Collegiate Times

Virginia Tech does not support background checks for all applications going through undergraduate admissions, as proposed by University of Virginia President John Casteen.

Casteen met with Gov. Bob McDonnell on May 11 to discuss the idea of state mandated criminal background checks for all colleges and universities. The recent murder of UVa lacrosse player Yeardley Love prompted Casteen to request the meeting. He hopes for universities to be able to gain access to law enforcement records on students.

Background checks would be run on students upon receiving applications and with every new semester in accordance to Casteen’s plan.  

Mildred Johnson, director of undergraduate admissions at Tech, believes Casteen’s actions are admirable but said “implementation is problematic.”

Johnson said when tragedy occurs, the first instinct is to leap into the problem and see what can be done. However, these background checks would not divulge information pertaining to the mental health of a prospective student, which leaves Johnson to question their value.  “Are you really going to get the information you hope to get?” Johnson said.

Tech tries to remain proactive in gaining information about prospective students and maintaining safety on campus.

“We are doing, to the best of our ability, our due diligence to get as much information about a student as we possibly can,” Johnson said.

As part of the Tech application, prospective students are required to fill out six questions about disciplinary actions, arrests and convictions, adjudications, probation and suspensions and poor financial standing at any past school. If a prospective student answers “yes” to any of those six questions, that application is then sent to Johnson for individual review.

Johnson can grant or decline admission based on these answers, or she can ask for follow-up interviews with prospective students. The infractions are often minor, so Johnson tries to “put all the information into context.”

While these questions are helpful in determining the character of a prospective student, they are only as useful as the honesty of that individual.

Changes are currently being made to the application to include future infractions, explained Johnson. If students are under disciplinary action after submitting their applications, students are obligated to divulge the information. If students are not honest with the university, their offer of admission can be withdrawn.  

“Students — be honest. This is important,” Johnson said.

A version of this article appeared in the May 27 issue of the Collegiate Times.