LSSSE Position Statement

Public Disclosure of Student Engagement Results

The Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) provides valid, reliable and usable information about the law school student experience. Law schools can use LSSSE data to assess their performance and as a tool to guide improvement efforts. We anticipate that some schools will make their LSSSE results available to the public (e.g., website, alumni magazine, press release). Several schools have indicated they intend to incorporate their LSSSE results in their accreditation reports. For this reason we wish to clarify LSSSE's position on public disclosure of student engagement data.

1. LSSSE encourages public disclosure of student engagement results in ways that serve to increase understanding of law school quality and that support efforts to improve law school teaching and student learning. Disclosing law school results from the LSSSE survey provides an opportunity to help educate the public about the value of student engagement as a new metric for defining and examining law school quality. LSSSE especially supports public reporting of student engagement results in ways that enable thoughtful, responsible comparisons while encouraging and celebrating institutional diversity.
2. Whether a participating law school makes public their student engagement results is up to the institution. Consistent with the LSSSE participation agreement, LSSSE does not make institutional results available to third parties. Law schools may do so if they wish as stated in the LSSSE Participation Agreement. While organizations and individuals are entitled to request LSSSE data from participating law schools, LSSSE is neutral as to whether institutions supply their results. Premature disclosure could inadvertently divert the focus away from improvement if the data are used in inappropriate or irresponsible ways.
3. LSSSE does not support the use of publicly disclosing student engagement results for the purpose of rankings. The LSSSE Advisory Board and LSSSE co-sponsors -- Association of American Law Schools and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching -- believe that reducing student engagement to a single indicator obscures complex dimensions of law school performance. Thus, rankings are inherently flawed as a tool for accountability and improvement, whatever the information on which they are based. Such comparisons become even more problematic in the case of law schools that differ in terms of mission and resources and that differ in terms of the profile of students.