West Virginia law school will offer tuition break for nonresidents--under one condition
After an enrollment decrease, the West Virginia University College of Law is extending its in-state annual tuition of $16,000 to some nonresidents, beginning next fall.
To qualify for this “Loyalty Tuition Program,” the nonresident students must have graduated from a West Virginia college or university, according to a law school press release. Tuition for nonresidents during the 2016-2017 school year is $37,674.
“They already know and appreciate our state, and we think this program is a great way to encourage them to stay in West Virginia while also saving money on law school tuition,” said Gregory Bowman, the law school’s dean.
“We have a very low cost of living, a high quality of life and an affordable legal education that gives students a client-ready set of skills,” Bowman told the ABA Journal. “We’re very excited about this, and we take very seriously our obligation as a public institution to provide an affordable legal education.”
Between 2011 and 2015, the number of law students at the school decreased 27 percent, Law.com reports. According to the school’s ABA employment data (PDF), out of 125 graduates for the class of 2015, 91 had full-time, long-term, JD-required jobs, and nine had full-time, long-term jobs where candidates with a JD were preferred.
Hat tip to Above the Law.
Updated at 2:47 p.m. to include comments from Bowman.
