University of Massachusetts School of Law
| University of Massachusetts School of Law | |
|---|---|
| Established | 2010 |
| Type | Public |
| Location | North Dartmouth, Massachusetts, USA |
| Website | http://law.umassd.edu/ |
The University of Massachusetts School of Law is a public law school established in 2010 and located in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. It is the successor to Southern New England School of Law, a private law school that donated its campus and its assets to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
Under the plan, UMass-Dartmouth acquired Southern New England School of Law, and plans to expand the school from its current size of 235 students to 559 by 2017. On October 5, 2009, Southern New England School of Law offered to donate real estate, facility, technology and library assets to UMass-Dartmouth for the purpose of creating a public law program in Massachusetts. These assets have an estimated value of more than $22 million and would be the second largest donation in the 146-year history of the UMass system.[1] The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees approved the plan on December 9, 2009, and the Commonwealth's Board of Higher Education did likewise on February 2, 2010.[2]
The plan was first proposed in early 2004 to establish a law school in the UMass system, as well as the first public law school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. If approved, the School would be only the third public law school in New England. The Trustees of the University of Massachusetts voted in December 2004 to purchase the Southern New England School of Law and operate it as the only public law school in the state. In early 2005, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education voted against the merger as fiscally unsound.
On February 2, 2010, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education unanimously voted to adopt the merger of SNESL and UMass-Dartmouth. The first class will matriculate August 2010. The law school is not accredited by the American Bar Association, meaning its graduates are limited in where they may sit for the bar exam.
The school welcomed its first incoming class, scheduled to begin August 23, 2010.[3]
The law school is currently seeking ABA Accreditation and will be informed of the ABA's decision in May 2012. On the July 2011 Bar Exam, 21 out of 27 students passed on the first time, rendering a 75.9% pass rate. [4]
Finally, UMassseeks to be the first public law school in Massachusetts to be accredited by the American Bar Association. [5]
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- Southern New England School of Law, the predecessor institution
[edit] External links
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