photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

Strong Hall on the University of Kansas campus is pictured in September 2021.

Soon, every person applying for a job at the University of Kansas may have to sign a form allowing their previous employers to release information regarding past findings of sexual harassment.

Such a policy is in line with a recent recommendation from a leading higher education group, but KU leaders stopped short of saying they would adopt other recommendations from the Association of American Universities — including one about when investigations can be dismissed.

As the Journal-World reported earlier this month, KU Chancellor Douglas Girod was the co-chair of an AAU committee that crafted recommendations for universities to follow in preventing sexual harassment and sexual misconduct.

While KU announced Girod’s role in helping craft the recommendations, the university didn’t provide information on whether KU’s current policies already are in line with the recommendations or whether KU intended to change some of its polices as a result of the AAU guidance.

Upon further follow-up from the Journal-World, a KU spokeswoman confirmed that that university is working on changes related to how KU checks for cases of sexual harassment when it is looking to hire an employee.

Spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson said “executive and tenure/tenure-track faculty members” already are subject to providing signed statements regarding findings of sexual misconduct at previous employers. However, with the new AAU recommendations, the university is working to expand that process to include all positions that KU hires for.

“KU’s Human Resource Management team is working on system enhancements to acquire a signed statement of release from every applicant that would allow KU to contact previous employers with inquiry regarding any history of sexual misconduct or related findings,” Barcomb-Peterson said via email.

Such a policy would be consistent with the AAU recommendation that “in making hiring decisions, request or require applicants to provide written consent to release personnel information from their prior employer of substantiated findings of sexual misconduct, consistent with applicable law.”

The AAU also makes a related recommendation that when a prospective employer calls a university for a background check on a potential hire that the university “share substantiated findings of sexual misconduct with prospective employers,” to the extent that the law allows. It wasn’t immediately clear whether KU currently shares that information about its own employees when asked, but the Journal-World has sought clarification.

The AAU also is recommending that universities commit to completing investigations of sexual harassment, even if the student or employee accused of the harassment leaves the university.

Barcomb-Peterson confirmed that KU’s current policy does give KU’s Office of Civil Rights and Title IX the leeway to end sexual harassment investigations when the accused student or employee leaves the university.

“But it is important to note that it does not require the office to do so,” she said via email.

When asked what KU’s general practice was related to continuing investigations once the accused has left the university, Barcomb-Peterson said that decision is “handled on a case-by-case basis.” The Journal-World has asked for any statistical reports on how often sexual harassment cases are dismissed by the KU office, but it is not yet clear whether such a report exists.

KU, however, hasn’t ruled out changing the policy to require such investigations to continue, whenever possible.

“The university is in the process of evaluating the AAU recommendations in light of the university’s policies, practices, and procedures,” Barcomb-Peterson said via email.

KU is a member of the AAU — a prestigious organization composed of the top research universities in the country — but its recommendations aren’t binding on any of the schools. However, Girod recently has gained a higher profile in the organization. In addition to co-chairing the committee that produces the sexual harassment prevention recommendations, Girod recently was appointed as a member of the AAU’s 11-member board of directors.