In an effort to boost enrollment and make tuition more affordable, Wayne State University’s Law School, located in Detroit, Michigan, will freeze their tuition and offer every incoming student a scholarship. In total, the tuition freeze and the additional scholarships will create about a 14 percent tuition cut for all incoming students. The tuition cut will keep the price tag at about $28,138 through at least the 2015-2016 school year.

Law school Dean Jocelyn Benson told the Free Press in an exclusive interview:

For us, it is really important to ensure that everyone has access to quality legal education. Not only do we want to make sure everyone has access to legal education, but also help with the rising student debt.

In addition to the tuition freeze, the school will offer about $1 million a year in new scholarships for current students, as well as a minimum scholarship of $4,000 a year to all incoming students. These scholarships will be awarded both by merit and by need. According to Benson, the scholarships are being funded by private donations from alumni and other supporters.

Along with increasing affordability, this tuition cut is also in response to Wayne State Law’s declining enrollment, a fate that many law schools are facing these days. This year, they saw their enrollment drop from 484 students down to 419. Hopefully this strategy will work in the way it has for law schools such as the University of Arizona Law and Penn State Law. These institutions were set to boost their first-year class sizes by 22% to 52% this fall compared with 2013 according to an analysis done by The Wall Street Journal.

Benson has also shared that the goals for lowering tuition go beyond simply increasing enrollment and affordability. She said:

Creating value for students goes beyond affordability. Our location in the heart of Detroit during such a transformative time offers students access to hands-on legal experience in areas ranging from corporate law and entrepreneurship to public interest and civil rights that you cannot get at any other law school.

The goal is that with prices lower, students will not need to work full time while completing law school. This will give them the opportunity to do more internships and gain valuable hands-on experience in the legal field without the worry of a huge debt they need to pay off. Benson has stated: “we want them to make these decisions (about where to work after graduation) without concerns about how much they have to pay back”.

Eric Lloyd, a current junior in Wayne State’s undergraduate business program, likes the idea of a tuition freeze. While studying on campus last week, he said, “It’s so expensive to go to law school and if you go, you almost have to get a corporate job to pay off all that debt anything to hold down cost is good.” He is considering going to Wayne State Law after he graduates.

If this drastic change in cost is successful, Wayne State Law will likely see major enrollment increases in the coming years.

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Elon University School of Law, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, announced recently that it is revamping its legal program. In keeping with the school’s original vision to be a pioneering “law school with a difference,” the new program will be highly experimental, personalized, and professionally connected. These major changes to the program include a drastic tuition cut, reduced time needed to graduate, and a curriculum change that will provide students with more of a real-life legal experience. These changes are all designed to adapt to the fast-changing legal profession and will go into effect in the fall of 2015.

The first of these changes is a tuition cut. Elon Law is reducing tuition by $14,000, meaning that students will pay about $100,000 overall to attend law school. This is significantly less than the roughly $180,000 it costs to attend most top-tier law schools these days. In addition, Elon Law will also guarantee a fixed-tuition for each entering class, so you will never have to pay more even if tuition is increased while you’re a student.

The next component of the revamp is the adoption of a 7-trimester schedule. This means that instead of graduating after three years, students will be able to graduate in just 2.5. While this might not seem significant, graduating a half of a year early will save students money and allow them a head-start in the job market. Students who enter Elon Law next fall will graduate in December 2017 and will be able to take the bar exam in February.

In addition, there will also be major curricular changes designed to prepare students for real-world legal practice. According to Elon Law, they are the first law school in the country to require students to serve a full-time faculty-supervised residency during the academic year as opposed to during the summer. This gives Elon Law students an advantage because they do not need to fight for job placement during the highly-competitive summer months.

The first year will consist of an introductory program “focused on legal analysis, writing and communication, and leadership and professionalism.” The first year program also includes case-simulations run by skilled practicing attorneys. This is in addition to their nationally-competitive moot court and mock trial programs. Elon Law will also be incorporating experimental learning into their curriculum, which will account for over 20 percent of the program. This far exceeds the requirements that the ABA has set out for experimental learning.

Each student that attends Elon Law will also be assigned a four-person professional advising team, consisting of a faculty advisor, a working attorney mentor, an executive coach, and a career consultant. This four-person team is designed to make students as prepared and as knowledgeable as possible before they graduate. In particular, the career consultant will play a vital role in helping students secure post-graduation employment.

Many aspiring-lawyers today are choosing not to attend law school due to the extensive time and financial commitments. These major changes to Elon’s program are addressing these concerns and are adapting to the current needs of students. Hopefully their new program will be successful, and we will see more law schools following in Elon’s footsteps.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article cited total tuition as $115,000. Total tuition is roughly $100,000.

Brittany Alzfan

Brittany Alzfan is a student at the George Washington University majoring in Criminal Justice. She was a member of Law Street’s founding Law School Rankings team during the summer of 2014. Contact Brittany at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Despite declining law school enrollment statistics nationwide, one school is going against the grain and defying the norm. The University of Northern Texas, Dallas School of Law’s inaugural class is shockingly large for a brand new law school–there are roughly 80 full-time and 40 part-time students enrolled so far. UNT Dallas Law’s success in recruiting students is due to a great tactic: offering low tuition rates. The new law school’s accomplishment reflects its mission to provide a legal education at a low cost.

