Budget issues at UK law school cause it to fall out of compliance with American Bar standard
.JPG "UK College of Law building on October 10, 2019.")
The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law is out of compliance with one American Bar Association standard for accreditation related to finances, the association announced this week.
The law school’s budget deficit, coming from major renovations to the college’s building in recent years and spending on scholarships, caused it to fall out of compliance with the finance standard, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said.
The College of Law is compliant will all other standards for accreditation, and will remain accredited throughout the process of addressing its compliance, according to an email sent from Provost Robert DiPaola to students and faculty. The school was found to be out of compliance in regards to its finances at the February ABA meeting. The process of addressing compliance with the finance standard is “an ongoing process,” Blanton said.
The American Bar Association, or ABA, is a professional organization for lawyers and law schools, and is the accrediting agency for juris doctor programs at law schools. In order for a lawyer to be admitted to the Kentucky Bar, they must have completed a degree from a law school approved by the ABA or by the Association of American Law Schools, according to the Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions.
Accreditation from the ABA requires schools to meet a variety of standards, including standards relating to legal education programs, student services and finances. The law school is out of compliance with standard 202(a), which states: “The current and anticipated financial resources available to the law school shall be sufficient for it to operate in compliance with the Standards and to carry out its program of legal education.”
A school being out of compliance with standard 202 is considered to be “significant noncompliance,” according to the ABA.
“Specifically, the College has been running a budget deficit related to its expenditures for scholarships and for its share of the costs for the recent building renovations and expansion,” Blanton said Wednesday. “The university has been working to help the College to ensure, in the long term, that it has a sustainable budget plan.”
The law school building underwent major renovation and expansion from 2017 to 2019, adding new classrooms and collaborative spaces. The original College of Law building opened in 1965, and renovations totaled $53 million, according to Herald-Leader archives.
Blanton and DiPaola said the compliance issue does not impact the overall accreditation of the college.
“The College will maintain its accreditation while we work collectively to be responsive to the issues and questions the ABA has raised regarding this standard,” DiPaola said. “We have been working diligently with the College over the past year to help with its finances and will continue to do so.”
UK has until June to respond to the ABA, and will appear before the ABA Council at its November 2023 meeting, unless compliance can be addressed before the meeting, according to the ABA.
When asked if the compliance issue will impact current or future student scholarships, Blanton said it will not affect students and UK is “working with the college on future budgets to ensure they have a long-term sustainable path.”
“Over the next few months, we are working to respond to questions that the ABA has raised regarding this one standard,” Blanton said. “We have a number of months to respond to questions the ABA has raised about this one, remaining standard.”