Academic records may not be the only files on many college students’ minds. One in every 29 college students has some type of criminal record, according to a December study by MyBackgroundCheck.com. The nationwide study surveyed 13,859 students from 125 different educational institutions, including universities and career colleges. Driving violations were the most common offense, accounting for 60 percent of student offenses, according to the study. Disorderly conduct was a distant second at 9.5 percent, followed by theft at 8.8 percent. University students have all types of offenses on their records, said Eric Norman, associate dean of the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability. ‘We have seen everything from basic trespassing, simple assault, battery, alcohol violations, drug violations, DUIs and domestic disputes,’ Norman said. ‘It runs the full gamut.’ University students who receive a criminal charge are sent to Student Advocacy and Accountability, but Norman said his office does not collect data about how many students on campus have a criminal record. It would also be difficult to quantify criminal pasts in students because juvenile records made under the age of 17 are confidential, said Capt. Russell Rog’eacute;, LSU Police Department spokesman. ‘When most students come to college, if they have committed crimes, it may have been when they were under 17,’ Rog’eacute; said. ‘We wouldn’t know if they got in trouble as a 15- or 16-year-old.’ No juvenile criminal charges were included in the MyBackgroundCheck.com survey. Rog’eacute; said most University students generally do not have severe criminal records. ‘Most students with an extreme crime history won’t come to college,’ Rog’eacute; said. ‘They’ve already made their career choices.’ The University currently does not check the backgrounds of people who apply for admission. Norman said there have been talks of doing spot checks, but nothing has been initiated because of problems and inefficiencies that come with background checks. ‘It’s not a fail-safe system,’ Norman said. ‘We’ve found there are lots of different loopholes and leeways. It’s tough because the different reporting agencies have different thresholds and different levels of communication.’ Some inconsistencies are whether the report can include charges given after the University application has been submitted and whether the check will include all arrests or only convictions, Norman said. Norman said there is also a financial concern, as a background check costs approximately $35 per student. Instead of checking University applicants’ backgrounds, there is a self-disclosure policy during the application process. ‘We ask if they have been arrested previously or have any type of disciplinary conduct file at a prior institution,’ Norman said. If a student fails to disclose a criminal record, his or her application can be eliminated from consideration, Norman said. When current University students receive a criminal charge, they are sent to the Office of Student Advocacy and Accountability to discuss the disciplinary consequences. Students meet with an accountability official, Norman said. The official offers the student a sanction, and the student can either accept it or decline and move to a hearing. Disciplinary action varies based on the offense and can be anything from a verbal warning to expulsion. Expulsions occur in serious cases, Norman said. ‘If it’s a felony or if it’s a health and safety concern, that usually indicates we need to separate that person from the University,’ he said. —– Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected] ‘