A modified experimental audit of criminal records and college admissions

• In Event: Poverty, Educational Attainment, and the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

This national study tests how criminal records affect college admissions decisions using a modified experimental audit design. As the criminal justice has expanded, so has the prevalence of criminal records, especially African American young males. Along with this expansion, an increasing number of colleges are requiring applicants to disclose criminal history information during the application process. Criminal records clearly limit opportunity in other contexts, including housing and employment. Yet the extent to which such questions bar the door to college remains unknown. This study thus considers whether and how criminal records exacerbate educational inequalities. We recruited participants with and without felony records and matched them on key dimensions. Each pair included one applicant with a prior felony conviction and one applicant without a record. Race and any other non-official information was fabricated and randomly assigned, and our pairs applied to more than 400 U.S. colleges. We compare the differences in acceptance rates to gauge the extent to which a felony conviction limits college opportunities and then probe how the admissions process becomes more involved and complex for applicants with criminal records. The results speak to policy questions, such as prospects for a national Ban-the-Box movement in higher education.

Authors

• Robert Stewart, University of Minnesota

• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota