Applicants with criminal convictions

1. Why does the University require declarations of past criminal convictions?

To help the University reduce the risk of harm or injury to students and staff caused by any prior criminal behaviour of applicants, we must know about any relevant criminal convictions that you may have.

2. What criminal convictions should I disclose?

The University of Dundee defines spent and unspent convictions in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (“the Act”). The University being a Scottish University adopts the rehabilitation rules as they apply to Scotland.

You may have been convicted some time ago and in law you may have completed the required rehabilitation period, which makes your conviction “spent” and so you do not need to declare it although you may wish to do so.

There are certain convictions which are never spent so you will always have to declare them for example, if you were in prison for more than 48 months (4 years).

However, if you are applying to an excepted programme (see paragraph 5), you will have to declare all of your convictions.

3. So should I always declare an “unspent” criminal conviction on my application?

Yes. You must declare any unspent criminal convictions, such as:

• offences against the person, whether of a violent or sexual nature;
• convictions for offences involving unlawfully supplying controlled drugs or substances where the conviction concerns commercial drug dealing or trafficking;
• offences where you are currently serving a prison sentence for a relevant criminal conviction; in these circumstances you must give the prison address as your postal address in the contact details on the application form, and in addition, a senior prison officer must support your application; and/or
• motoring offences.

4. What about a serious “spent” criminal conviction?

As noted above, offences attracting sentences of more than 48 months (4 years) imprisonment or more are automatically deemed to be “unspent” and therefore must always be declared.

5. What exceptions apply for declaring a “spent” criminal conviction within the application process?

When you are applying to a programme within:

• The School of Dentistry;
• The School of Education and Social Work;
• The School of Medicine; or
• The School of Nursing and Health Sciences.

which requires working with children or vulnerable adults you must declare any spent and unspent criminal convictions.

6. I am not sure if my criminal conviction is “relevant” – what should I do?

If you are unsure whether a caution is relevant or spent, you should get advice from a solicitor, Citizens Advice Bureau or the Probation Service. If you seek advice from a solicitor you may have to pay for that advice. A guide is provided below for convenience and illustration purposes only.

The University being a Scottish University adopts the rehabilitation rules as they apply in Scotland.

7. How will my relevant criminal conviction be considered?

Information relating to your conviction will be considered separately from your academic assessment by the University’s Criminal Convictions Committee (CCC), which is a specified group appointed by the University.

If you declare a relevant criminal conviction your application will, in the first instance, be assessed according to the published selection criteria for the programme you have selected. All published selection criteria focus on academic eligibility requirements.

8. Who will see details of my criminal convictions?

Any information disclosed by you about a criminal conviction will be processed by the University in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 (as amended). The information you provide in your application will be sent to the CCC for assessment as per the University’s process.

9. What decision can the CCC take in relation to my application?

One of the following decisions will be made by the CCC:

• To require further information from you or a third party;
• To permit an invitation for interview to be issued;
• To permit the application to go forward for academic assessment;
• To permit the application to go forward for academic assessment with conditions to be made, for example with a condition relating to pastoral issues such as support for the applicant; in such cases the University will contact you to outline the conditions set by the committee; or
• To reject the application; in this case the University will contact you to inform you of the decision.

Please note that the above possible decisions, related to your criminal conviction, are independent from the academic assessment of your application.

If the CCC, after having considered your criminal conviction, issued permission to make an offer on your application, you would still need to meet the terms and conditions of this offer as set out in the University offer letters.

The decision of the CCC is binding on the University only and third parties such as professional bodies (e.g. General Medical Council) will require to view your criminal convictions based on their own criteria and judgement.

10. The CCC have asked for further information, how quickly should I respond?

The University may want to ask you for more information before a decision is made. You must respond to such a request in sufficient detail (including any supporting evidence) to allow the University to progress with your application within 28 days. Failure to respond as required by the University may result in your application being rejected.

11. The CCC have asked for further information from third parties – can they do that?

Yes, but this will not be done without your permission.

12. What happens if I fail to declare a criminal conviction to the University during the admission process and receive a place?

If you fail to declare a criminal conviction, where you have not completed the rehabilitation period for, at any point in the admission process, then your application will be considered to be fraudulent and the University will retain the right to withdraw your application. If you have been made an offer by the University, then the University, may in these circumstances withdraw or amend that offer.

If you have been admitted as a student, you may be subject to disciplinary action which could result in your expulsion from the University.

13. I have been charged with a criminal conviction after submitting my application or after I have received an offer but before I matriculate – what should I do?

You must tell the University as soon as possible. When you do so, the same process as for convictions declared at the time of applying will be carried out; this process is detailed above.

14. I have declared my conviction and been offered a place, will the CCC make other people aware of my conviction?

In the event that the applicant is offered a place, the CCC must determine who, if anyone, within the University should be provided with details of the conviction as the University has a duty of care towards its community and the public.

The CCC must also determine who, if anyone, within the University will keep details of the conviction in the case where the applicant becomes a registered student.

15. I am a foreign student (from outside the UK) with a criminal conviction –will my application be assessed?

Your application will be assessed in the same way as a UK resident – as set out above.

16. Data protection

All records and correspondence relating to an applicant declaring a relevant criminal conviction will be securely stored in accordance with the University’s Data Protection Policy.