Section 1. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law seeks to attract and admit applicants who have the ability to complete the program successfully, who have diverse backgrounds and experience, and who will make a positive contribution to the Law School and the University, the legal profession, and to the State of Arkansas.
The Law School will foster and maintain equality of opportunity in legal education without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender (including identity and expression), sexual orientation, age, veteran’s status, or disability.
The Law School is committed to providing full opportunities for the study of law and entry into the profession by members of underrepresented groups, particularly racial and ethnic minorities, and is committed to having a student body that is diverse with respect to gender, race and ethnicity.
Section 2. The Law School will enroll each academic year an entering class of approximately 140 applicants to its combined full and part-time divisions. Approximately 80% of the members of each entering class enrolled will be residents of Arkansas.
Section 3. Approximately 70% of the members of each class enrolled will be admitted from a pool of applicants determined either by a benchmark score on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) or a benchmark Prediction Index (index) based on the applicant’s LSAT score and undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) and calculated in accordance with Admissions Committee Rule I.B.1. Offers will be made to applicants in the pool with the goal of enrolling a class that is both academically qualified and broadly diverse.
In its review, the Committee will evaluate, in addition to the applicant’s LSAT score and index, all other factors relevant to predicting how successful the applicant will be in law school and thereafter:
- whether the applicant will make a positive contribution to the Law School and the University, to the legal profession, and to the State of Arkansas, and
- whether the applicant will contribute to a diverse student body that promotes cross-cultural understanding, helps break down racial and ethnic stereotypes, enables students to better understand persons of different races, ethnic groups and backgrounds, and prepares students for an increasingly diverse workforce and society.
In addition to attributes listed in Section 1, such factors include but are not limited to experience living in other regions of the United States or in other countries or cultures, disability, personal, cultural, social, economic or educational disadvantage, the existence and nature of work experience, military service, and participation in volunteer service activities.
Section 4. Applicants who are not granted admission under Section 3 will be given individual consideration by the Admissions Committee. In its review, the Committee will evaluate, in addition to the applicant’s LSAT score and index and the additional factors listed in Section 3, whether the applicant can in all likelihood successfully complete the course of study and pass the bar exam.
Section 5. The Law School may establish and operate a Conditional Admission Program (CAP). If the Admissions Committee concludes that an applicant does not meet the admissions standards of Sections 3 or 4, but the applicant’s record indicates that the applicant may be subject to some cultural, social, racial, ethnic, economic or educational disadvantage or disability, the Committee may admit the applicant to CAP. Applicants who successfully complete CAP will be admitted to the Law School for the academic year commencing in the calendar year in which the applicant completed CAP. The faculty of the Law School, by written policy, will determine the content of CAP and the requirements for successful completion.
Section 6. The Admissions Committee will consider and act upon applications for admission of transfer and visiting students.
Section 7. The Admissions Committee will not be influenced by expressions of interest in any applicant not relevant under this Policy. The law school shall not admit an applicant who does not appear capable of satisfactorily completing its program of legal education and being admitted to the bar.
Section 8. The Admissions Committee will, subject to faculty review, promulgate rules necessary to implement this Policy.
Revised December 10, 1998.
Revised April 13, 2006.
Revised December 12, 2016
Revised August 21, 2017
