For years, the State University of New York included this query on its undergraduate application: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"
On Wednesday, the university’s board of trustees voted to remove the question, citing the barriers it posed to some prospective students.
The news that one of the largest public university systems in the country will no longer ask applicants whether they have been convicted of a felony is a step forward in a movement to remove questions about criminal histories from college applications. A 2010 study by the Center for Community Alternatives, a nonprofit group in New York, found that about two-thirds of colleges asked for criminal history information from applicants, including some that asked about arrests or misdemeanor convictions.
Read more at The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/nyregion/suny-to-stop-asking-applicants-about-felony-convictions.html