Comments on: Cost of Legal Education http://bestpracticeslegaled.albanylawblogs.org/2009/11/07/cost-of-legal-education/ A Vision and a Road Map Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:24:42 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Karen Lash http://bestpracticeslegaled.albanylawblogs.org/2009/11/07/cost-of-legal-education/#comment-1961 Karen Lash Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:27:37 +0000 http://bestpracticeslegaled.albanylawblogs.org/?p=1104#comment-1961 I've not figured out yet how to adjust the resolution on the slides to make them readable, but I'm wondering if they considered what role teaching load plays in the cost calculus analysis. Is there a relationship between tuition and whether faculty have a 10 vs. 12 vs. 15 credit load? And the related cost of underwriting scholarly work? I strongly believe in support for scholarship but if we want a clearer picture of education costs, and if the conclusions were largely based on answers from administrators (and I used to be one) rather than independent evaluation, I'm left wondering about these conclusions. I have no doubt that law school deans' choices about how to best position their school vis-a-vis US News (and related budgetary choices) ranks number one in the reasons for skyrocketing tuition. But I am left wondering what the conclusions would have been if the analysis included the cost of scholarly activities, university subvention fluctuations, and other factors that may not have come up in the interviews. Karen I’ve not figured out yet how to adjust the resolution on the slides to make them readable, but I’m wondering if they considered what role teaching load plays in the cost calculus analysis. Is there a relationship between tuition and whether faculty have a 10 vs. 12 vs. 15 credit load? And the related cost of underwriting scholarly work? I strongly believe in support for scholarship but if we want a clearer picture of education costs, and if the conclusions were largely based on answers from administrators (and I used to be one) rather than independent evaluation, I’m left wondering about these conclusions.

I have no doubt that law school deans’ choices about how to best position their school vis-a-vis US News (and related budgetary choices) ranks number one in the reasons for skyrocketing tuition. But I am left wondering what the conclusions would have been if the analysis included the cost of scholarly activities, university subvention fluctuations, and other factors that may not have come up in the interviews.

Karen

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