School Data Scrutiny Intensifies

After being criticized by two U.S. senators, the ABA appears to be taking action on the controversy over job placement data released by law schools. The National Law Journal reports this week that the ABA is drafting a new rule that would levy punishments against law schools for giving inaccurate data. The past several months have seen a flurry of articles about students angry over misrepresentations and the admissions by two law schools – at Villanova and University of Illinois – that admitted to falsifying numbers. The ABA had already been expanding the type of job data it will collect directly to improve oversight, as noted in the ABA Journal story on this topic.

At least 15 class actions have been filed against law schools around the country, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian, which also has a helpful article on the issue. The article states that Penn Law "is already ahead of the curve" by publishing detailed job data online, including distinguishing between full and part time jobs.