Editor’s note: This article has been expanded from the version that was originally posted to include more information. This is the same version that is in Thursday’s newspaper.
The College of Law’s profiles for the Classes of 2013, 2012 and 2011 were exaggerated, according to findings from the University’s ongoing investigation into the college’s reporting of student scores.
Bruce Smith, dean of the College of Law, issued a college-wide email Wednesday informing students, faculty and staff of the accurate numbers.
According to the email, ten years of class profiles were reviewed, and errors were found in the reported class profiles of the past four years. This includes the scores reported for the Class of 2014, found to have been inaccurate earlier this month.
The original Class of 2013 profile reported its median grade point average, or GPA, as 3.8, while its actual GPA was 3.6. Both the Class of 2012 and 2011 profiles reported the median Law School Admission Test, or LSAT, scores as one point higher than the true median — 166 instead of 165 in both years.
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The Class of 2014 profile stated a median LSAT score of 168, but the investigation found that the actual median LSAT score is 163. Additionally, the class’s reported median GPA was 3.81, but the correct median is 3.70.
University spokesman Tom Hardy explained that the investigation may be nearing its end, as data analysis and interviews of individuals in the College of Law wrap up.
“We are trying to ascertain … how those things could have happened,” he said. “We’re talking to a wide range of people who would help us understand both the processes and things that occurred.”
The investigation began following a tip brought to the University Ethics Office on Aug. 26, according to a Sept. 11 press release. Chicago-based law firm Jones Day and independent data analysis firm Duff & Phelps were brought on to determine any inaccuracies.
The Sept. 11 press release said the assistant dean of admissions was placed on administrative leave, pending the results of the investigation. Paul Pless, assistant dean of admissions, was on leave, according to an office worker at the admissions office Sept. 13.
Jones Day and Duff & Phelps analyzed ten years of class data, including GPAs and LSAT scores. This raw data was provided by the Law School Admissions Council, or LSAC, the organization responsible for administration of the LSAT. LSAC provides applicant information to law schools to use in the admissions process. The College of Law admissions office then synthesizes this data into a class profile, which it posts publicly on its website and uses in promotional materials. The profile is also released to the American Bar Association, or ABA, and organizations such as U.S. News and World Report, that rank law schools each spring.
The Class of 2014 profile had not been released to the ABA or ranking institutions at the time the investigation began. Class of 2013, 2012 and 2011 profile data, however, has been public since their release, and were used in law school rankings these years.
According to a press release from the University of Illinois on Wednesday, the University has notified the ABA and U.S. News of the additional discrepancies.
Representatives from the ABA were on campus Wednesday, speaking to students in the College of Law. In an email to the college community Tuesday, Smith said the representatives were “conducting some of their own fact-finding in the matter of inaccurate College of Law class of 2014 profile data that were posted, removed and subsequently corrected.”
According to Wednesday’s press release, the investigation will continue to determine the causes of the inaccurate data. After the investigation is complete, a final report will be issued, including recommendations for prevention of an issue like this in the future.
“The University will take action and implement new processes to ensure that all future data are beyond reproach,” the press release said. “It has already been determined that one of those changes will be to enlist an independent monitor to verify the data in future years.”
Hardy pointed out that the University has been working closely with the ABA since it self-reported the error earlier this month.
“A disclosure like this is disappointing, embarrassing, we apologize for the situation,” he said. “As small as the discrepancies may appear … we understand that they are significant and any discrepancy has to be avoided to have integrity in the information we provide.”
