Employee Behavior Puts Villanova Law School Back in the News

If there was any question about how the behavior of individual employees can impact the reputation of an entire organization, one needs look no further than Villanova University School of Law, the well reputed Catholic institution founded in 1842 and located in an affluent Philadelphia suburb.

A year and a half after then Dean Mark Sargent left Villanova Law School when his name surfaced in a Philadelphia police investigation of a prostitution ring, the prestigious law school is back in the headlines with a new scandal.

This time Villanova Law School is in the news because of unethical decisions made by parties within the Law School where inaccurate admissions data - including GPA and LSAT scores - were knowingly reported to the American Bar Association. Dean John Gotanda of Villanova Law School found out about the discrepancies on January 2o, just three weeks after walking into the Dean's office. Subsequent investigations and audit revealed that submission of incorrect data was done with full knowledge of staff. Although no one has been named publicly, Gotanda states that those responsible will be held accountable.

Although more details are yet to be revealed about the situation at Villanova Law School, one has to wonder about what would drive employees in the workplace to fabricate this kind of information?

In departments like admissions offices that are driven by numbers, could the pressure to meet targets, especially in a down economy, make employees more likely to falsify numbers hoping not to get caught?

Would an organization like Villanova Law School or any other organization bear any liability for employees feeling pressured to make targets?

Although it has not been shown that anyone at Villanova Law School was pressured, it is an issue that this organization and others with employees who go overboard, must confront.

In the case of Villanova Law School, it appears Dean Gotanda has moved quickly to have the organization act responsibly by requesting an independent audit, reconfiguring data reporting processes and ultimately planning to hold responsible parties accountable.

All this will go a long way to minimizing the damage to Villanova Law School's reputation.