The readiness checklist.

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Chapter 1 & 2 — Approval basics and governance

• Council reporting log. A complete, dated log of everything reported to the Council (Annual Questionnaires, self-studies, correspondence) — complete, accurate, and not misleading (Standard 104).
• Acquiescence record. Every substantive change (mergers, new locations, new programs) has its prior acquiescence request and the Council's action on file (Standard 105).
• Governance authority. Bylaws and organizational charts show who governs what — and the dean's authority and resources are documented (Standards 201, 203).
• Academic freedom policy. Written policy protecting faculty, student, and staff expression (Standard 208), with records of how it is communicated — and awareness of interpretations 208-1 through 208-6.

Chapter 3 — Program of legal education

• Published learning outcomes. Program and course learning outcomes are established, published, and faculty-adopted (revised Standard 302).
• Outcome-to-curriculum map. A map links each program outcome to the courses that teach it and the assessments that measure it — not a course list, a real map.
• Multi-section consistency. Required courses taught in multiple sections show consistent learning outcomes across sections (revised Standard 302).
• Required curriculum elements. Professional-responsibility course, at least six credit hours of experiential learning per graduate, rigorous upper-level writing, and pro bono opportunities (Standards 303/304).
• Experiential course documentation. Simulation, clinic, and field-placement courses have documented hours, supervision, and reflection components (Standard 304).
• Credit-hour accounting. Credit hours determined and recorded by course and delivery mode, with out-of-class work expectations documented — including distance and accelerated formats (Standard 310).
• Distance-education limits. Credit hours by delivery mode tracked against the current Standard 306 text; regular-and-substantive interaction documented.
• Formative assessment in early courses. Every course in the first one-third of JD credit hours includes at least one formative assessment with feedback — and academic support is documented as available (revised Standard 314).
• Assessment instruments tied to outcomes. Each 302 outcome has an assessment instrument designed to measure it — not just grades.
• Closing the loop. Assessment results feed program changes, with committee minutes showing data → discussion → decision → intervention → reassessment (Standard 315).
• Five-year outcomes review. Programmatic learning outcomes are on a documented review cycle of at least every five years (revised Standard 315).
• Bar-passage narrative. First-time and ultimate (two-year) passage separated, cohorts and denominators stated, variance analyzed, improvement actions documented (Standard 316).

Chapter 4 — The faculty

• Faculty roster and qualifications. Current roster with qualifications, teaching loads, and coverage analysis (Standards 401/402).
• The 80% rule. Documentation that full-time faculty teach at least 80% of the credit hours in the first one-third of each student's coursework (revised Standard 403).
• Teaching-effectiveness participation. Records of full-time faculty participation in effective-teaching activities at least every three years (revised Standard 403).
• Professional environment. Appointment, promotion, and tenure/contract policies with governance-participation records — policies and records, not policies alone (Standard 405).

Chapter 5 — Admissions and student services

• Sound admissions policies. Published selection criteria actually followed; non-transfer attrition tracked against the Interpretation 501-3 presumption trigger (Standard 501).
• Standard 509 disclosures current. Every required disclosure (admissions, bar passage, employment, costs) published on the public website in the Council's form — with a named owner who verifies currency (Standard 509).
• Financial aid and debt counseling. Student-loan counseling program documented with timing and participation (Standard 507).
• Student complaint policy. Complaint policy with intake, tracking, and resolution records (Standard 510).
• Identity verification. Student identity verification procedures documented, including for distance education (Standard 511).

Chapters 6 & 7 — Library, facilities, technology

• Library support. Staffing matched to program schedules (evening/weekend/distance), collection development policy, qualified full-time director (Chapter 6).
• Facilities and technology. Facilities inventory and technology resources adequate to the program, with support coverage for all delivery modes (Chapter 7).

The self-study itself

• Evidence file organized by standard. Every self-study sentence has a document behind it, organized standard by standard with version control — a site team could ask “show me” on any line.

Your gap list

Unchecked items, in checklist order — take this back to your team as the workplan seed.