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Criminal Convictions Policy and Procedure for Undergraduate and Postgraduate Admissions – July 2016
Appendix
CRITERIA FOR DETERMINING WHETHER AN APPLICANT’S CRIMINAL
CONVICTION(S) SHOULD PREVENT ADMISSION TO THE UNIVERSITY
In coming to a decision about whether or not to reject an applicant on the grounds of the criminal
conviction declared, a Panel may, amongst other things, consider:
i)
The Potential Risk of Harm to University members, visitors and the wider community
Is there a real risk of a repeat offence that would be so serious that the University ought not,
for precautionary reasons, run that risk?
The likelihood of a repeat offence might be assessed by considering:
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how long ago was the offence committed?
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ignoring spent convictions, was the offence one of a number of a similar character
committed over a period of time, or a one-off?
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is the applicant continuing on licence or under supervision?
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where applicable, what does the Probation Officer say about rehabilitation?
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how do the current circumstances of the applicant compare with those at the time of the
offence?
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is the University environment likely to encourage the kind of offence the applicant has
committed, or to discourage it?
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what are the reasons for the applicant entering Higher Education at this point?
ii) The Potential Risk to the University’s Reputation
The potential risk might be assessed by deciding:
-
would the presence of the student be un-acceptable to the student community and thus to
the University, or otherwise bring the University into disrepute (bearing in mind that the
University’s reputation is also affected by a supportive approach to rehabilitation)?
iii) Any special issues relating to the particular programme applied for
Are there particular rules laid down by an accrediting or partner body that would be broken by
admitting the applicant?
In the case of postgraduate research, will the proposed research project require the applicant to
be in contact with vulnerable people or sensitive data?