UCAS no longer requires criminal convictions declaration

UCAS announced that they will drop its requirement for university applicants to declare criminal convictions, reaffirming that “higher education is open to everyone.”

Up to now, former prisoners and those with unspent convictions have had to tick a criminal record disclosure box when applying to university.

This part of the application has acted as a deterrent to applying to higher education for many, and has meant that others have been refused a place at university despite fulfilling all the academic requirements.

The university admissions service has confirmed that the next cycle of applicants, to begin their studies in 2019, will no longer have to tick the criminal record disclosure box.

The decision is part of a wider aim of increasing participation in higher education. UCAS says it has been working with charities including the Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET), the Longford Trust and Unlock for two years on how to improve progression routes to university for ex-offenders.

The timing of the decision, as reported by The Guardian, is thought to have also been brought forward by the introduction of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force on 25 May 2018.

The change by UCAS provides a strong signal to universities that criminal records shouldn’t feature in their assessment of academic ability

– Christopher Stacey

However, Ben Jordan, senior policy and qualifications manager at UCAS, stressed that the decision was something that the admissions service had been considering for a long time, as he told iNews: “We have always been looking at how we can ensure the application process in itself isn’t a barrier and people feel comfortable applying.”

Nina Champion, head of policy at the PET, said the charity welcomed the decision by UCAS “to promote second chances” when it comes to accessing higher education for ex-offenders.

She said: “A week after the justice secretary encouraged businesses to employ people with convictions, PET warmly welcomes the decision by UCAS to promote second chances when it comes to higher education.

“The charities PET, Longford Trust and Unlock have been working with UCAS to address some of the arbitrary and discriminatory practices that have gone on in university admissions processes, which have prevented many talented and qualified people from studying at university level.

“People with convictions who are applying to university are showing a huge commitment to turning their lives around. As a society, we should be doing all we can to support them.”

Similarly, Christopher Stacey, a co-director of Unlock, said: “This is a significant change that has the potential to help many people with convictions see a university education as a positive way forward in their lives.

“If universities are committed to widening participation, they should be considering the widest number of potential applicants. The change by UCAS provides a strong signal to universities that criminal records shouldn’t feature in their assessment of academic ability.”

We probably make the best students just for the sheer fact that we want it so desperately

– Georgie

According to PET, ex-offenders have been offered places at universities on the basis of their academic record, only to later have their offer withdrawn because of concerns about their criminal past.

Georgie, a former prisoner, received an offer to study architecture at a London university and saw it as the “start of something new”. He said the university withdrew his application on the day of enrolment. The decision has since been reversed and Georgie is now helping his university to improve its admissions procedures.

He told The Guardian: “In an email, they said the reason for reversing their decision was the fact of my criminal record. This was despite the fact it was an offence I had committed in 2009, and I was fully discharged in 2012 with no restrictions against me as an individual. I was destroyed, heartbroken.”

He added: “I don’t believe universities or any form of higher education institution should be willing to knock back someone just because of their criminal record.

“I think ex-offenders, reformed characters, whatever you want to call them, have a lot to offer – a lot of ambition, a lot of drive, a lot of passion. We probably make the best students just for the sheer fact that we want it so desperately.”