Dive Brief:
- The study found most colleges consider high school disciplinary records of prospective students even though the vast majority don’t have formal policies in place about what to do with them.
- A report from the Center for Community Alternatives, which surveyed colleges and universities, argues considering these records negatively impacts poor students of color, a group disproportionately targeted for high school disciplinary action, reports Inside Higher Ed.
- While critics say schools should stop collecting the information altogether, others argue institutions have a responsibility to create a safe environment and need to know about a student’s past, according to the article.
Dive Insight:
As higher education becomes increasingly necessary for living wage jobs, colleges and universities are turning more to the idea of access. Students who are more likely to go to underperforming high schools and are more likely to have disciplinary records. Both of these elements impact college admission. Inside Higher Ed reports some institutions have already adjusted their policies based on the report, formalizing guidelines for considering disciplinary records and, in some cases, considering an applicant without that information in a first round and incorporating it in a second. If access is a concern, schools will have to strategize about how they consider these records.
