Court Rejects Unusual Admissions Suit Against NYU

A New York States appeals court has ruled that New York University did not violate the terms of an agreement resolving a tenure dispute when it admitted the son of a former faculty member to a two-year program and not to the four-year program into which he wanted to enroll. Under the agreement, the university agreed to give the former faculty member's children the same privileges in admissions that faculty members receive. While the court found some flaws in the way the university carried out the obligations, the ruling found that, in the end, the university did meet the requirements of the contract. The problem for the plaintiff in the case was that NYU's courtesies for faculty members amount to a second read of rejected applications and consideration for the two-year program, but don't provide for admission of applicants who are judged to lack the overall qualities of admitted students. The court said that the university cited legitimate reasons for rejecting the son from the four-year program and allowing the case to go to trial would have invited courts to second guess academic decisions. The decision was published by Leagle.com.