Affordable Online Education Blog : Financial Aid News

Online Law Schools: Do They Do Distance Learning Students Justice?

irishmum78 — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:30:00 GMT

The wide variety of distance learning programs available to students these days never cease to amaze me. There was a time when most distance learning programs were "liberal studies" programs with no concentrations or majors, but that is not the case anymore.

A good case in point: online law schools. Yes, you can actually study to become a lawyer through distance learning. They are less expensive than what you would pay at many traditional brick-and-mortar law schools, but are the cost savings worth it?

Concord Law School recently merged with Kaplan University. Concord is nationally accredited by the DETC and regionally accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. As a result of the merger, Concord students may now qualify for Title IV student loans. Concord offers the standard Juris Doctor law degree, as well as the Executive JD.

There are limitations to an online law degree, however. Although Concord is now regionally accredited, those who complete the JD program through Concord may only sit for the Bar exam in California. If you plan on practicing law only in California that may not be an issue for you, but if you live elsewhere and want to practice law, you would be out of luck. It may be possible to become licensed in other states after becoming licensed in California, but each state has its own laws concerning this, so you would definitely want to do your homework and find out what your state's laws are before enrolling.

The JD program at Concord total $35,600 over the course of four years. The Executive JD program is $26,700 over the course of three years. That is a lot of money, but other law school programs at traditional brick-and-mortar colleges can easily cost much, much more.

Concord is not the only online law school. William Howard Taft University offers the Juris Doctor degree, as well as the Executive JD, The Master of Laws, Master of Education, Master of Science in Taxation and MBA programs. Tuition is $250 per unit for the JD degree, or about $6,000 per year. William Howard Taft University is also accredited by the DETC, and like Concord, JD program graduates may only sit for the Bar Exam in California.

The reason for this is that these distance learning law schools are not accredited by the American Bar Association, which has been reluctant to embrace distance learning law programs. Distance learning students aren't exactly home-free in California, either. All students of non-ABA accredited schools must take the so-called "Baby Bar" exam after their first year in a law degree program. If they fail, they cannot advance any further in the JD program. Bar Exam pass rates for students at distance learning law schools have historically been very low.

If you live in California and the restrictions and obstacles of studying for an online law degree haven't discouraged you yet, then distance learning law study may be an option for you. If you have never visited the Golden State and don't plan to, you may want to explore all of the opportunities available to you through other schools.

See all legal and law degree programs offered online (click here for paralegal information).

Want to learn more about earning your law degree completely online?
Read our guide about studying law online.

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AMVETS/DeVry Scholarships

irishmum78 — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 13:00:00 GMT

If you're an American military veteran and you've been eyeing any of the degree programs offered by DeVry University, you're in luck.

AMVETS and DeVry have announced a partnership in which they will offer up to 30 new scholarships for veterans, their spouses and their children. National Guard and Coast Guard veterans are included. The scholarship is based on financial need, the student must write an essay and, of course, must either be enrolled in DeVry University or intending to apply to one of the school's undergraduate or graduate degree programs.

DeVry's AMVETS scholarship is being awarded to 10 undergraduate or graduate students each semester from November 2007 through July 2008. Award recipients will receive $1,000 per semester, up to a total of $9,000 over the course of the entire degree program.

If you are interested in applying for the DeVry scholarship, you had better hurry. The first deadline is October 15th for the semester beginning October 29th. Other scholarship deadlines are coming up on February 11, 2008; June 16th, 2008; and October 6th, 2008.

Certain veterans and their family members are not eligible for the AMVETS scholarship, such as those receiving full tuition reimbursement from an employer, employees of AMVETS, and those who qualify for DeVry's Active Duty Military rate. Recipients of scholarship awards have 30 days to accept it, and must enroll within two semesters of accepting the scholarship.

What I really like about this scholarship is that it is good for either on-campus or online courses, so distance learning students are eligible, too! The scholarship can be used at either DeVry or Keller Graduate School of Management, both of which are regionally accredited.

Another thing I found interesting is that those who seek the scholarships are not required to be members of AMVETS, and need not join AMVETS to be considered. At least, there was nothing indicating this on the scholarship application form. If you elect to join AMVETS (and again, it does not appear this is required), membership is open to all U.S. veterans who served in the military after 1940 and received an honorable discharge.

If you are a U.S. military veteran, or a spouse or child of a veteran, and are interested in pursuing your higher education through DeVry, you can find a scholarship application here:
http://www.amvets.org/NewAMVETSsite/pressroom/devry_scholarship.html

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When It Comes to Loans, Do Your Homework!

irishmum78 — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:36:00 GMT

In April and May, there was some news that some colleges and universities were doing some unethical business with lenders. Schools may be thinking of their own back pockets before considering the needs of those taking on student loans.

Officials at Columbia University, the University of Southern California and the University of Texas at Austin were in some hot water. According to the Wall Street Journal, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is intensifying his investigation into student lending at the institutions from a company that was listed as a preferred lender at the institutions.

Cuomo's office subpoenaed Student Loan Xpress Inc., a unit of CIT Group Inc., and Columbia. New York officials also sent letters to the other two schools to see if the financial-aid officials received shares in the company in exchange for placement on the "preferred lists."

Columbia maintains that a top aid official, David Charlow, "had a financial interest in one of our preferred lenders." The school says it placed Charlow on paid leave pending the investigation and notified the attorney general.

Cuomo continues to examine 100 universities and six student lenders for what he has called widespread conflicts of interest in college aid offices.

In April, eight other universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, New York University and Syracuse University, settled allegations of loan kickbacks by agreeing to stop accepting payments, travel and other perks from student lenders. The colleges denied wrongdoing.

The WSJ reported that five of the eight colleges agreed to refund $3.27 million to students because of revenue-sharing agreements. The schools received a payout—or kickback—on the percentage of loans they referred to lenders.

In 2003, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators considered setting clear rules to curb gifts from lenders—but they didn’t. That same year, a NASFAA task force wanted to keep tabs on connections between aid officers and the lenders who wanted business and urged the board to propose a federal law making lenders report gifts over $50. But the board rejected recommending the policy—even though most of the 3,000 post-secondary institutions reportedly didn’t know about any of the activity. Currently, NASFAA officials object a U.S. Dept. of Education plan to require colleges to list at least three loan companies as preferred.

The irony? The group’s June conference included 25 sponsorship opportunities including the rights to print company names on pens for a mere $5,000, or to host beverage breaks where lenders can hand out cups with their logos on them. The WSJ reported that dozens of student lenders spent at least $553,000 on sponsorship, exhibitor and advertising fees.

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