Student Background Checks

The USA Today reported in 2010 that college admissions officers across the country are considering conducting criminal background checks on applicants or admitted students.

As just one example, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington began requiring criminal background checks on students who pose a risk following a 2004 murder of a female student by a student who had a history of violence against women. Half of the students who are requested to order a background check remove themselves from the admissions process. Most of those who go along with the request are cleared.

In a survey conducted by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, nearly 150 institutions of higher learning stated that they do collect criminal justice information from applicants, but only ten of them actually used criminal background checks.

The president of the University of Virginia, where a student was murdered in 2010, stated that he wants more reliable access to law-enforcement data. He also proposed conducting criminal background checks on every student, despite the labor and costs associated with doing so. In 2011, UVA’s new president announced that students are required to disclose their criminal records in writing before they can access course materials and email services.

Immediately following the UVA murder, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that although a few schools perform checks on all students during the admissions process, it’s more common to see checks conducted on students in health- and education-related programs due to their interaction with vulnerable patients and students. While some believe that background checks as part of the admissions process will contribute to campus safety, others believe that barring applicants with criminal records would be viewed as discrimination and would expose colleges to legal risk.

We at C U CLEAR feel that this controversy may continue for the long term while those responsible find an adequate way to protect all students’ rights. In the meantime, C U CLEAR believes that safety is the best approach, and we are available to conduct criminal background checks on any students whose records raise red flags.