University of LaVerne Law School

This Southern California brick and mortar University has run a resident law school for decades. Some years ago, the school "upgraded" its program from its comfortable CalBar accreditation to ABA approval. Its tuition skyrocketed accordingly. The school eventually got into trouble for poor Bar Exam performance and has apparently thrown in the ABA towel and will "transition" back to the CalBar school it's always been in our hearts. https://law.laverne.edu/accreditation/ I wish them luck but they'd better cut their tuition by at least half if they hope to succed.

 

Thomas Jefferson Law is following the same path: https://www.tjsl.edu/admissions/jd-admissions I offer them the same advice.

 

Thomas Jefferson's case is especially interesting to me. The school doesn't seem to have, and so far as I know, never has had, regional accreditation. I made this point at one time that their LL.M. and J.S.D degrees were technically unaccredited since the ABA's approval extends only to J.D programs. Well, with no federally recognized accreditation, will TJSL students have access to federal student loans?

 

Ah! Should have read more carefully. The school is a WASC candidate.

 

TJLS's regional accreditation, if granted, will extend to the school's LL.M. and J.S.D. programs. Possibly of some interest to DI members, the J.S.D is online as are some of the LL.M. programs, The J.S.D., though, runs $100,000 for a graduate law degree from a non-ABA approved school. I don't imagine many U.S. attorneys would be interested.

 

Update: Both TJ and LaVern now charge about $80,000 total tuition for their J.D. programs. That seems to be about par for the regionally accredited CalBar schools. About half of what the degree would cost in-state at any of the UC system schools. It's still an awful lot of money for a law degree but that's apparently what the market will bear.

 

John F. Kennedy University College of Law now has their JD fully online:
https://www.jfku.edu/program/juris-doctor-2/
This is RA, CalBar, and I think also in the vicinity of about $80,000. I believe they are closing the university, and the law school will be affiliated with Northcentral U. starting Jan. 2021.

 

There is a cheaper alternative. Cal Northern School of Law. It's another R/A CalBar school. Tuition is $578.00 per semester hour. The J.D. requires 84 hours so total tuition runs a bit under $50,000.

 

I imagine it must be a bit of a bummer when your non-profit school is acquired by a for-profit.

I mean, if you choose a for-profit school then by all means, do what you do. But you go out, you pick a nice little non-profit and then, bam, your school's reputation ends up taking a somewhat immediate and unfortunate hit.

Kind of reminds me of that whole Touro thing.

 

That's not what's happening here: Northcentral University is nonprofit. NCU was for-profit from its 1996 founding until circa 2019. NCU is now a nonprofit component of the National University System, whose flagship is National University in San Diego.

 

Thank you for reminding me about that. I had forgotten.

However, let's not pretend that formerly for-profit schools have a rehabilitated image. The issue very clearly goes deeper than corporate structure when it comes to people hating on for-profits. SNHU has been non-profit for decades and they still catch flak for being perceived as a for-profit.

Then again, I guess when you have a non-ABA/RA JD you're probably used to negative opinions about your degree.

 

I think among ordinary people. Lots of folks think SNHU is for-profit. And Keiser, for example, had to fight vigorously just to get their wikipedia to accurately reflect that they were non-profit (check out the talk page, it's hilarious). There were news articles about how it was all a sham and the family was making money hand over fist. Shuffling a few forms just doesn't change public opinion.

Do you know what used to happen whenever I googled NCU? I'd get a sponsored ad from SNHU asking me why I was messing around with a for-profit when I could choose an affordable (ha) non-profit like them.

 

JFKU was part of the National University System and will be absorbed by other schools in it. Psychology programs will go to NU and the law program will go to Northcenteral U. A couple of minor undergraduate programs will be eliminated.

https://www.danvillesanramon.com/news/2020/05/01/jfk-university-in-contra-costa-county-closing-for-good-in-december

 

This is different. NCU didn't just go not-for-profit. It was absorbed into an existing not-for-profit system.

 

Of course it's different. I never said it wasn't different. My point is that NCU was for-profit and was known to be such for a while. If someone had a bias against NCU for being for-profit it likely doesn't just wash away because they either go non-profit or are absorbed by a non-profit.

The Kaplan acquisition was undoubtedly favorable to Kaplan students but it wasn't without controversy on Purdue's part. That will pass because Purdue has such a solid name. NU doesn't enjoy as prominent a place in the landscape of higher ed.

 

JFKU Law "taught out" the law students stranded by the very sudden collapse and closure of the erstwhile New College of California School of Law. I've often wondered how well that worked from a clash of cultures standpoint. NCCSoL was an extreme, not to say militant, Left Wing establishment. I don't think JFKU Law exactly fits that definition.