Chapman Makes Its Case for Law School Approval

The fate of Chapman Law School’s first graduating class hinges on discussions today between the campus’ top administrators and representatives of the American Bar Assn., who will decide later this month whether the school deserves national accreditation.

After two failed bids for ABA approval, Chapman officials say they have raised standards across the board: higher grade-point averages and test scores for beginning students, more stringent evaluations of faculty members, tougher academic policies for grading and dismissal.

Those measures were in response to the ABA’s rejection last May of Chapman’s petition for accreditation. The legal association criticized the school for inadequate faculty evaluation, lack of rigor in the curriculum and lax grading and probation policies.

“Our professors don’t enjoy giving lower grades,” Dean Parham H. Williams Jr. said of the tougher academic standards. “But this is something that has to be done to ensure that we are producing the best students.”

The school’s uncertain status is not sitting well with many at the school, which is operating in leased space in Anaheim while a new $21-million facility is built near Chapman University’s main campus in Orange.

One third-year student, who asked not to be identified, said he has opted to extend his studies at Chapman for another year to delay graduation in the hope that the school will have ABA approval by then.

“It makes law school very expensive,” the student said. “I’m even looking at other graduate schools now. If Chapman doesn’t get accredited, I will have a law degree but won’t be able to practice.”

Another third-year student, Scott Shuttleworth, said the changes in grading policies have hurt his grade-point-average but now his class ranking is high.

“In one class, I earned a B-plus, but it was later dropped to a C-plus,” he said, because of a raised grading curve. “Do I care? Yes, but I have bigger fish to fry. My ranking is more important than my GPA.”

Shuttleworth is among an estimated 50 students who intend to complete their studies at Chapman in the spring, regardless of what the ABA decides. Besides, he added, he thinks the school will win national accreditation this time.

“After all the changes over the past nine months, I’m confident the school will become ABA approved,” he said.

If it earns ABA approval, Chapman would join the ranks of the 180 most respected law schools in the nation, and its graduates would be entitled to sit for the bar exam in any state.

Kurt Snyder, an ABA consultant on legal education, said gaining national ranking is not easy.

“The ABA education requirement was set up by all 50 states to approve quality schools,” he said.

In California, students who graduate from unaccredited schools must complete a fourth year of law studies before they can take the state bar exam. If they pass the bar, they will be able to practice law only in California.

While awaiting ABA approval, Chapman also has applied for state accreditation, which generally takes two years. School officials said they strove for ABA approval first because, if granted, it would supersede state accreditation.

“It is not typical for a new law school to apply for ABA accreditation so early,” Williams said. “But we all felt we have achieved a level now that is comparable to a number of accredited law schools.”

The struggle for accreditation has been costly for the school. It is being sued by more than 20 former and current students who allege that administrators falsely assured them the school would win ABA approval quickly. Those lawsuits are still pending.

Along with petitioning for accreditation, the school is trying to improve its image. In an unprecedented move last year, Chapman offered tuition refunds to students who wanted to withdraw in the wake of the stalled bid for national ranking. Nearly 60 students accepted.

Also, the school’s student population has declined to 194 students this year, down from 206 in 1995.

The ABA committee, which will meet in Los Angeles today, is expected to announce its decision in February.

Views on how the school is likely to fare have been mixed on campus. Some expressed confidence Thursday that the school will gain accreditation. Others said they have lost all hope.

“Morale has been low, really low,” said a third-year student who asked not to be identified. “This process has disillusioned me to be a lawyer.”