The Aspen Advisor Week in Review for June 29, 2018
Law school applications are up thanks to the “Trump Bump” which means law schools have a larger pool of applicants and can be more selective. This is leading to increased competition. As usual, students need strong academic credentials but schools are also looking at work experience and personal statements to help distinguish between applicants. For more insights and to learn which law schools are the most selective, check out, “10 Law Schools With the Lowest Acceptance Rates.” Can you guess the top 10?
Even with an increase in applications, it’s not enough to offset the financial struggles some institutions are experiencing. One such school, Vermont School of Law, has announced shifting tenured professors over to untenured status in order to balance the budget. This is extremely controversial as you can see in the “Restructuring Tenure Away” article and the comments that follow.
These are not the fireworks I was expecting this week…
Nicole
Bar Prep
4 Signs You Should Postpone Taking the Bar Exam
If you’ve accumulated a backlog of work, now is the time to determine whether you can catch up or if it is too late
A Breakdown of California Bar Exam Results by Law School (February 2018)
Which in-state law schools did the best on the test, and which schools did the worst?
Legal Education
Restructuring Tenure Away
More than a dozen faculty at Vermont Law School will lose tenure this year as the institution struggles to level its budget.
Valparaiso Law School May Move to Tennessee
Middle Tennessee State University has received a nonbinding letter of intent from Valparaiso Law School, a part of Valparaiso University in northwest Indiana, to transfer to Murfreesboro, the Daily News Journal reported.
10 Law Schools With the Lowest Acceptance Rates
Each of these law schools rejected more than 75 percent of J.D. applicants in fall 2017.
Law Schools Should Ask Applicants How They Will Pay for Their Law School Expenses
Perhaps disclaimers should be placed in law school applications about the burdens and consequences of student loans.
LSAT Provides 12 Different Gender Identity Options, Including ‘Genderqueer,’ ‘Unsure’ and ‘Demigender’
Students, graduates and others preparing to take the LSAT, or Law School Admission Test, are given 12 different gender identity options to choose from as they create an account with the Law School Admissions Council, which administers the famous exam.
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law launches Tech Lab, Offers Courses on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence
Beginning this school year, the center -- dubbed the C|M|LAW Tech Lab -- will launch the only law-school based interdisciplinary Cybersecurity and Data Privacy certificate, and a new C|M|LAW Tech certificate.
The Most Important Chart in the Legal Industry, and it has Nothing to do with the Law
You're probably not going to be making $190K when you graduate.
Other Educational News
Whose Responsibility is it? The Role of Faculty in Student Success
Faculty’s role in the success of students is critical to the vitality of an institution for all students, and even more so for institutions that serve a large minority population.
The Aspen Advisor Week in Review is a collection of interesting articles from the past week that pertain to Legal Education. Some may be especially relevant to law professors and others to law students. Many stories focus on the pedagogical, technical, and financial innovation occurring in law schools today. We hope that these articles inspire you.
Nicole Pinard is the Executive Director of Market Development for the Legal Education division of Wolters Kluwer Legal and Regulatory Solutions U.S.