The University of Wisconsin Law School released a public statement that they have opted not to be included in this year’s U.S News & World Report law school ranking.
This report has recently been criticized for the methodology used to determine these survey rankings by law schools across the country, according to the New York Times.
“The fundamental problem is that U.S. News doesn’t value what UW Law School values,” UW Law School Dean Dan Tokaji said.
UW Law’s mission emphasizes the accessibility of a well-rounded legal education for a fair price to ensure graduates have the freedom to practice whatever law they choose once they graduate, without fear of living in debt, according to the statement.
The U.S. News Report will no longer consider student debt upon graduation as one of the factors in ranking law schools, which UW views as a large part of the decision process for prospective students, according to the UW Law statement. Keeping the cost of law school down is fundamental to UW Law, as it is the only public law school in Wisconsin.
While the national average law school debt is about $118,000, the average law school debt for UW Law students in 2022 was $48,419, according to the statement.
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“Access is critical to a quality education,” Tokaji said.
With U.S. News prioritizing median GPAs and median LSAT scores, schools around the nation spend a lot of money to hit those medians, at the cost of the student’s education, Tokaji said.
In 2022, the U.S. News Report increased the weight of the bar exam from 2.25% to 3%, according to U.S. News. This change harms UW Law, as they have fewer graduates who take the bar exam due to the school’s Diploma Privilege option.
Wisconsin is one of the only states that does not require students to pass the bar exam in order to practice law in the state. Most of the students who earn a J.D. degree from the Law School also meet the conditions for Wisconsin Diploma Privilege, according to the Law School Website. UW feels that the bar exam disproportionately affects underrepresented and disadvantaged students, according to UW Law School News.
UW Law has also asked U.S. News to make the rankings available to prospective students free of charge, which they have not committed to doing, according to the statement. UW Law’s rankings have ranged from 43rd to 27th over the last four years, which UW feels is not an accurate representation of the school.
U.S. News maintains that its mission is to help educate prospective law students to make the best choices for their futures, according to a published U.S. News statement made by Robert Morse and Stephanie Salmon on Jan. 2, 2023.
