Admission Innovation Project
Admission Innovation Project supports law schools in testing new first-year admission approaches to understand how deemphasizing standardized tests affects entering-class composition and performance.
Funder: AccessLex Institute
Due Dates: Rolling (LOIs accepted until all support slots are awarded)
Funding Amounts: Support and funding determined during study design; up to 24 months; up to three projects
Summary: Supports law schools in testing novel first-year admission approaches to understand the effects of deemphasizing standardized tests.
Key Information: Only AccessLex member law schools are eligible; projects must address applicants with historically lower standardized-test performance.
Description
The Admission Innovation Project (AIP), run by AccessLex Institute, supports law schools in implementing and assessing novel approaches to selecting first-year students. Its central goal is to build knowledge about the effects of deemphasizing standardized tests, including the GRE and LSAT, on law school admission. Projects must focus at least partly on identifying and admitting deserving applicants with a history of lower performance on standardized tests.
Participating law schools work closely with AccessLex researchers to develop rigorous empirical studies of how new admission approaches affect entering-class composition and performance. Projects linking admission practices to relevant student outcomes, such as first-year grades, are encouraged. Simulations of the effects of novel admission approaches are also considered. Applicants may propose a well-formed idea that is not yet fully developed.
