Inside Higher Ed features an
item on criminal history checking of US college students -
In a recent AACRAO [ie American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers] survey, 66 percent of responding institutions reported having any mechanism to collect criminal justice information from students. Private and four-year institutions were more likely than public or two-year institutions to conduct some kind of screening.
The most common means of getting that information, the survey found, was through questions on self-disclosure questions on their own applications or on the Common Application. Of the 144 institutions that reported collecting criminal justice information from all applicants, only ten said they used criminal background checks. ...
Patricia Leonard, Wilmington's vice chancellor for student affairs, said that the applications of fewer than 10 percent of students raise red flags that lead to scrutiny by the university's Campus Safety and Investigations Committee and a request that the student order a criminal background check from one of several approved vendors. (The student pays the fee; it's usually about $20, Leonard said.)
Half the students asked to submit to checks never do and take themselves out of the running for admission to the university. Among those who do undergo checks, Leonard said, 92 percent are cleared without further examination. The screening process, she said, "clearly sends a message about the campus culture - its priorities."
The AACRAO survey appears to that reported in 2009 [
PDF], covering responses by 273 institutions out of AACRAO's 3248 member institutions. AACRAO describes its "key findings" as -
• 66% of the responding colleges collect criminal justice information, although not all consider it in their admissions process. Private schools and four-year schools are more likely to collect and use such information than their public and two-year counterparts.
• 38% of the responding institutions do not collect or use criminal justice information. [The overlap between 38% and 66% is unclear]
• Self-disclosure through the college application or the Common Application is the most frequent way that institutions collect the information. A small minority of schools conduct criminal background checks on some applicants, usually through a private contractor.
• Most institutions that collect and use criminal justice information have adopted additional steps in their admissions decision process, the most common of which is consulting with academic deans and campus security personnel. Special requirements such as submitting a letter of explanation or a letter from a corrections official and completing probation or parole are common.
• Less than half of the schools that collect and use criminal justice information have written policies in place. Only 40% train staff on how to interpret such information.
• A broad array of convictions are viewed as negative factors in the context of admissions decision-making, including drug and alcohol convictions, misdemeanor convictions and youthful offender adjudications.
• If it is discovered that an applicant has failed to disclose a criminal record there is an increased likelihood that the person will be denied admission or the admission offer will be rescinded.
• A bare majority of schools that collect information provide support for admitted students who have criminal records, usually in the form of counseling or ongoing supervision.
• The most common restriction placed on students with criminal records is exclusion from campus housing.
