SETTING GOALS TO BE THE BEST UND SCHOOL OF LAW
SETTING GOALS TO BE THE BEST UND SCHOOL OF LAW
BRIAN PAPPAS Dean , University of North Dakota School of Law
I am often asked what I think of the U . S . News & World Report law school rankings . In principle , I like the idea of providing key information so students can make educated decisions when applying to law school . In reality , it is possible to restrict admission , improve your students ’ entering credentials , and substantially improve your rankings by becoming more selective . At the University of North Dakota ( UND ), we are not interested in improving our rankings , but in improving the key indicators of student success that should support the rankings . We are not trying to be Stanford or Yale , the top law schools in the rankings . Stanford and Yale admit 6 % and 7 % of their applicants respectively , both have 99 % ultimate bar pass rates , and their tuition rates are roughly four times higher than the tuition at UND School of Law .
Our goal is to be the best UND School of Law we can be . We do something few other law schools can do . We identify students who will be successful lawyers and we help them achieve that goal . I would like the U . S . News to measure how much a law school adds in value to their entering students from matriculation to graduation . The entering classes at Stanford and Yale have median GPAs of more than 3.92 and their classes ’
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25th and 75th percentile LSAT scores are above 170 ( the 98th percentile score ). These are amazing entering credentials , but I believe we are doing more to develop our students ’ skills and abilities .
The UND School of Law is truly special . We provide access . At 73 %, we have the highest reported acceptance rate in the country . We have a varied student population , including students with family obligations preparing for second careers , students with extensive military service , and students from marginalized communities . Many of our students have overcome significant obstacles . Despite our high acceptance rate , we only admit students who will be high-quality lawyers . If we admit a student , we believe in them .
Our retention rate is high ; for example , 91 % of students in the class of 2020 graduated . The class of 2020 also had a 94 % ultimate bar passage rate ( the ABA-required measure examining the two-year bar pass rate for each class ). If you examine schools with the highest acceptance rate and the highest ultimate bar passage rate , we are in the top five . Then , consider our tuition : It is among the lowest in the country . Our out-of-state tuition is lower than the in-state tuition for more than 30 states ! We are proud to be one of the nation ’ s leaders in developing highquality lawyers at an affordable cost .
To what do I attribute our success ? Our dedicated and passionate faculty and staff go out of their way to develop and support our students . We have a close-knit and highly professional bench and bar in North Dakota that are unfailingly supportive of our school . The externship and early career opportunities we provide help our graduates develop much faster in their legal careers than if they began in other states . And we are not satisfied with the status quo .
Thomas Edison once said , “ We shall have not better conditions in the future if we are satisfied with all those which we have at present .” The faculty , staff , and administration at the School of Law continue to explore ways to enhance our program of legal education in order to best meet the needs of our great state . We want to improve the consistency of our bar passage rate for first-time takers ; we want to increase our enrollment in order to address our state ’ s lawyer shortage ; and we want to innovate with additional partnerships , an updated curriculum , and enhanced career services .
We are already taking significant steps to accomplish these goals . This summer we launched a national search for our first full-time Academic Success and Bar Prep administrator who will coordinate our efforts . We are also looking for two new admissions recruiters to help us to visit every college and university in North Dakota every year while also developing relationships at the high school level . If we want more students to practice law in North Dakota communities , one of our