La Verne to Reapply for Provisional Accreditation

The University of La Verne College of Law did not appeal the decision denying the law school full accreditation.  As a result, its provisional accreditation automatically lapsed on July 14.  Yesterday (July 19, 2011), the Council sent out a public notice of its final decision. La Verne waived the right to submit written comments to accompany the public notice.

The Council waived the ten-month waiting period required under Rule 11(b) of the Rules of Procedure, which permits La Verne to immediately reapply for provision approval. The public notice syas that La Verne intends to reapply  early this Fall (Fall 2011).

The public notice confirms that the Council denied La Verne's application for full approval because it

conclu[ded] that the School had failed to establish full compliance with ABA Standard 301(a) and Interpretation 301-3, and with ABA Standard 303 and Interpretation 303-3 ....

Other than setting forth the two Standards and the related Interpretations, the public notice provides no further information that indicates the particulars that led to the Council's decision. 

Now there are two questions:

• How long will it take La Verne to convince the Accreditation Committee and the Council that it has "reformed itself" (see Alice's Restaurant)?
• How many of La Verne's students will transfer?  If La Verne loses the top of recent entering classes (including this Fall's class), how long will it take to drag itself back into credibility, and the ABA's good graces?  See A Tale of Two Law Schools:  Introduction for the credentials of the Fall 2010 class.

Comments

[Alfred Brophy]

What do you make of this, Gary? What's the significance of failing to appeal and immediately re-applying? Does this prevent La Verne from challenging the ABA standards subsequently?

[Gary Rosin]

I'm not sure what it all means. If La Verne wanted to challenge the ABA, an appeal would have been the way to go. It's hard to challenge the Standards when you're standing at the door, hat in hand, asking to come inside.

The fact that the Council waived the 10-month rule to allow La Verne to reapply immediately may mean something. But what that something is, is not clear to me. But then, I've never served on a site evaluation team, much less on one of the Section's committees, so I'm not a reliable reader of tea leaves on this.

[Alfred Brophy]

Thanks for this, Gary -- I don't know how the ABA accreditation process works, so my concern (like yours) is that by not appealing, La Verne may have acquiesced in the standards regarding bar pass rate.

[Gary Rosin]

As I discuss in La Verne's Reapplication Hints in Accreditation Committee Response to Senator Grassley, there is precedent in the form of Western State. With luck, La Verne may not lose too much time or too many current, and potential, students.