The nascent Jacksonville University College of Law has just gotten its American Bar Association (ABA) accreditation, making it the first law school to do so since 2017. Nearly two years ago, Jacksonville Law opened its campus for a whopping inaugural cohort of 14 students. Despite its low enrollment, the opening was still a big deal for the city, given that it had recently lost its only law school.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way: Florida Coastal Shuts Down
The for-profit law school, Florida Coastal School of Law, had been encountering significant troubles that eventually led to its closure. The school was part of the InfiLaw System of law schools, which faced criticism for their admission policies, student loan practices, and bar passage rates. At one point, the school had nearly 4,000 students enrolled, but by the time it had to shut down, that had shrunk to 135.
The issues with Florida Coastal escalated when the ABA placed the school on probation due to non-compliance with ABA standards. Subsequently, in 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it was cutting off federal financial aid for Florida Coastal School of Law due to concerns about its financial stability and the sufficiency of its educational programs.
Jacksonville University, a private university, had offered a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs but did not have a law school until 2022. Six months after it opened, it applied for provisional accreditation with the ABA, which is an important designation as it ensures that a given graduating class will be eligible to sit for the bar exam in any state.
What Is ABA Accreditation?
ABA accreditation is important to keeping a law school alive. Over the past decade, the number of ABA-accredited law schools has been declining; in the same period, seven law schools shut down.
The purpose of ABA accreditation is to ensure that law schools meet certain standards of education that are necessary for preparing students to enter the legal profession.
To become ABA-accredited, a law school must go through a rigorous review process that evaluates the school's curriculum, faculty qualifications, library and information resources, facilities, and other aspects related to legal education. The ABA sets these standards to ensure that law students receive a quality education that includes a broad understanding of the law, analytical and practical skills, and professional ethics. Once a law school is accredited by the ABA, it must maintain those standards and undergo regular reviews to retain its accredited status.
Why Is ABA Accreditation So Important?
Graduating from an ABA-accredited law school is generally a prerequisite for taking the bar exam in most states, which is necessary to practice law in the U.S. If a school loses its ABA accreditation, its students might face significant challenges in taking the bar exam and becoming licensed attorneys. Therefore, ABA accreditation is a critical factor for prospective law students to consider when choosing a law school.
There are currently 196 ABA-accredited law schools. The fact that ABA-accredited law schools have been declining makes applications more competitive, and this is especially important considering that applicants to such schools are increasing. According to the ABA Journal, applications for the 2024 enrollment cycle hit 27,000, which was a 3.7% increase from the year before. At the same time, the number of applications are down 1.5% from 2021. So far in the current application cycle, 105 of the 196 schools have had a decrease in their applications compared to last year.
Related Resources:
- FindLaw's Law Students Section
- What If Your Law School Loses Its Accreditation? (FindLaw's Practice of Law)
- Accredited vs. Unaccredited Law Schools (FindLaw's Law Students)
