U of Iowa to cut law school tuition 16 percent
The University of Iowa College of Law has announced that it is cutting tuition by 16.4 percent for students pursuing a juris doctor degree beginning in the fall of 2014.
The cut will apply to entering and continuing law students who are residents of the state and to entering students from out-of-state. That will result in annual savings of $4,309 for students from Iowa, who will pay annual tuition of $21,965, and $7,750 for nonresident students, who will pay $39,500, the law school says in a press release.
The move is intended to help the law school stay competitive in a declining market for legal services, says law dean Gail Agrawal. The number of law school applicants has declined throughout the country as high debt loads and dimmer job prospects, due to the struggling economy, have diminished the appeal of the juris doctor degree.
“The University of Iowa College of Law has long been recognized as providing high quality for an affordable price. We want to take a leading role in the evolving face of legal education and ensure our place as a best value proposition among the top public law schools,” she explains in the release.
Other law schools have recently announced similar moves, including the University of Arizona, the University of Cincinnati and Pennsylvania State University.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Was It Worth It? With Debt of Up to $250K, Some Law Grads Are Dubious”
ABAJournal.com: “‘Massive layoffs’ predicted in law schools due to big drop in applicants”
ABAJournal.com: “Is a law degree really worth $1M? Law prof says value overstated; study author defends stats”
Legal Rebels: “Only law schools that tackle costs, graduate client-centered lawyers will survive—a dean’s view”
