U. of Illinois Suspends Law-School Official Pending Investigation of Erroneous Student Data

The University of Illinois has placed an assistant dean of its College of Law on administrative leave after discovering that inaccurate data about the grades and test scores of new law students had been posted on its Web site, according to The News-Gazette, a newspaper serving the Urbana-Champaign area. The erroneous information was not reported to the American Bar Association, Tom Hardy, a university spokesman, said, but it may have been distributed in other places. He did not identify the official put on leave. The university has withdrawn the inaccurate data, he said, and is “investigating this thoroughly, swiftly and immediately.”

Following incidents at Dickinson State University and Iona College, Illinois is the third institution since early August to acknowledge having reported inaccurate student data. Villanova University disclosed in February that unidentified employees of its law school had knowingly reported inaccurate, and presumably inflated, grade-point averages and admission-test scores for students to the American Bar Association. Last month the bar association censured Villanova but did not pull its accreditation over the scandal.