ULV law school too expensive

Why is that the administrators at this school continue to make so-called wise investments, even when the rest of the university disagrees?

Take, for example, the University of La Verne College of Law in Ontario: Administrators are pouring millions of dollars into it with the hope that improved facilities might help in their third attempt to win the school American Bar Association approval.

Sure, achieving ABA could be a tremendous benefit. Bringing such prestige to the law school could bring prominence to the entire university. But do they have to be so expensive about it? And, more importantly, can the university afford it?

Administrators say expenditures on the law school will come from a different fund, a "quasi-endowment," that will not affect any other university programs. Money from the quasi-endowment for the law school will be used like a loan and eventually be paid back to the university, the administrators assure us.

But many in the community still believe other programs will be sacrificed on this somewhat risky road to ABA approval. And many faculty believe the university cannot, in fact, afford this undertaking. It might be years before the university sees a profit from the law school investment. Meanwhile, many faculty and staff members have yet to be recognized.

Just this week it was announced that the administration is currently contemplating a meager 2.19 percent raise for faculty, while projected expenditures on the law school next year are roughly $8 million.

Yes, these are paid for out of different funds, but there is something puzzling about it all. Constant assurances have been made that the law school, in the end, will prove profitable. When, we would like to know, is "In the end"? Until that time, will the law school drain the university financially?

Although this may sound a bit exaggerated, one has only to talk to some faculty members. Many are less than supportive of the whole thing. The administrators continue to think that the law school will be profitable because it will eventually get the accreditation, which is important. ABA accreditation means graduates will have the option of practicing law throughout the United States. Currently ULV College of Law graduates may only practice in this state with California Bar Association accreditation.

But there seems to be a bit of a catch. The university needs to spend to achieve ABA accreditation. It also needs to increase enrollment. But without ABA accreditation, the school is having a difficult time attracting new students.

One of the main requirements for a law school to be eligible for accreditation is a high student enrollment. That is also the only way it will turn a profit. Today there are less than 200 enrolled. Still, administators are moving forward with plans to expand the law library, increase technology and improve the entire facility.

Spend, spend, spend.

Although the Campus Times is not an enemy of the decisions made by the administrators on the university's behalf, we question these expenditures.

Why not instead invest some of the money from the quasi-endowment into the salaries of the faculty and staff who have remained faithful toward the university's decisions, no matter what the consequences have been, and are?

Although the administrators say they plan to examine and improve the law school, if it continues to fail, the administrators must reconsider their plans. They must take into consideration the current underfunded facilities on the main campus: the library, the Student Center and dining services, for starters.

Likewise, they should consider the needs of our underpaid faculty and staff members, who are the backbone of the main campus.