As its enrollment continues to drop, the University of Minnesota’s Law School is set to receive more money to fight financial woes. President Eric Kaler’s proposed budget for next year includes a $ 2.2 million allocation to help the Law School cover a loss in tuition revenue, an issue plaguing law schools nationwide.
The University’s Law School has had relatively consistent enrollment over the past few years, but Dean David Wippman said the applications to the school and the number of first-year students are sharply declining. In fall 2014, he said, about 180 students will enroll, compared to about 220 first-year students in 2013. …
If the Law School received no aid from the University and didn’t make changes to its operations, he said, it would face a deficit of about $ 3 million next year.
To cover the gap, the administration is taking steps like lowering raises for employees, not renewing contracts with adjunct faculty members and moving publications to the web, Wippman said. The school has also admitted more transfer students than normal, Wippman said, and will launch a new one-year master’s program in patent law to attract new students. …
Wippman said Law School leaders are working to alleviate the need for additional University financial support, but he hopes to get continued monetary help if it’s needed. Last year, the University gave the Law School $ 950,000 for scholarships, and tuition rose by 5 percent or more for full-time resident students for the 2013-14 school year.
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2014/06/university-of-minnesota.html
