For all the talk about making college affordable, and the legislation from Sacramento Republicans as well as Democrats to fight this issue, it does not look like these proposals will amount to much.
Check out what just happened to Whittier Law School in Costa Mesa.
The OC Register reports:
The Whittier College Board of Trustees has made the
surprise decision to discontinue the Whittier Law School, shocking and angering
law students and faculty at the Orange County campus.
surprise decision to discontinue the Whittier Law School, shocking and angering
law students and faculty at the Orange County campus.
I want you to understand how deeply frustrating and disturbing this is. Students are enrolled in classes, as either first, second, or third year students.
And the school is closing down on them, much like shutting the door at closing time or a bank, which then announces they have failed since they no longer have the money to back your checking and savings accounts.
Terrible!
Whittier College President Sharon Herzberger on Wednesday said that
campus leaders have spent several years looking for ways to keep the law school
going, including exploring a merger with another law school or finding another
entity to take it on.
campus leaders have spent several years looking for ways to keep the law school
going, including exploring a merger with another law school or finding another
entity to take it on.
Several years, but what came out of all that work? This law school is a private program, is it not? Where are the donors? Why didn't alumni step up to do something?
“Law schools have been having lots of problems for 10 years,”
Herzberger said. “We have tried a lot of things.”
Herzberger said. “We have tried a lot of things.”
Law schools nationwide have struggled with declines in enrollment and
income from tuition. Whittier Law School has also struggled with finding
long-term employment for graduates.
income from tuition. Whittier Law School has also struggled with finding
long-term employment for graduates.
OUCH!
Notice, however, that unlike UC and Cal State schools, which are struggling with the same problems as the ones listed above, they are not closing down. They just get more money and hire more administrative staff.
But officials with the law school itself described the decision by
their parent campus as “unwise, unwarranted and unfounded.”
their parent campus as “unwise, unwarranted and unfounded.”
![]("https://www.law.whittier.edu/images/uploads/contentPhotos/newwls.JPG")
“As is well known, the last few years have been extremely difficult for
law schools across the country,” law school faculty wrote in a statement.
“Whittier Law School felt those challenges keenly and we took significant steps
to address them.
law schools across the country,” law school faculty wrote in a statement.
“Whittier Law School felt those challenges keenly and we took significant steps
to address them.
“Sadly, our sponsoring institution opted to abandon the law school
rather than provide the time and resources needed to finish paving the path to
ongoing viability and success.”
rather than provide the time and resources needed to finish paving the path to
ongoing viability and success.”
It's about cutting costs, I suppose. But this is a serious economic problem, indeed.
Why are there fewer lawyers? I notice that this article has not mentioned tuition costs.
Bahareh Omrani, a third-year law student at the school, said students
were sent an email Tuesday night and told to attend an emergency meeting on
Wednesday morning, where two trustees broke the news of the closure to angry
students but answered no additional questions.
were sent an email Tuesday night and told to attend an emergency meeting on
Wednesday morning, where two trustees broke the news of the closure to angry
students but answered no additional questions.
“We literally have no answers,” Omrani said. “Everyone was so upset,
they walked out without giving us anything.”
they walked out without giving us anything.”
How about that?!
Omrani said the law school faculty were just as surprised as the
students. The sudden announcement left younger students unsure if they should
stay with the school, and graduating students, such as Omrani, worried about
the value of their diplomas.
students. The sudden announcement left younger students unsure if they should
stay with the school, and graduating students, such as Omrani, worried about
the value of their diplomas.
“We are all worried that when we graduate, we are going to have a
degree from a school that doesn’t exist,” Omrani said. “We are all trying to
figure out what to do.”
degree from a school that doesn’t exist,” Omrani said. “We are all trying to
figure out what to do.”
The lack of answers and sudden timing of the announcement has led to a
panic among students, said Margaret Rafter, a third-year student at the law
school.
panic among students, said Margaret Rafter, a third-year student at the law
school.
“They dropped a bomb on us a week before finals,” Rafter said. “People
were in tears.”
were in tears.”
The number of students admitted to the small campus – comprised of red
and light-brown buildings and a grass-lined quad at Harbor Boulevard and
Sunflower Avenue – has dropped over the past several years, from 1,579 students
admitted in 2013 to 934 in 2016.
and light-brown buildings and a grass-lined quad at Harbor Boulevard and
Sunflower Avenue – has dropped over the past several years, from 1,579 students
admitted in 2013 to 934 in 2016.
That is a massive plunge–at least six hundred!
The board’s decision doesn’t mean an immediate closure for the law
school, said Marc Stevens, spokesman for the law school.
school, said Marc Stevens, spokesman for the law school.
No more first-year students — 1L’s in legal school parlance — will be
accepted. But college officials — both at the law school campus and at the
larger university — said current students can complete their degrees.
accepted. But college officials — both at the law school campus and at the
larger university — said current students can complete their degrees.
OK. Thats good
“The law school will still honor its obligations to the people who are
still here,” Stevens said.
still here,” Stevens said.
Now that the final decision about the law school’s fate has been made,
Herzberger said campus leaders can turn their attention to crafting a plan to
help the current students graduate.
Herzberger said campus leaders can turn their attention to crafting a plan to
help the current students graduate.
They have to lay out plans?
They should have provided more information and breathing room to the student body by allowing the current enrollment of students to adjust and find another law school. How about allowing the current students to complete their studies and achieve their law degrees while refuse to enroll future students?
“They need to know that they are our top priority and the plan we
develop will keep them in mind,” Herzberger said.
develop will keep them in mind,” Herzberger said.
Originally founded in 1966 and merged with the larger Whittier campus
in 1974, Whittier Law School moved to its Costa Mesa campus in 1997 after
outgrowing its original campus in Los Angeles. Whittier College’s most
well-known undergraduate was Richard Nixon; his law degree was from Duke.
in 1974, Whittier Law School moved to its Costa Mesa campus in 1997 after
outgrowing its original campus in Los Angeles. Whittier College’s most
well-known undergraduate was Richard Nixon; his law degree was from Duke.
In recent years, many graduates of Whittier Law School have struggled
to find employment. An Orange County Register analysis in 2015 found that the
number of Whittier law school graduates who obtained full-time, long-term
employment was less than half the national average.
to find employment. An Orange County Register analysis in 2015 found that the
number of Whittier law school graduates who obtained full-time, long-term
employment was less than half the national average.
So, Whittier Law School was underperforming … the free market is working. If an institution does not provide the service it claims to provide, then it gets shut down. I wonder how the current enrollees feel about the diminishing return on their investment.
In 2016, 22 percent of the first-time takers of the California bar exam
from Whittier passed. The statewide average among law school campuses was 62 percent.
from Whittier passed. The statewide average among law school campuses was 62 percent.
![]("http://www.insidesources.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/bigstock-Graduate-Student-Loan-Debt-Cs-127900988.jpg")
22%?! That is incredibly low. Unreal.
Notice again that there was no mention of the tuition costs in this article.
Even if this law school had a stellar record of turning out trained Juris Doctor recipients who could pass the California Bar Exam with ease, could law students afford the tuition?
27. How much is tuition?
For the Fall 2015-16 academic year, Full-Time Tuition (12-15 units flat
rate) is $43,970 (excluding $400 GAF fee) and Part-Time tuition (8-10 units
flat rate) is $29,314 (excluding $400 GAF fee).
rate) is $43,970 (excluding $400 GAF fee) and Part-Time tuition (8-10 units
flat rate) is $29,314 (excluding $400 GAF fee).
Do you see that?! $40,000 for a law degree from a third rate university where the students have an abysmal passage rate?!
No wonder this law school is going down in flames.