Yesterday was graduation day at Concord Law School of Kaplan University, my school. Ours is an online law school program. Anyone with continuing skepticism about whether online programs can create community; can be interactive; can be support students’ work; and can be rigorous and academically challenging should attend our ceremony. Or, go to a Kaplan University graduation or similar events conducted by other high-quality providers of online higher education programs. I suspect that your concerns will be laid to rest. What a great day it was! continue reading

The GAO issued a report last week finding that the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Standards for the Approval of Law Schools play only a “minor role” in increasing costs of J.D. programs and the lack of diversity in law schools - two important matters for legal education and the profession.

The report generated attention - from The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, the ABA Journal, and in the blogs (see, for example, Brian Leiter’s Law School Reports and Above the Law). For those of us who work at law schools or follow legal education closely, these findings are not surprising. They are also somewhat beside the point. continue reading

The American Bar Association Journal has produced a project over the last month that they call Legal Rebels: Remaking the Profession. The project includes short essays, video, online radio, webinars, live chats, and even a tour. It’s archived so you can see what you’ve missed or go back for a second look.

As the lawyer’s muse, Abundance of Caution, might observe, “Legal Rebels” is close to being an oxymoron. But, the reformers, innovators, and interesting minds featured in this project have a lot to say and a number of suggestions about how the legal profession can be improved. Several contributors are legal academics or comment on legal education. You can check it all out here, including my essay on online legal education, which goes live at 5 p.m. central time today (October 15).

Our experience at Concord Law School of Kaplan University supports yesterday’s commentary in Inside Higher Education by Walden University President Jonathan Kaplan that “The Medium is Not the Message”  and his conclusion that it is past time for all of us in higher education to “stop categorizing … by the medium of delivery and start focusing on its [higher education’s] impacts and outcomes.” continue reading

There is no better way to return to this blog after an absence than to report that last Saturday I had the distinct privilege of not presiding at my law school’s summer graduation. I conferred the degrees, which is probably required and is certainly one of the joys of being the dean of the school. Otherwise, Concord Law School of Kaplan University’s thirteenth graduation was led by a group of its graduates. continue reading

Kevin Carey has written an extremely provocative article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this week. In it, he makes the argument that, sooner or later, universities as we know them will suffer a significant decline in popularity and usage, similar to the current woes of the newspaper industry. continue reading

Last weekend, Concord Law School students Marjorie Daily and Tom Fleming prevailed in the Regional Competition Rounds of the American Constitution Society’s (ACS) Constance Baker Motley Moot Court Competition, which took place at the University of Michigan Law School. This qualifies them for the National Finals, which will take place at the ACS’s national meeting this summer in Washington, D.C. It is a terrific achievement for two non-traditional, part-time law students who attend our unique and still evolving online law school program. continue reading

The folks at Law School Innovation pointed me to an interesting post about a “no laptop in class experiment” from Gene Volokh, a professor at UCLA School of Law and the force behind the popular law blog, The Volokh Conspiracy.     continue reading

Mr. President,
Thank you, once again, for your inspirational challenge, calling on all Americans to pursue some form of education beyond high school. Since I am writing a book about rethinking higher education, I have been thinking seriously about the challenge you have thrown down.

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My colleague Beth Berselli is introducing us to some of Kaplan University’s (KU) remarkable students. We’ve met Robert Scott, a student at KU’s Omaha campus, and Carmen Torres and Kassy Pender, both of whom are studying in KU’s online MBA program. They are part of what Michael Offerman calls “the other 85 percent.” These non-traditional students did not follow a straight high school -> college -> graduate school path. They are working adults going (or returning) to school with a focus on advancing their careers. They do amazing jobs of juggling work, family, and school responsibilities.  The learning that they are doing and the degrees that they will earn have capacity to change their lives in many ways. If you haven’t read Beth’s posts, I hope that you will. I look forward to meeting other students down the road.

A recent short article in the Los Angeles Times about another non-traditional student caught my eye. He is what might be called an “untraditional” non-traditional student. He is Troy Aikman, Dallas Cowboys Hall of Fame quarterback turned television network sportscaster, and he needs no introduction to most of us. continue reading