UofM's yearly background check and 30-day drug screen
The Loewenberg College of Nursing asks graduate students for a criminal background check every year and a drug screen within 30 days before each fall and spring practicum, both paid for by the student. The screen picks up alcohol, THC and CBD-related products, and a positive or negative-dilute result means testing again.
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What the bulletin requires
Two screening items sit on LCON's graduate clinical list. The first is "Criminal background check results from approved vendor," renewed every year at your own expense. The 2026-27 bulletin leaves the vendor unnamed; the spring 2025 edition said students buy health screening and background checks through DISA Complio, which makes your Complio account the first place to look.
The second is the drug screen, and the bulletin's rule is specific: it is done "at the student's expense within 30 days prior to entering the clinical practicum each fall and spring semester ... This test does detect alcohol and THC and CBD-related products. Any positive test or negative-dilute test will require the student to retest." The bulletin describes it as a 10-panel screen.
Summer is the case to watch. UofM's MSN Required Documents page adds a summer screen when your first clinical falls in a summer term. Results for both items go into your Complio record.
Counting the 30 days
The window runs backward from the day you enter the practicum, so a screen collected too early expires before it is ever used. If your practicum begins on the first day of classes, the 2026-27 arithmetic looks like this:
| Term | First day of classes | 30 days earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | August 24, 2026 | July 25, 2026 |
| Spring 2027 | January 19, 2027 | December 20, 2026 |
Your first clinical day may come later than the first day of classes, since the schedule itself is only due to clinical faculty on Monday of week two, so ask them which date anchors your window. NP students begin precepted practicums in a Spring term, which puts a first screen in the weeks around the winter holidays, when the window is easy to lose track of. The academic calendar guide has the full 2026-27 dates.
A negative-dilute result is not a pass. It triggers a retest, so leave room inside the 30 days for a second collection before the practicum begins.
The background check, year after year
Because the check renews annually, a student in a two- or three-year plan of study repeats it more than once. Time each renewal so the result stays current through the last day of every practicum, since LCON requires renewal dates to extend past the full placement.
Gaps in enrollment restart the clock. Per the bulletin, time away of a semester or longer can mean a repeat background check and drug screen on your return. MSN students are meant to stay enrolled through every fall and spring, and a missed one of those terms requires a readmission form.
Disclosure matters as much as the result. UofM lists failure to disclose a felony, or Board of Nursing discipline or diversion, among the grounds for academic disqualification, and Board of Nursing probation is another. Raise anything on your record with your track coordinator before a site reviews it. The grades and progression guide covers disqualification in full.
When a site runs its own screening
LCON's list sets the minimum. The bulletin makes clinical requirements subject to the contracts between each site and LCON, so a hospital can ask for its own background check or an extra screen before you start. UofM's campus-wide clinical affiliation agreement template also puts the cost of checks a facility requires on the student, though that template is a university document rather than an LCON graduate rule.
Site-level requirements appear during onboarding, in myClinicalExchange or on the site's own application. Plan the UofM screen and any site screen together so one does not expire while you wait on the other.
BSN and RN to BSN students
Undergraduate rules differ. The BSN's admission rules call for a background check and drug screen through approved vendors. Because BSN placements are assigned by the college, the bulletin adds a warning: a BSN student turned away by a facility for any reason may have to withdraw, while students who flag a concern ahead of assignments may be considered for a different site, if one exists.
RN to BSN students face a small conflict. The RN to BSN program page asks for a 10-panel plus alcohol screen within 30 days of beginning the clinical course, while the LCON FAQ page describes a 12-panel urine drug screen. Confirm the panel with your advisor before ordering. The RN to BSN guide covers that program's clinical course.
How we plan screening around your placement
The screening is yours to complete; the timing is where we help most. With or without UofM's involvement, we line up a preceptor and clinical site that fit your course and your area, confirm the start date, and tell you exactly when your 30-day window opens.
We also check what the site asks for beyond LCON's list, prepare the preceptor information the agreement form calls for, and keep your background check renewal in step with each practicum's end date. If a start date moves or a preceptor drops, we re-time the screen against the new date so a result is not wasted. Tell us your first practicum term and we will map the dates.
Questions UofM students ask
Which company does UofM use for nursing background checks?
The 2026-27 Academic Bulletin says only that results come from an approved vendor, without naming it. The spring 2025 bulletin told students to buy health screening and background checks through DISA Complio, so start in your Complio account; if the order option is not there, the Student Academic Coordinator for Graduate Programs can point you to it.
Do I need a new drug screen every semester?
For fall and spring practicums, yes: each one needs a screen collected within the 30 days before you enter it. A summer screen is needed only when your first clinical falls in a summer term, according to the MSN Required Documents page. A semester away from the program can also trigger a new screen when you return.
Can CBD products cause a positive UofM drug screen?
They can. The bulletin states that the screen detects alcohol, THC and CBD-related products, and that any positive or negative-dilute result requires a retest. Because a retest has to fit inside the same 30-day window before your practicum, anything that could complicate a result is worth raising with your track coordinator before collection.
Will something on my record keep me out of UofM clinicals?
UofM does not publish the criteria a site uses when it reviews a graduate student's background check. The bulletin does list nondisclosure of a felony, or of Board of Nursing discipline or diversion, as grounds for disqualification, so full disclosure is the rule to follow. Talk with your track coordinator early, before any site review.
How long is a UofM background check valid?
One year. LCON requires the check annually, and like every compliance item its renewal date has to reach past the full placement period. If your current check would lapse partway through a practicum, renew it before the rotation starts so the result covers every clinical day.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against UofM's 2026-27 catalog, the LCON Academic Bulletin, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your clinical faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
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