Council supports law tuition increase

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor

The recommendation was presented to the council Sept. 26 by Provost Thomas E. Headrick, who said President William R. Greiner will send a letter to SUNY Interim Chancellor John Ryan asking that the request be placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the SUNY Board of Trustees. It is the first time UB has initiated a tuition-increase request, Headrick said.

The increase would raise annual tuition for in-state students from $6,100 to $7,350; out-of-state students would see tuition go from $10,750 to $12,000 per year.

UB is asking that the additional funds generated by the tuition increase be allowed to stay on campus. In addition to supporting the law school's new curriculum, funds generated by the tuition increase would be used to enhance scholarship funds, according to Headrick.

The new curriculum emphasizes practice-oriented skills. But it doesn't come cheap. It has added $1.5 million to the law school's annual $5 million budget.

The law school in 1994 received a general appropriation in the state budget of $875,000 over two years, plus other one-time state funding, to implement the new curriculum, which was formulated by faculty members after more than two years of meetings with various law-school constituency groups.

While the school received special state funding to launch the revised curriculum, Headrick told the council, the only way for the university to go forward with the project is to find some way to generate additional annual revenue of $925,000. The tuition increase will accomplish this, Headrick said.

Changes to the law-school curriculum were needed to offset those that have occurred in the legal profession. Students need to come out of law school much more ready to practice, Headrick said. Whereas law firms used to train new lawyers, today "they need people who are ready to go to work," Headrick said.

The new curriculum is designed to accomplish that through courses that focus on legal problem solving, intensive research and writing projects, and a "perspectives class" that encourages students to apply what they've learned in all their classes. In addition, the law school has set up internships with law firms, public offices and elected officials.

"The new curriculum will better prepare graduates to go into firms and in some cases, practice on their own," Headrick said. "We're very excited about the curriculum and want the project to go forward."

Councilmember John Walsh asked Headrick whether the new curriculum will allow the UB law school to remain competitive, "or will we become JV (junior varsity) over time?"

"In the present context, I think we've slid," Headrick responded. "You have to acknowledge the fact that we've been sliding over the last seven or eight years."

He quickly noted that the problem is not the fault of the law faculty.

The law school has "more inventive, creative faculty" than it is given credit for, and implementation of the new law curriculum "will make a significant impact on the way people perceive the law school," Headrick said. "This move will put us in position to get where we think we want to get in the short term."

Richard Quodomine, student representative to the UB Council, questioned whether changes to the law school curriculum will affect the perception of the quality of a law degree.

"The only way law schools do that over the long haul is people hire our graduates and they do the work," Headrick responded.

In other business, the council heard an update on the 1996-97 budget presented by UB Senior Vice President Robert J. Wagner, and Ronald H. Stein, vice president for advancement and development, received an endorsement from the Council to begin a capital campaign.

In his report to the council, President William R. Greiner recapped his Sept. 24 presentation to the full voting faculty.