University of Iowa law school responds to concerns around LSAT exception

IOWA CITY - A new University of Iowa College of Law program allowing academically successful students to apply for admission without taking the traditionally-required Law School Admissions Test could keep some high-achievers from leaving the state, according to law school Dean Gail Agrawal.

Addressing questions from members of the Board of Regents on Wednesday, Agrawal said she doesn't expect the school's 'Kinnick Law Scholars” program to decrease the quality of its students or education.

'What we know is that we lose top-ranked UI students to the top 14 ranked law schools and (Ivy League Schools) - they don't even apply,” Agrawal said. 'If we create this path, it might give those students pause.”

Of the 334 Iowans who applied to law school either in the state or elsewhere last year, 62.3 percent - or 208 students - applied to UI, according to law school documents made public Wednesday. The aim of the new scholars program is to capture more of those who leave.

'That's why we did it,” Agrawal said. 'And we will track it.”

To qualify for the new program, undergraduate or graduate students must be current UI students and have at least a 3.5 grade-point average through six semesters or be in the top 10 percent of the class and score in the top 85th percentile of the ACT, SAT, GMAT, or GRE, according to UI officials.

The UI law school decided to offer the new program after the American Bar Association in August adopted new accreditation rules allowing the path that excludes the LSAT. The rule change came after some law schools nationally - not including UI - began practicing the exception with special approval several years ago.

'Based on that experience, the ABA concluded that outstanding undergraduate achievement and high scores on other standardized tests were adequate predictors of success in law school,” according to UI officials.

Agrawal said the exception is narrow and for limited 'highly qualified students from our own institution.” And, she said, 'They are not guaranteed admissions, but must compete with the entire applicant pool for a place in the class.”

Agrawal told regents Wednesday she expects most UI law students will take the LSAT.

'The truth is, there are not that many students highflying enough to meet these credentials who only apply to Iowa,” she said.

Law school administrators have sent out information about the new scholars program to qualifying students, and the school so far has received two inquiries. One student, according to Agrawal, had a 'strong reason for not being able to take the LSAT as scheduled.” The other disqualified herself because she plans to take a year off.

To qualify, Agrawal said, UI students have to go straight from their current status as a UI student to enrollment in the law school.

The dean on Wednesday also addressed concerns around a new UI Masters of Studies in Law program aimed at providing legal education for nonlawyer professionals.

Admission standards for the program will be far below those seeking law degrees. Students interested in the program won't necessarily have to take a standardized test for graduate level studies, and a combination of high ACT or SAT scores and strong undergraduate performance could be used as a substitute in the admissions process.

Agrawal on Wednesday said the program won't dilute the quality of its juris doctor program, and it won't affect national rankings. Officials have said, however, that it could bump up law school enrollment, which has been struggling nationally and in Iowa.

Total law school applicants nationally have plummeted from 87,900 in 2010 to 54,527 in 2014, according to UI law school documents. Iowa applicants to any U.S. law school have dropped from 528 in 2010 to a low of 306 in 2013. They bumped up slightly last year to 334, according to Agrawal.

'Right now we are going to be lucky to get to 300,” Agrawal said about applicants for the next year. 'But it's too soon to say.”

A majority of applicants to the UI College of Law come from outside the state - 1,275 last year. Total applicants have dropped from a high of 1,871 in 2011 to a low of 791 in 2013. They increased to 1,483 last year after the Board of Regents approved a decrease in tuition.

In 2014, 612 students were accepted into the UI law school, and 141 ended up attending. That is down from 203 in 2010.

'To maintain the credentials of the class, we elected to decrease class size,” Agrawal told regents Wednesday. 'It's impossible, with the decreasing class pool, to maintain both class size and class quality. So we decided to maintain quality.”

With its new programs, she said, UI is working to rebuild its overall class size.

'But we are not expecting a dramatic and sudden bounce back in applicants nationally,” she said.