions in specific departments or with job responsibilities of a sensitive nature (Visit the Background Screening page for a detailed description). There are two types of Level 2 background screenings. Positions in the Educational Research Center for Child Development (ERCCD) and Summer Camps are required to complete a background screening processed through the Florida Department of Children and Families. All other positions of special trust are required to complete a background screening through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement Volunteer and Employee Criminal History System (VECHS).
  • ERCCD/Summer Camp applicants – Florida Department of Children and Families
    • An appointment will be scheduled with Human Resources to obtain additional paperwork, fingerprints, and a photograph.
    • ERCCD/Summer Camp applicants will be required to complete the Affidavit of Good Moral Character and the Privacy Policy.
  • All other positions requiring Level 2 backgrounds – VECHS
    • Human Resources will schedule the applicant for an appointment for fingerprints.
    • The applicant will complete the VECHS Waiver Agreement form via their onboarding portal or provide to Human Resources when attending their fingerprinting appointment.

The Level 1 background screening uses name only to conduct a search of criminal felony and misdemeanor offenses. A social security trace, national criminal search, and sex offender registry search are also included in the Level 1 background screening.

The Level 2 background screening searches state and national fingerprint databases to identify arrests, warrants, and other criminal information pertaining to the applicant.

All Executive Service, Staff, OPS, and Faculty finalists are required to complete a Level 1 background screening.

All finalists, including students, for positions of special trust are required to complete a Level 2 background screening.

Applicants applying for positions of special trust are required to complete a Level 2 background screening, which entails performing a fingerprint-based criminal history search rather than just a name-based search. Section 435.04, F. S., mandates the Level 2 background screening of employees identified in Chapter 435 F.S.

The presence of a criminal history does NOT automatically exclude an applicant from employment. Many factors are taken into consideration if an applicant’s background check reveals a criminal history. Each applicant’s results are reviewed, and the employment decision is determined on a case-by-case basis.

The completion of the background checks is dependent upon a number of factors including the number of addresses an applicant provides, the reporting agency’s turn-around-time, and type and amount of information requiring review by Human Resources.

Once Human Resources has received all required pre-employment paperwork and background screening results, the hiring department will be notified that the applicant is approved for hire. The hiring department will then notify the applicant with pertinent hiring information.