Colleges make “widespread” use of student disciplinary records in their admissions processes, according to a report set for release this week from a national advocacy group.
The report—based on surveys of college admission officers and high school counselors around the country—found that 73 percent of colleges and universities collect high school disciplinary data, and that 89 percent of those use the information to inform their admission decisions. The report was prepared by the Center for Community Alternatives, a New York-based organization that advocates on behalf of students who have had court involvement.
In a national survey of college admissions officials and high school guidance counselors, researchers found that half of the guidance counselors share students’ discipline records with colleges.
The organization frames the matter as a civil rights issue since students of color and students with disabilities face disciplinary action at disproportionately higher rates than their peers. The center calls on colleges to stop asking for disciplinary data on students and for high schools to stop providing it.
