Enhancements to OSCAR are here! Learn what's new in OSCAR Version 8.

All features were released on February 12, 2019, with no system downtime.

Version 8 Enhancements

• Provide a new alternate graduation date (AGD) option for registration of new applicants with 2 years of law school grades
  
• Allow applicants and law schools to save their searches and search for positions by state
• Allow non-faculty recommenders to decide if they want to grant law schools permission to upload their recommendation letters on their behalf
• Implement a policy change for automatically added letters of recommendation to now expire after 1 year
  

Learn more about the enhancements below.

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Alternate Graduation Date (AGD) Options for Applicants

Applicants now have the option to register for an OSCAR account with an Alternate Graduation Date. This option applies to students who have completed 2 years of law school but whose course of study is extended (e.g., joint-degree program, evening program, etc.).

The AGD process works as follows:

1. Applicants can select "Alternate Graduation Date" when completing the applicant registration form in OSCAR.
2. Law school administrators will receive a notification email requesting confirmation of the AGD designation.
3. Once the law school administrator approves the AGD request, the applicant will receive an email confirming the AGD account has been created. The AGD applicant can use OSCAR in the same manner as other applicants.

Notes:

Law school administrators can manage their email notification settings in OSCAR to control how often they receive AGD registration requests (immediately, daily, or weekly).

Law school administrators can view and sort AGD applicants in lists and reports to easily manage and support AGD students.

Judges and chambers staff can see the AGD designation when reviewing applicants of clerkship positions.

 

New Search Features for Applicants and Law School Administrators

In the advanced search, applicants and law school administrators can now:

• Save advanced searches with specific search criteria for later use
• Choose from a dropdown list of previously saved searches and run them again to avoid entering the same search criteria repeatedly
• Modify and delete saved search lists as needed
• Law school administrators can share saved searches with applicants via the batch options feature to assist their clerkship search process

In the basic search, applicants and law school administrators can now search for judges or staff attorneys by city AND state, rather than just city.

 

Opt-In/Opt-Out Feature for Non-Faculty Recommenders

This new feature allows non-faculty recommenders to decide if they want to grant law schools permission to upload their letters on their behalf for their applicants.

Recommenders affected by this new feature can go to My Account, then under Recommendation Settings, select "no" or "yes."

Note:  This feature only affects non-faculty recommenders not affiliated with a law school in OSCAR.  It does not affect faculty recommenders affiliated with a law school in OSCAR.

 

"Add Letters Automatically" Expiration Date for Recommenders

The existing "add letters automatically" feature allows recommendation letters to be automatically added to multiple applications by the same applicant. This feature, when used, now has a maximum expiration date of one year to ensure that judges and staff attorney offices do not receive out-of-date recommendation letters.

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Contact Us

Please contact the OSCAR Program Office with any questions Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., at 866-666-2120 or oscar-support@ao.uscourts.gov.