New research shines a light on the complex landscape of University criminal records policies

Applying to University with a Criminal Record – Will I be asked?

In 2018, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) stopped requiring applicants to non-regulated degrees to disclose unspent convictions on their university application. This change appears to demonstrate a positive step forward in providing fairer opportunities for people with unspent criminal records. However, five years on, little is known about how the higher education sector has responded to this change.

The UCAS application represents just one stage of the admissions process and there are other stages where applicants’ criminal history information can be requested. My article reports on the findings from my analysis of 143 universities’ criminal record policies. The analysis found that that 103 universities still require applicants to disclose some unspent criminal records during the admissions process. In contrast, just 19 universities no longer require applicants to disclose an unspent criminal record to enrol on a non-regulated degree.

Exactly when in the admissions process an applicant could be asked about their criminal record seems to vary between universities. For instance, some universities ask once an applicant has applied and others once an offer has been made or once an applicant accepts an offer to study with that institution.

Why do universities require applicants to disclose criminal records?

University policies provide various reasons to explain why they collect information about applicants’ criminal records, but this decision was commonly driven by concerns related to the safety and wellbeing of other staff and students.

It is recognised that universities have safeguarding responsibilities to all staff and students, but my article argues that much more careful consideration should be given to how useful self-declaration of criminal records by applicants is in upholding these responsibilities.

Criminal Records and Inclusion

My article argues that questions about criminal records within the admissions process remain the norm and could present barriers to people pursing a place at university. This is particularly problematic given groups of people that are underrepresented in higher education are also disproportionally criminalised (Lammy, 2017).

The analysis has indicated that information about university policies for applicants with criminal records is complex, with information in some instances being out of date or difficult to access. This suggests that universities need to work towards ensuring such information is accessible to applicants and those that support them. To this end, an outcome of this policy analysis has been to collaborate with Unlock to create a searchable database of all UK universities’ criminal record policies. The database allows applicants to identify which institutions do and do not ask about criminal records. This tool was launched two years ago and has had positive feedback since.

You can read the full article online here.

You can find advice on applying to university with a criminal record here, or guidance on how to implement fair approaches for applicants and students with criminal records here.