The State Bar Association of North Dakota Winter 2014 Gavel Magazine | Page 9

the action letter could find that (1) the
law school is in compliance, (2) although
the law school is not in violation of the
standard, there are concerns meriting the
school’s attention, (3) there is reason to
believe that the law school is in noncompliance, or (4) there is insufficient information to make a determination on the law
school’s compliance. For any instance of
noncompliance, the action letter typically
will ask for a report in one year on the steps
that the law school has taken to come into
compliance with the standard.
9. When will the law school know the
results of the evaluation?
The UND School of Law’s site visit will
occur in March. After the site visit, the
team members compile a written factual
report. The report is reviewed by the ABA
and then forwarded to the law school. The
law school has a set amount of time to submit corrections or comments to the report.
The report and the law school’s response
are reviewed by the ABA’s Accreditation
Committee, along with the SEQ, Self Study,
site visit report, and other materials and
information, to determine whether the law
school meets the ABA standards. The Committee’s decision will be transmitted to the
law school in the action letter. This process
typically takes several months to complete.
If the action letter includes any finding of
apparent noncompliance, the law school
typically is given one year to take steps to
achieve compliance. If the law school is not
in compliance and has not taken satisfactory steps at the end of the year, the Accreditation Committee will consider remedial
action. Thus, the ABA’s final decision on
accreditation may not occur for more than
a year after the site visit is conducted.
10. Does the UND School of Law expect to
retain its ABA approval?
Yes. Every law school has its challenges,
some unique, some shared by many other
schools across the country. We have successfully addressed the concerns raised