TY - JOUR
T1 - Criminal records and college admissions
T2 - A modified experimental audit
AU - Stewart, Robert
AU - Uggen, Christopher
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 American Society of Criminology
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - In this article, we consider the effect of criminal records on college admissions. Nearly 72 percent of colleges require criminal history information during their application processes, which indicates that an applicant's criminal history could be a significant impediment to achieving the benefits associated with higher education. We conducted a modified experimental audit to learn whether and to what extent criminal records affect admissions decisions. Matched same-race pairs of tester applications were sent to a national sample of nonelite 4-year colleges, with both testers applying as either Black or White. Within each pair, one application signaled a prior low-level felony conviction only when required by the application. Consistent with the findings of research on employment, we find the rejection rate for applicants with felony convictions was nearly 2.5 times the rate of our control testers. Relative to the large racial differences observed in previous studies of hiring decisions, we find smaller racial differences in admissions decisions. Nevertheless, Black applicants with criminal records were particularly penalized when disclosing a felony record at colleges with high campus crime rates. We address implications for reentry, racial progress, and the college “Ban the Box” movement. We suggest colleges consider narrowing the scope of such inquiries or removing the question altogether – particularly when it conflicts with the goals of these institutions, including reducing the underrepresentation of students of color.”.
AB - In this article, we consider the effect of criminal records on college admissions. Nearly 72 percent of colleges require criminal history information during their application processes, which indicates that an applicant's criminal history could be a significant impediment to achieving the benefits associated with higher education. We conducted a modified experimental audit to learn whether and to what extent criminal records affect admissions decisions. Matched same-race pairs of tester applications were sent to a national sample of nonelite 4-year colleges, with both testers applying as either Black or White. Within each pair, one application signaled a prior low-level felony conviction only when required by the application. Consistent with the findings of research on employment, we find the rejection rate for applicants with felony convictions was nearly 2.5 times the rate of our control testers. Relative to the large racial differences observed in previous studies of hiring decisions, we find smaller racial differences in admissions decisions. Nevertheless, Black applicants with criminal records were particularly penalized when disclosing a felony record at colleges with high campus crime rates. We address implications for reentry, racial progress, and the college “Ban the Box” movement. We suggest colleges consider narrowing the scope of such inquiries or removing the question altogether – particularly when it conflicts with the goals of these institutions, including reducing the underrepresentation of students of color.”.
KW - collateral consequences
KW - college
KW - criminal records
KW - education
KW - experimental
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074631094&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85074631094&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1745-9125.12229
DO - 10.1111/1745-9125.12229
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85074631094
SN - 0011-1384
VL - 58
SP - 156
EP - 188
JO - Criminology
JF - Criminology
IS - 1
ER -