1. ABA Site Evaluation Workshop October 15, 2016 Ed Butterfoss
AFTER THE VISIT
ABA Site Evaluation Workshop
October 15, 2016
Ed Butterfoss

2. The Big Picture: Post-visit Steps
COMPLETE THE SITE REPORT!
Internal Managing Director’s Office Review
School’s Response to Site Report
Accreditation Committee Action [Decision Letter]
School’s Response to Decision Letter
Surveys!

3. Next steps for the School
Respond to Site Report
Receive Accreditation Committee Decision Letter
Respond to Accreditation Committee Decision Letter (more later)

4. Next Steps for the Site Team Members: Complete the Site Report
BT: Drafts in 4-6 weeks
AT: Drafts in 2 weeks?

5. Complete The Site Report
Goal: Provide Accreditation Committee all facts necessary to determine compliance with the Standards.
It’s the Template, Stupid! (Format memo? What format memo?)
Answer the questions.
Provide facts!
Do not draw conclusions re: compliance with the Standards.

6. Complete The Site Report
The Template is your friend!
90 questions that correspond to the 90 questions the School answered in the SEQ.
For example, the source of information to answer Question 25 of the Template is Question 25 of the SEQ.

7. Complete The Site Report
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS: STYLE POINTS!
Font type and size, capitalization (Law School, University) and punctuation (Oxford comma) conventions
Headings, paragraphs, indents
The questions are all in bold (keep the questions!).
The responses should not be in bold so they stand out.

8. Complete The Site Report
More instructions—basic but important:
Respond to each question in the template. If a question is not applicable, please say “Not applicable.”
If a question has subsections, respond to each subsection separately.
Do not remove the questions from the template.
Only use cross references to other responses in the report if completely appropriate

9. Complete The Site Report
More instructions: The Substance:
Don’t just copy information – confirm, analyze and put in context.
Don’t cut and paste; cut, paste, and edit!!!
“our students” “we”
Include (and verify) all required charts.
Update with any new current information.

10. Complete The Site Report
Report facts in clear, precise, declarative sentences.
Avoid praise or criticism (Adjectives are overrated!)
Do not include comparisons to other schools (e.g. “library spending is well above the median for similarly situated schools”) or references to rankings.
Do not provide opinions or conclusions as to compliance.
No salary information (including stipend amounts)

11. Complete The Site Report
What if I forgot something or need more info?
Confirm with your chair that it is okay to contact individual(s) at the school
the chair may have arranged a central contact

12. Schools: Responding To The Site Report
Important opportunity. Don’t waste it.
Consider issues raised at exit interview.
Review site report carefully to identify inaccurate or incomplete reporting of Standards matters.
Identify post-visit program modifications, bar results, faculty recruitment, recent admissions data, etc.
Consider whether to pro-actively address areas of apparent non-compliance.
Organize the response to coordinate with the site report.

13. ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The End Game
ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
Committee issues decision (except on applications for provisional or full approval when make recommendations to Council).
Decision letters contain Findings of Fact, followed by Conclusions and Response Requested.

14. ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE ACTION
The End Game
ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE ACTION
Possible Conclusions:
Rule 12(a)(3): reason to believe school is not in compliance
Rule 12(a)(2) [RFI]: need information to determine compliance
Rule 13(b) [Call Attention]: concern that circumstances may lead to non-compliance if not given attention (no response necessary)
Rule 12(a)(4): school is not in compliance (more later!)

15. The End Game 13(b) [The soft one!]:
In accordance with Rule 13(b), although requiring no response, the Committee calls the Law School’s attention to the following Standards:

16. The End Game 12(a)(3) and 12(a)(2):
In accordance with Rule 12(a)(3), the Committee concludes that it has reason to believe that the Law School has not demonstrated that it is in compliance with the following Standards . . .
In accordance with Rule 12(a)(2), the Committee requests additional information to enable it to determine the Law School’s compliance with the following Standards . . .

17. The End Game 12(a)(3) and 12(a)(2) Different rules—same effect:
The Committee requests that the President and Dean of the Law School submit a report by March 1, 2016 with all relevant information necessary to demonstrate compliance with the Standards noted in Conclusions (1) and (2) above. Specifically, the Committee requests that the Law School provide information to demonstrate that . . .

18. The End Game
BUT, 12(a)(2) and 12(a)(3) also contain a warning about 12(a)(4) [The big one!]:
Upon review of the information provided by the Law School in response (to the 12(a)(3) and/or 12(a)(2) conclusions). . . the Committee may, in accordance with Rule 12(a)(4), determine that the Law School is not in compliance with the Standards and proceed pursuant to Rule 14 [require compliance; appear at a hearing]

19. The End Game 12(a)(4) [The big one!]:
Based on the information provided, and in accordance with Rule 12(a)(4), the Committee concludes that the Law School is not in compliance with the following Standards:

20. Not in compliance!!! Now what???
Rule 12(a)(4): “two-step” process
Committee requires the law school to bring itself into compliance and submit information to demonstrate compliance; and
Committee will direct the law school to appear at a hearing to determine whether to impose sanctions for non-compliance.
Hearing is canceled if the written response demonstrates compliance.

21. Still not in compliance?
CAUTION!
School has two years from the date of the initial 12(a)(4) conclusion to come demonstrate compliance
Sanctions and process for imposing them are in Rules 16 & 17; sanctions include:
Direct specific remedial action
Probation
Withdrawal of provisional or full approval

22. RESPONDING TO ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE ACTION
Read the Standards and Interpretations cited by the Committee and the Findings of Fact cited in support of those Conclusions.
Pay attention to the specific Response Requested and provide the information that Committee requests.
Feel free to correct errors if Committee got it wrong.
Respect Committee’s deadline for submission of response.

23. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS
Confidentiality: All materials/information must be kept confidential.
Rule 51: Law school may disclose part/all of site report on notice to Managing Director, who may disclose other parts/entire report.
Rule 52: Law school may disclose entire decision or recommendation of Committee or Council on notice to Managing Director, who may correct inaccurate or misleading info and release part/all of site report.
Retention/destruction: After Committee issues its letter and in a secure manner.
Evaluation Process: Evaluation made of Site Team members and chairs.