ABA 509 Disclosures For All Law Schools 2016

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It’s that time of year again. Today is the annual reporting day for ABA 509 Disclosures for all law schools. These are required public disclosures that all law schools must make as part of their ABA accreditation.

I made a series of reports on the disclosures in 2014:

Then a single report in 2015:

I’ll be back to putting out a few reports this year. First up is a look at the matriculant data for all law schools. Matriculant data is one of the more interesting pieces of information because it provides a good overview on how law schools are faring. I’ll be looking at two sets of data:

  • 2011 to 2016 Changes
  • 2015 to 2016 Changes

Before we get into that, here is a spreadsheet list of all law schools sorted alphabetically if you just want to jump to your school easily.

2011 To 2016 Changes

Click for huge version.

Downward trends

  • 165 schools decreased in matriculants from 2011 to 2016
  • 12 schools had matriculants decrease by over 50% from 2011 to 2015
  • 80% of schools had a double digit percentage decrease in matriculants.
  • Largest decrease: Appalachian School of Law at -74.0% (148 to 38).
  • Runner-up decrease: Penn State University at -68.6% (185 to 58).

Upward trends

  • 2 schools had no change (University of Arkansas, Little Rock & Stanford University)
  • 30 schools increased matriculants from 2011 to 2016
  • 11 schools had a double digit percentage increase in matriculants
  • Largest increase: University of La Verne at 110.9% (55 to 116)
  • Runner-up increase: Lincoln Memorial at 79.4% (34 to 61).

Top ten largest percentage decreases from 2011 to 2016

  • -74.0 % APPALACHIAN SCHOOL OF LAW
  • -68.6% PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
  • -68.2% ARIZONA SUMMIT LAW SCHOOL
  • -65.0% FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW
  • -64.3% THOMAS M. COOLEY LAW SCHOOL
  • -56.3% PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF P.R.
  • -55.3% NEW ENGLAND LAW | BOSTON
  • -54.4% REGENT UNIVERSITY
  • -52.8% VALPARAISO UNIVERSITY
  • -51.9% TOURO COLLEGE

Top ten largest percentage increases from 2011 to 2016

  • 12.9% CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
  • 15.0% OKLAHOMA, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 15.1% SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 18.5% CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 18.8% CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
  • 35.7% ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY
  • 37.7% KENTUCKY, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 57.3% CALIFORNIA-IRVINE, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 79.4% LINCOLN MEMORIAL
  • 110.9% UNIVERSITY OF LA VERNE

Total matriculant change from 2011 to 2016:

  • 47,050 to 36,999. A -21.4% change.  

2015 To 2016 Changes

Click for huge version.

Downward trends

  • 95 schools decreased in matriculants from 2015 to 2016
  • 0 schools had matriculants decrease by over 50% from 2015 to 2016
  • 15 schools had matriculants decrease by over 20% from 2015 to 2016
  • Largest decrease: Arizona Summit Law School at -46.4% (450 to 143).
  • Runner-up decrease: University of South Dakota at -39.5% (90 to 52).

Upward trends

  • 4 schools had no change (Georgetown, Seattle University, Stanford, &Texas A&M)
  • 103 schools increased matriculants from 2015 to 2016
  • 49 schools had a double digit percentage increase in matriculants
  • Largest increase: Charleston School of Law at 152.9% (85 to 215).
  • Runner-up increase: Concordia Law School at 144.4% (18 to 44).

Top ten largest percentage decreases from 2015 to 2016

  • -46.4% ARIZONA SUMMIT LAW SCHOOL
  • -39.5% SOUTH DAKOTA, UNIVERSITY OF
  • -36.6% RICHMOND, UNIVERSITY OF
  • -36.2% TOURO COLLEGE
  • -31.8% PONTIFICAL CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF P.R.
  • -29.9% BARRY UNIVERSITY
  • -28.4% SAN DIEGO, UNIVERSITY OF
  • -26.6% FLORIDA COASTAL SCHOOL OF LAW
  • -26.3% WYOMING, UNIVERSITY OF
  • -26.0% NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Top ten largest percentage increases from 2015 to 2016

  • 27.2% ST. THOMAS, UNIVERSITY OF (MINNESOTA)
  • 27.5% CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
  • 27.8% CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
  • 29.4% NEBRASKA, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 35.4% VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
  • 47.1% NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
  • 58.4% KENTUCKY, UNIVERSITY OF
  • 62.1% WIDENER-COMMONWEALTH
  • 144.4% CONCORDIA LAW SCHOOL
  • 152.9% CHARLESTON SCHOOL OF LAW

Total matriculant change from 2015 to 2016:

  • 36,966 to 36,999. A 0.1% increase.
Note: Professor Carron reminded me that Penn State split into two law schools, which isn’t reflected in the above data. I’ll readjust the data and repost the corrections tomorrow.

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If you like numbers and statistics, you might like my book because it doesn’t have any of those.

Speaking of law schools, upon reading my book a federal judge remarked: “…if law schools wanted to be truthful about what they are selling, they should make every admission seeker certify that before mailing their application they have read Keith’s book.”

Just saying.

 

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