According to reports in USA Today, incidents of violence on college campuses in recent years have impelled many to call for background checks on applicants. 
It was reported that while many colleges ask students to explain any criminal history, most do not perform formal background checks because they do not want to be guilty of profiling or discrimination.
Staff at the Office of Student Affairs and the Office of Admissions and Scholarships said although many students wonder just what the admissions process consists of, they probably overestimate the requirements for admission rather than underestimate them.
Bill Kibler, vice president for student affairs, said the university does not probe into students’ backgrounds and students need not worry about MSU prying into their past or their personal affairs.
“To my knowledge, we have never done an actual background check on an applicant,” he said.
He also noted that Mississippi State is not unique in this regard.
“I don’t know of any other schools that do background checks on students or applicants,” he said.
Kibler said there is typically no need for background checks.
“We are a very safe campus relative to our peers,” he said.
USA Today reported that most colleges use the same reasoning, for in the vast majority of cases: background checks would be a useless expense for the university.
A 2009 study by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers emphasized that even if the background checks did provide useful information, college officials still cannot control human behavior.
Additionally, the AACRAO study indicated that many in higher education were against the use of criminal background checks because they felt that education should be open to all, especially those with a criminal past.
According to AACRAO, only 7 percent of institutions of higher learning perform actual criminal background checks on all applicants.
The same study indicated that about 64 percent of schools asked for students to divulge any criminal history, and approximately half of all universities follow up on any such information received.
According to information provided by the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning has an admissions policy with which all public universities in the state must comply.
Dan Coleman, director of student recruitment at the Office of Admissions and Scholarships, said MSU’s admission procedures are completely standard, as are those of all seven other public universities in Mississippi. 
He said MSU does not impose requirements for admission other than those dictated by the state.
The requirements, as provided by the Board of Trustees, relate solely to academic matters such as GPA requirements and ACT/SAT scores. These admission standards are listed online at www.mississippi.edu/admissions.