A proposal to raise the minimum GPA for the S. J. Quinney College of Law from 1.85 to 2.5 is causing a ruckus among U law students, who have been sparring in an online debate over the possible change since its announcement last week.
Robert Adler, associate dean for academic affairs at the law school, said the change is necessary to ensure students who graduate are able to pass the bar exam and be qualified attorneys. Students with averages below this cutoff are less likely to be successful on the bar and practicing law, he said.
Students opposed to the change argue that law students should be able to decide for themselves whether they would be successful on the bar and that the law school should not expel students to increase its national rankings.
If the College Council approves the change Thursday, first-year students with GPAs below 2.7 would be given an academic warning and one semester to raise their GPAs by participating in the school’s Academic Support Program. If these students have less than a 2.5 GPA at the end of their first year or any semester after, they would be dismissed from the school, though they would be given the opportunity to apply for readmission. Other students with GPAs lower than 2.7 would be put on probation, and those with GPAs below 2.5 would be expelled. Students would not be expelled immediately — they would always have one semester to bring up their grades.
“This sends a signal to get more help, work harder and graduate with the competence to pass (the bar exam),” Adler said. “The intent is not to kick people out of law school — it’s to get students more help to improve their performance.”
Second-year law student Alex Stein said he is “adamantly against” the change because the law school would be projecting whether or not students have the ability to be successful.
“Students have the right to make up their mind themselves to determine whether they pass the bar exam,” Stein said. “These aren’t failing students — they’re getting passing grades.”
Stein said not all students who graduate with law degrees decide to practice law, and the educational experience should be reason enough to continue with law school. Even if they fail the bar exam, students can retake it until they pass, he said.
Because the law school is a professional school governed by American Bar Association standards, Adler said the U is required to establish sound academic standards to ensure students who graduate are prepared for the bar and their career.
Stein said the Utah Bar Association decided to raise its standards so more students would fail the test in an attempt to rectify claims that Utah is an “easy” place to pass the bar.
“The law school would be working against that,” he said. “If they see a problem of the bar passage rate being too low, they should improve the quality of instruction…or offer better services to students.”
Benjamin Machlis, a second-year law student who supports the change, said having a GPA that low is embarrassing, and the change would provide a mechanism for catching students who are struggling.
“At some point, there has to be a floor,” Machlis said. “All other U graduate schools have a minimum GPA of 3.0.”
Adler said the change would not affect many students because when the school raised the mandatory GPA mean for each class to between 3.1 and 3.3 about four years ago, this increased averages across the board. Because of the mandatory mean, no one is falling close to the 1.85 threshold, according to an e-mail sent to students explaining the change. There are usually fewer than half a dozen students in the 2.7 to 2.5 GPA range.
Stein said this still isn’t justification to kick students out of school. “I care about all of my classmates, and even if it’s going to affect one person’s life, I need one good reason why it’s a good idea, beyond improving college rankings,” he said.
Jesse Nix, who represents first-year law students on the Student Bar Association, said some students are worried about the impact of the change on beginning students because they weren’t aware of the policy when they started. The change is planned to be implemented in the 2008-2009 school year and affect first-year students as of now, but there might be an amendment so it only affects future classes.
“I think there needs to be notice of any policy like this,” Nix said.
Adler said the change would look at what is in the best interest of the students.
“Some people are cut out for some things, and some are for others,” he said.