University of Massachusetts Board Approves Public Law School

On Thursday, the University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees voted to accept the donation of the Southern New England School of Law, 14 to four. By approving the acquisition, the Board moved Massachusetts one step closer to having a public law school.

The law school would become part of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus. As outlined by the Board, the creation of the public school would not cost the Mass. taxpayers any money and ultimately make the Dartmouth campus millions of dollars, as they would increase enrollment (235 to 559 in seven years) and charge $23,565 in tuition and fees.

The UMass public law school has one more step before it can become a reality: a vote by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education in February. If all goes well, Massachusetts could be saying hello to a new public law school in fall 2010.