Personnel Security Processing for Onsite Summer Students

If you have summer students who will be working onsite at an NIH campus, please read this quick article on how they can get their badge in an orderly fashion!

For the administrators who are processing Summer Students soon, please read these five main points below to better understand the type of badge that Summer Students will be receiving and the Division of Personnel Security and Access Control (DPSAC) process they must go through in order to receive their badge:  

  • Onsite Summer Students will usually receive a short-term Restricted Local Access (RLA) Badge, starting as early as May 1 through September 30. 
    • For Onsite Summer Students: Enrollment must be completed at an NIH PIV Card Issuance Facility (PCIF), as the following can only be conducted at an NIH PCIF:
      • Collection of fingerprints (FBI fingerprint criminal history check and biometric integration to badge)
      • Identity Proofing (requires 2 forms of valid, government issued ID)

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·       Summer Students who have been designated as “Offsite" or “Remote" will likely have a completely different onboarding process not involving an RLA Badge. These summer students are not processed by DPSAC and should check with their assigned Administrative Officer (AO) for onboarding instructions.
 

·       Early NED Badge Sponsorship recommended for Onsite Summer Students!

o   Early NED Sponsorship by the designated AO is critical for allowing time to schedule appointments, approximately 6-8 weeks ahead of their anticipated Entry-on-duty (EOD)
 

·       Onsite Summer Students (local within 50 miles of an NIH PCIF):

    • Must complete Enrollment at an NIH PCIF first. Onsite Summer Students can go to one of these five NIH PCIF locations with an Enrollment Office:
      • NIH Bethesda Main Campus in Bethesda, MD
      • Medical Center Drive in Rockville, MD
      • Fishers Lane in Rockville, MD 
      • Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Montana
      • National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) in North Carolina
    • Will wait for fingerprint results to post (around 1-5 business days), then will receive issuance notice on their EOD date

o   Badge cannot be issued prior to EOD date listed in NED
 

·       Onsite Summer Students (located more than 50 miles from an NIH PCIF):

    • Onsite Summer Students can leverage use of Fieldprint o collect the fingerprints needed for the criminal history check. This will save non-local students time by having them complete the FBI fingerprint check portion in advance of their start date, at a location closer to them.
    • Onsite Summer Students who use Fieldprint will still be required to complete Enrollment at one of the five NIH PCIF locations for their badge upon arrival.
    • Onsite Summer Students who completed Fieldprint will be able to schedule their badge issuance appointment (on/after EOD) after completing Enrollment (usually same day), rather than waiting several days for fingerprint results to post. 
    • Non-local students who are interested in using this service should contact ORSFingerprintService@mail.nih.gov with subject line “2023 Summer Student Request."

For more information on Summer Students, please review this NIH Position Classification article on Summer Students. Please also send the following article to help Summer Students prepare as they get their badge: "Summer Students! Here Are Three Steps in Getting Your Badge."​