INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION
- The certification process for law schools, FIPC, State Boards of Law Examiners, medical/veterinary school, etc., is a two-step process at Stanford. The Dean of Student Affairs has designated the Office of Judicial Affairs to handle the first step, to respond to questions about disciplinary records, and the Office of the University Registrar to handle to second step, to respond to academically-related questions.
- Certification processing may require 10 business days.
- Each certification form should be accompanied by a stamped, pre-addressed envelope to each individual entity.
- After processing, the forms are mailed directly to the entity – NOT to students.
- Please include your Stanford ID number, a phone number and/or an e-mail address where you can be reached, if necessary.
- For faster delivery by the U.S. Postal Service, the recipient entity’s address should be typed rather than handwritten, and should include the 9-digit ZIP code.
- You should submit your forms to the Judicial Affairs Office at least one month before recipient entity’s deadline. Please remember that the University is closed the last two weeks of December.
- We will accept forms submitted after that time, and will do our best to process them in a timely manner, but we cannot assure you that we can meet the requisite deadlines of the entities to which you are applying. Priority will be given to those students who timely submit, and in the order received.
- Certification forms should be sent or delivered to:
ATTN: Certification Official
Office of Judicial Affairs
Stanford University
Tresidder Memorial Union, Suite 9
459 Lagunita Dr.
Stanford, CA 94305-3010
FAQs
Q: What is the name of the Dean of Students?
A: The name of the Dean of Students is Chris Griffith.
Q: Do I need to meet with the Dean of Student Affairs or any other University administrator in order to get my certification form processed?
A: No, there is no need to meet with the Dean or any other administrator.
Q: What other forms/materials do I need to submit with the certification form?
A: In addition to the stamped, pre-addressed envelope to the school/entity, you may wish to enclose a stamped, self-addressed postcard that Stanford can return to you after your forms have been processed and sent to the requested recipients, and a stamped, self-addressed postcard for each entity to mail to you to confirm receipt of your certification form.
Q: Will Stanford accept a faxed or e-mailed certification form?
A: No. Stanford requires an original signature, and therefore will not accept faxed or e-mailed certification forms.
Q: Will Stanford fax the forms to the school for me?
A: No. Most institutions will not accept faxed or e-mailed copies of certification forms for the same reason Stanford does not accept them.
Q: How will my forms be mailed to the institutions?
A: You may include a stamped, pre-addressed regular business-sized envelope for each form to be sent via the U.S. Postal Service. If using UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS Express or Priority Mail services, please include correct postage or a pre-paid air-bill. NOTE: Stanford does not accept USPS Certified Mail, and does not pay for postage.
Q: Is there a certification form processing fee?
A: No, Stanford does not charge for processing certification forms.
Q: If I have a disciplinary and/or academic probation record at Stanford, what happens after the Judicial Affairs Office and/or Registrar’s Office checks the affirmative boxes on the certification forms?
A: For any affirmative responses to disciplinary questions, the Judicial Affairs Office must provide a letter of explanation to accompany the form. For affirmative responses to academic standing questions, the Registrar’s Office will provide a copy of Stanford’s academic standing policy (http://registrar.stanford.edu). The copy will note which terms you were on academic probation, provisional registration, and/or suspension; no further explanatory statement will be provided.
Q: Will I have any input into the letter of explanation regarding my disciplinary record?
A: Yes. The Judicial Affairs Office will draft a response, then try to review it with you before sending it with the certification form to the recipient entity. It is very important for you to include your telephone number and/or e-mail address when sending the certification form to this Office. )
Q: Will I have any input into the information regarding my academic standing record?
A. No. The Registrar’s Office is unable to provide a personal letter regarding your academic standing record. You may have an opportunity to provide the recipient entity with a supplementary explanation of the circumstances that led to your academic difficulties, but the Registrar’s Office is unable to confirm or refute the veracity of such statements.
Q: If no Dean’s Certification Form is provided by the school/entity to which I am applying, but some type of disciplinary clearance is required, what should I do?
A: Send a request for a clearance letter to the Office of Judicial Affairs. Be sure to include with your request a stamped, pre-addressed envelope to the school/entity requiring the clearance, the instructions and/or a copy of the request from the school/entity, its name, and your contact information.
Q: Does Stanford provide a student’s GPA and class rank to other schools?
A: No. Under no circumstances will a student’s GPA be released to third parties/with the certification forms. Stanford calculates a GPA for internal academic standing purposes only. Class rank is not calculated for any purpose.
Q: Does either the Judicial Affairs Office or the Registrar’s Office retain a copy of the certification forms they process?
A: No.
Q: The institution/entity to which I am applying claims that it did not receive my certification form. What should I do?
A: As noted above, you may wish to include a stamped, self-addressed postcard for each school/entity to return to you confirming receipt. Remember that often there are significant delays in admissions office processing of forms. You should contact each individual school/entity to verify that they have (or have not) received your forms before contacting Stanford again. It is very important that you allow sufficient time for processing AND mailing. Neither the Judicial Affairs Office nor the Registrar’s Office will be responsible for delays or misdirection in mailing caused by the U.S. Postal Service or other mailing services.
Q: If I want to check the status of my certification forms, whom do I contact?
A: Please allow 30 business days after submitting your request for certification before contacting Stanford. The Judicial Affairs Office telephone number is (650) 725-2485. The Registrar’s Office telephone number is (650) 723-2041. Please provide your de your name, telephone number and/or e-mail address when making inquiries