A core goal of the UNT Dallas College of Law is keeping tuition and student debt low for all students to the extent consistent with meeting its educational goals. The organized bar and legal educators agree that the cost of legal education poses concerns for the profession and for legal education. High costs and debt loads reduce access to legal education, are often spread unevenly in relation to financial need, and shrink the horizon of opportunity. The UNT Dallas College of Law has a unique opportunity to respond to these challenges. We will not do this by reducing quality or taking short cuts. Rather, we will keep tuition low by focusing on excellence in our educational mission and by not incurring costs that are not critical to that mission.

The law school boasts the lowest tuition costs in the state of Texas–$12,540 for in-state tuition, and $24,000 for out-of-state. See how these prices compare to other Texas law schools:

UNT Dallas Law is taking a whole new approach to the law school industry. Not only does UNT Dallas Law offer shockingly low tuition rates and grant need-based scholarships, but they also target a unique audience. Unlike most other law schools, UNT Dallas School of Law focuses on attracting the “nontraditional” law student–older students, often with families of their own, who are returning to get that legal degree they couldn’t afford right after college.

UNT Dallas Law aims to make every moment in law school a valuable learning experience. Students must complete extensive legal writing and research courses and practice foundation courses. Students are encouraged to select specialties in their upper-level curriculum such as family law, business association, and evidence. As part of the upper-level curriculum, students are encouraged to engage in practicums, externships, and clinics.

According to Dallas News, UNT Dallas Law seeks to train lawyers who will work in the public sector “to represent the middle class, small companies and other groups.” Last week I wrote about the need for legal public service in our country. UNT Dallas School of Law is doing an excellent job by pinpointing the lack of public service in the legal industry and encouraging its students to pursue careers in that field.

By working around the norms for tuition and focus in law school, UNT Dallas Law could actually make a mark on legal education practices. Other schools are also working to lower tuition, but their rates pale in comparison to those of UNT Dallas Law’s. Despite what Above the Law has to say about building yet another law school in our nation, we should give UNT Dallas Law a chance. By providing students with an affordable education in a field that is seriously lacking legal professionals, UNT Dallas Law is already ahead of the curve. Its location also puts it at a great advantage–cities with dense populations usually have a greater need for legal aid.

The institution may not yet be ABA accredited but that’s completely normal for new law schools. According to the ABA’s Law School Accreditation Process, institutions cannot apply until they have been operating for at least one full year; UNT Dallas Law is in the process of welcoming its first class ever. So, I say give UNT Dallas Law a chance–an affordable, practical legal education that targets the inadequate legal aid for those who can’t afford Ivy-leaguers may be just the remedy our nation needs.

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Natasha Paulmeno (@natashapaulmeno)

Featured image courtesy of [tylerhoff via Flickr]

Natasha Paulmeno

Natasha Paulmeno is an aspiring PR professional studying at the University of Maryland. She is learning to speak Spanish fluently through travel, music, and school. In her spare time she enjoys Bachata music, playing with her dog, and exploring social media trends. Contact Natasha at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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In 2013, the Pennsylvania State University Law School proposed splitting up its program into two separate, specialized schools–the Dickinson School of Law and Penn State Law. That plan has finally been approved by the American Bar Association and will be moving forward in 2015. Though the school’s law program had already been geographically divided between the State College and Carlisle, PA campuses, this change will establish two independently accredited law schools that are both still affiliated with Penn State.

After about a year of ABA review, the approval came with only a few, not-so-academic, suggestions. The ABA board actually offered construction and logistics advice, such as a suggestion to move the admissions office from the ground floor to the first floor, improving accessibility. In an interview last week, Interim Dean Gary Gildin remarked that he welcomed the constructive ideas from the ABA Board as an outside perspective that has had extensive experience with the creation of new schools.

The decision from the ABA was pretty unique. Unlike the accreditation of other new law schools, which typically includes a two-year probationary period, both of Penn State’s schools received “full and immediate” accreditation, according to Interim Dean Gildin. Back when Penn State originally chose to operate on two campuses, the ABA gave both accreditation. Therefore, the separation was not a very difficult process.

Both separately accredited schools will offer three-year J.D. and graduate law degree programs under The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University, and will draw on the unique location opportunities of each campus. What will be known as Penn State Law, located on the State College campus, will allow students to collaborate with the many different departments of Penn State’s liberal arts, science, education, nursing, and business schools. The Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle will retain its name but will use its proximity to Washington, D.C. and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center to focus on government and health care specialties.

Under Penn State’s old “one school, two campuses” theory, students were offered identical first-year curriculums at both campuses. In the following years, students had the option of continuing at their original campus or moving to the other in order to access different opportunities like special clinics or classes. While switching will become more difficult, the campuses will still be well connected. Penn State has long boasted how both campuses are connected by highly advanced communications technology. This has given them the ability to host audiovisual telecommunications between both locations; a characteristic that the interim deans have promised will stay the same even after the split.

