Dear Colleagues,

As we continue to review applications for admission for the Fall 2025 semester, we would like to remind you of the university policies regarding admissions confidentiality and third-party inquiries. Admission officers may discuss a student’s application only with the applicant, the applicant’s parents/legal guardian, spouse or school-appointed counselor. Other individuals, including university employees without admissions responsibilities, are not permitted to inquire about a student’s application with a university admission officer, and admission officers are prohibited from sharing information with third parties regarding a student’s application.

A university admission officer is considered anyone with admissions responsibility. This includes not only admissions staff in central admissions units such as the Office of Admission, but also faculty and staff within academic college and departmental offices responsible for reviewing and making decision recommendations for applicants. A firewall has been placed around faculty, administrators and admission staff with admission responsibility so that those without admission responsibility may not influence decisions.

Unsolicited letters of recommendation or emails of support or appeal are not accepted or considered in our processes. Please review this Summary of University of Illinois Admissions Firewall Practices for a complete list of inquiries that are and are not permitted, as well as examples of scenarios and appropriate responses.

At the graduate level, it is important to note that those with admission responsibility are allowed to accept information from an applicant’s recommenders in the form of formal letters, emails and phone communications; however, they may not discuss the applicant’s admission status with the recommender. If they are contacted about an applicant’s admission status by a recommender, they are to notify the recommender that while they may accept supporting information for the applicant’s file, they may not discuss the applicant’s admission status without expressed written permission from the applicant. Also at the graduate level, discussions with an applicant’s parent and/or spouse regarding the applicant’s status without the written permission from the applicant are discouraged.

Inappropriate activities or attempts to circumvent these policies should be reported to the Ethics Officer.

The university has outlined an admissions code of conduct for staff and faculty that perform admission duties and the university follows the ethical recruitment of students at all times. Violation of these policies may result in individual disciplinary action as well as action against the university itself in penalties that are monetary as well as impact our ability to recruit students.

Thank you for your assistance in protecting the integrity of our admissions process.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Kleeman

Director of Admission