By receiving provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association, the UNLV Boyd Law School can breathe a sigh of relief that its first graduating class will at least get a chance to take bar examinations.
The 2-year-old law school received provisional accreditation from the ABA this week and expects to graduate 81 students in May 2001.
Only graduates from accredited law schools can become licensed attorneys. Provisional accreditation allows students to take the bar exam in any state. So it was a gamble for the 130-plus students who decided to go to UNLV's law school during the past two years.
"Yes, they took a gamble, but they also assessed the quality of the faculty and program and concluded that we were a good, strong law school -- and they were right," the law school dean, Richard Morgan, said.
"The students are breathing a sigh of relief, and so am I."
In early June UNLV received a letter from the ABA's council of the section of legal accreditation recommending provisional accreditation. The final step in that approval was taken at the bar association's House of Delegates meeting in New York last week.
Shortly after receiving the letter of recommendation, Morgan traveled to Woodstock, Vt., to meet with the council and told the group that Boyd had made satisfactory progress in meeting all of the association's requirements.
During the accreditation team's site visit last November, team members were impressed by Boyd's support from the state Legislature, Board of Regents, State Bar Association, UNLV administration and many private donors.
Permanent accreditation can be earned in two to five years. Other requirements for that goal are that the school be located in permanent facilities at UNLV's James R. Dickinson Library and that a class scores well on the bar exam -- at least above the average pass rate, Morgan said.
It is expected that the Boyd Law School will move to its permanent home in the Dickinson Library in summer 2002.
Morgan said he expects his students will score well in various state bar exams because "our program is designed to improve writing and analytical skills," two areas that are prevalent on bar exams.
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