This plan has seen little resistance from law societies, students, and faculty, despite the fact that each school will have a different dean and administration. According to my interview with the two interim deans, the catalyst for the split came from their appreciation of the rapidly changing legal market. According to Interim Dean James Houck, in recognition of rapidly declining admissions across the board, Penn State’s law program endeavored to “most effectively deliver what we have to offer students.” Dean Gildin explained that the separation of schools will be like a form of “home-rule.” Each one will have the opportunity to be more nimble, agile, and reactive.

It’s easy to see the merit in producing two more specialized schools that can easily adapt to the fast paced, constantly changing legal job market. Currently, there is just one administration, so any alterations or amendments must be checked and cleared between two different campuses. This “two schools” plan, which will begin in 2015, creates more independence for each program. And rather than being forced to find a academic middle ground between two schools, each program will be able to let its strengths shine.

This is yet another attempt among law schools across the nation to solve their waning enrollment statistics. While some schools like the Charleston School of Law are being bought out by corporate, for-profit, conglomerates like InfiLaw, others like Penn State are devising innovative alternatives. Not only is Penn State retaining its individuality in the face of a downturn in the law school market, but it is actually distinguishing itself in an industry that is definitely in need of such creative ingenuity.

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Erika Bethmann (@EBethmann) is a New Jersey native and a Washingtonian in the making. She is passionate about travel and international policy, and is expanding her knowledge of the world at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs. Contact Erika at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Penn State via Flickr]

Erika Bethmann

Erika Bethmann is a New Jersey native and a Washingtonian in the making. She is passionate about travel and international policy, and is expanding her knowledge of the world at George Washington University’s Elliot School of International Affairs. Contact Erika at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Law School Disruptor of the Week: Penn State’s Two Law Schools appeared first on Law Street.

As a student considering attending law school in a couple years, I can’t help but hope that the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law is starting a trend. The law school recently announced that they were slashing their out of state tuition by over 25 percent, lowering their yearly tuition from $38,841 to $29,000 for nonresident students. There are several reasons why this might become a trend, but the main one is that law school enrollment is down and many law schools are losing money. These schools have to respond to a changing market. And the University of Arizona is doing a truly laudable job with their response.

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia certainly thinks that shifts like Arizona’s will become a trend. Scalia, in his commencement address to William and Mary Law School graduates, bluntly dismissed any “law school in two years” concept.  According to Scalia, law is not a trade but a profession, and there is no way to learn all that needs to be learned in just two years. He thinks that a student must have a wide base of knowledge in the many types of law and requires three years of study. However, he also thinks that law schools are currently overvalued. The solution to Scalia, therefore, is for law schools to lower prices rather than offer two-year programs.

Scalia also has plans for how law schools will survive the loss in revenue. He thinks that there are too many law professors and that they get paid too much. Some law professors get paid twice as much as federal judges, despite a less intense workload. In Scalia’s eyes, it would be reasonable to pay law professors less and expect them to teach more.

So is Scalia right and is Arizona a part of the beginning of a trend for law school tuition decreases? It’s hard to imagine that they are not. Based on an Arizona Board of Regents report, Arizona’s law school is now 30 percent cheaper than the average cost of other law schools. Dean Marc Miller told The Arizona Daily Star that, “we’re responding to the market in changing times. It will have more students looking at us more seriously early on.” If the dean is correct, and saving over ten grand in tuition draws students to Arizona in high numbers, other schools will have to follow suit.

Arizona is not the only law school to lower its tuition recently. Roger Williams Law School, Brooklyn Law School, and Iowa Law School have all made similar moves. The cuts have ranged from 15 to 18 percent, although Arizona offered the highest cut in terms of percentage. If these schools experience an increase in applications and enrollment, all law schools, except perhaps the elite ones, will have to lower prices to compete.

As a potential law student, the two-year law degree is very tempting and if it was an option I think I would have to take it. I would imagine most law students would choose that route. It means one less year of school and saves you $30,000-$50,000. That being said, I understand Scalia’s argument and would not be disappointed if the two-year program never came to fruition, especially if costs go down. If Arizona did not reduce cost, but adopted a two year program, it would cost an out of state student $77,682. Under the new reduced cost plan, it will cost a student $87,000 for three years. That bill is still more than a hypothetical two-year program, but the overall savings might make it worth the third year, especially if it enhances your ability to be a lawyer and earn money.

The University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law staff did not comment as of press time.

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Matt DeWilde (@matt_dewilde25) is a member of the American University class of 2016 majoring in politics and considering going to law school. He loves writing about politics, reading, watching Netflix, and long walks on the beach. Contact Matt at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Light Brigading via Flickr]

Matt DeWilde

Matt DeWilde is a member of the American University class of 2016 majoring in politics and considering going to law school. He loves writing about politics, reading, watching Netflix, and long walks on the beach. Contact Matt at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

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