Criminal Records and College Admissions: A Modified Experimental Audit

Abstract

3 Criminal Records and College Admissions: A Modified Experimental AuditWith the expansion of punishment in the mass incarceration era, the prevalence of criminal records has increased dramatically in the past four decades (Shannon et al., 2017).Criminal records can be acutely restrictive (Travis, Western, and National research Council [U.S.], 2014), limiting access to employment (Pager, 2003;Pager, Bonikowski, and Western, 2009;, public assistance (Gustafson 2009), housing (Thacher, 2008, family planning options (Children's Bureau, 2015), and civic participation (Manza and Uggen, 2006).These restrictions can perpetuate cycles of crime and inequality, especially for low-income people and people of color.Higher education has long been considered an instrument of social mobility and social cohesion in American society, and a potentially potent mechanism for facilitating desistance (Blomberg and Pesta, 2017;Ford and Schroeder, 2010;Runell, 2017). In particular, college attendance and completion are associated with lower rates of unemployment and higher relative earnings (Arum and Hout, 1998;Mayhew et al., 2016; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017).Higher education can also unlock access to valued opportunities, develop human capital, and foster civic membership (Becker, 1994;Boli, Ramirez, and Meyer, 1985;Brown, 2001). Yet the benefits of higher education may not accrue for students with criminal records. Most colleges today require applicants to disclose detailed criminal history information, and some evidence suggests that applicants are being rejected on the basis of their records (Custer, 2018;Pierce, Runyan, and Bangdiwala, 2014;Rosenthal et al., 2015;Weissman et al., 2010).The increasing scrutiny of criminal records in college admissions is especially consequential for groups most subject to the criminal justice system, particularly young Black 4 males. In light of the historic underrepresentation of African Americans in higher education (Davis and Otto, 2016) and their overrepresentation in justice-involved populations (Kaeble and Glaze, 2016), criminal history disclosure requirements could raise additional barriers to racial progress, student learning, and democracy. A review of changes in college application forms from [2000][2001][2002][2003][2004][2005][2006][2007][2008][2009][2010][2011][2012][2013][2014][2015] shows that an increasing number of admissions departments now require criminal history information (Stewart, 2015). Officials cite campus safety as the principal reason for requiring criminal history information, especially in the aftermath of widely publicized oncampus incidents (Dickerson, 2008;Pierce et al., 2014). Significantly, however, these questions may be ill-suited for predicting future criminality (Runyan, et al. 2013) and reducing campus crime rates (Olszewska, 2007).The use of criminal records in the college admissions process has rarely been considered in criminology, so little is known about the prevalence of criminal history disclosure questions and the degree to which ...