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Contents Edited by the
Administration & Finance Customer
Service Center
Update to P-Card and Travel Card Guidelines
Effective September 4, 2008, a security
background check (criminal history
investigation) will be required for new
P-Card/Travel Card applicants, who have not
had a background check in the past six
months. This is the same background check
conducted on employees applying for security
sensitive positions. Background checks are
not required for existing cardholders or
applicants who have passed a background
check in the past six months.
The purpose of
the background check is to reduce the risk
of fraudulent misuse of university credit
cards by only issuing cards to employees who
pass a criminal history investigation. Of
course, simply because someone passes a
background check, this is no guarantee that he/she
will not commit fraud in the future.
However, we can reduce the risk of fraud by
not issuing university credit cards to
people who have committed a criminal offense
in the past seven years (the period covered
by the background check).
Procedure for Background Check
In addition to the P-Card or Travel
Card Application, the
prospective cardholder/custodian
completes the
Authorization for Criminal
History Investigation form
located on
the
Human Resources
forms page and submits it along with the
Application to Accounts Payable. (If the
applicant previously completed the
Authorization for Criminal History
Investigation form within the past six
(6) months, he/she should notify AP and
the applicant will not be required to
complete it again. AP will request a
letter from HR with the date and results
of the previous background check.)
Account Payable faxes the
Authorization for Criminal History
Investigation form to the designated
person in Human Resources.
Human Resources coordinates with the
UH Department of Public Safety to
conduct the background check.
Human Resources e-mails a letter to
Accounts Payable indicating if the
applicant passed or failed the
background check. Detailed information
about the applicant’s record will not be
included in the letter.
If the applicant passed the
background check, Accounts Payable will
proceed to issue the P-Card/Travel Card.
If the applicant failed the background
check, Accounts Payable will send an
e-mail to the college/division
administrator and applicant notifying
them that the P-Card/Travel Card will
not be issued because the applicant did
not pass the background check. The
letter from Human Resources will be
retained by Accounts Payable in their
P-Card/Travel Card application files.
The updated Applications and Guidelines
are on the Finance website:
If you have any questions, please
contact Armand Villacorte
at 713.743.5660 or
amvillacorte@uh.edu for P-Cards or Sandra Silva
at 713.743.5883 or
ssilva@uh.edu for Travel Cards.
