Criminal Background Checks for College Studens: Yes or No

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently published a debate on whether or not colleges should perform Criminal Background Checks on their students prior to admission. According to Sara Lipka,

"More than 60 percent of colleges consider applicants' criminal histories in admissions decisions, but less than half of those have formal policies for how to do so, according to the results of a survey by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers that were presented on Wednesday to a group of college lawyers."

Interesting. I thought that someone, or a group of some sort of experts, would have a firm grip on what to do with information gleaned from a background check. There are arguments on both sides of the fence going from inaccurate information, all the way to the liability of colleges who admit students with less than a steller past.

"Still, campuses are continually exploring new ways to meet public expectations and to try to keep students safe. Criminal background checks—and not just self-disclosures—may become the industry standard, particularly for residential students, said Darby Dickerson, dean of Stetson University's College of Law, and another presenter at the legal conference. "You need to keep your eye out on this," she said, "especially if you are in a state where other schools are doing it."

This is a very complicated issue. Take a few minutes and read the entire article before deciding where you stand.

Lori Hopp, GCDF

lorihopp.com