| Editor Note: Good practices directly
related to the use of LSAT are hightlighted in red.
LSAC
Statement of Good Admission and Financial Aid Practices
Summary
To promote fairness
for all participants in the law school admission and financial aid processes
by encouraging the highest standards of professional conduct, all law school
admission and financial aid offices should:
A. Avoid impropriety
and conflicts of interest and uphold the integrity of the admission and financial
aid processes.
B. Provide candid
current data about applicants' prospects for admission, financial aid, completing
the degree program. and employment
1. Law schools
have an oversight role and are responsible for the representations of all
individuals involved in recruitment and promotion of their school. All representatives,
including graduates, faculty, and students, are obligated to be informed about
relevant programs, procedures. financial aid, job opportunities for graduates,
standards, and policies of the school.
2. Recruitment
activities should not include unreasonable and unfounded Comparisons with
other law schools. It is unreasonable and unfounded to use rankings to compare
the quality of your law school with other law schools.
3. Publications,
videos, and electronic communications of a law school should be current and
accurate in all respects. Application materials should contain admission and
financial aid information and deadlines
4. Prelaw advisors
and others who counsel applicants should be provided with accurate and current
information.
C. Establish and
maintain a fair, coherent, and consistent admission process, inform applicants
about it, respect their confidentiality, and observe relevant laws and guidelines
such as the Cautionary Policies Concerning Use of the LSAT
1. Make it clear
to applicants what is required in the admission process, including deadlines,
and the consequences of providing late, incomplete, false, or misleading information
(which includes referral to the LSAC Subcommittee on Misconduct and Irregularities
In the Admission Process).
2. Require applicants
to submit an application and complete all admission procedures before making
an admission offer.
3. In making
admission decisions, consider various criteria such as academic record, LSAT,
letters of recommendation, personal statements, work experience, and diversity
Do not give undue weight to the LSAT.
4. Offer equal
opportunity to applicants who are members of cultural, ethnic, or racial groups
who would not be otherwise meaningfully represented in the entering class.
5. Make reasonable
accommodations to the needs of disabled applicants in the admission process.
6. Scrupulously
maintain the privacy of applicants and release individually identifiable information
only to those with legitimate interests such as admission and financial aid
personnel.
D. Disclose to
incoming transfer applicants the programmatic implications of transferring,
such as law review status, financial aid eligibility, and course requirements.
E. Promptly inform
applicants of admission and financial aid decisions
1. Observe the
April 1 common applicant response date that allows applicants to freely choose
among offers of admission, scholarships, grants, and Loans without pena1ty
for fall matriculation. The sole exception is for applicants who have applied
under a bona fide early decision plan. A bona fide early decision plan is
an agreement between the applicant and the school that, if admitted by December
15, the applicant withdraw all pending applications and not initiate new ones.
2. Disclose to
a wait listed app1icant wait list procedures such as submitting additional
material, the likely timing of an admission decision; and other information
fairly determined to permit the applicant to make an informed choice on other
opportunities.
F. Admissions and
financial aid professionals have an obligation to provide applicants with clear,
accurate and complete information about institutional and federal finania1 aid
policies, requirements, and availability.
1. Provide information
on cost of attendance that accurately reflects reasonable and current coats,
and which includes information on average debt load and debt management
2. Provide all
applicants with information about policies and procedures for applying for
and appealing financial aid awards.
3. Notify the
applicant of financial aid awards that are within the control of the law school
prior to requiring a nonrefundable financial commitment
|
