Topeka ? The Kansas Board of Regents Wednesday afternoon directed all six state universities to implement background checks of new employees by September.

The new policy, which has been about six months in the making, will apply to all non-student employees. The policy is modeled on one used successfully by the Kansas University Medical Center.

The policy discussion began after a Journal-World investigation discovered a number of convicted felons in one KU department.

In addition to approving the new background check policy, the regents also directed the state universities to implement a common policy for prohibiting the possession of weapons on campus.