Home » Chase College of Law restructures evening program to expand access

Chase College of Law restructures evening program to expand access

ChaseLogoHIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law will restructure its evening program to make part-time legal education more accessible than ever before.

Beginning in spring 2017, the evening program academic year will begin in May instead of September. The college will also adjust evening class schedules and offer more courses online, changes that will make it easier for students to attend law school while working, and also allow more time for individual study. Chase offers both evening part-time and day full-time programs at NKU’s Highland Heights campus; the full-time program will not be affected.

“Our faculty conducted an extensive analysis of the best ways to provide evening students with a high-quality legal education, while also considering demands on students’ personal and professional lives,” Dean Jeffrey A. Standen said. “Chase has been a leader in part-time legal education since it was founded as a night law school 123 years ago. To maintain that leadership, our faculty identified new ways to meet the needs of working students in a growing metro region.”

Part-time evening students will attend classes two days a week, instead of the current three days, and also attend 10 Saturdays a year. Students will meet established graduation requirements by beginning their first year of law school in May, instead of September, and by utilizing more online instruction.

The schedule change will allow students to concentrate on fewer classes each semester and devote time they would otherwise spend in classes and commuting to individual study. It will also increase instruction in legal writing and legal studies, two areas that are fundamental to success in law school.

The change utilizes technology that enables professors to teach without being in a classroom.

“Technology has advanced to the point professors can integrate it into their classes and create hybrid in-class/online environments that allow learning to continue beyond the physical classroom,” said Associate Dean Michael Whiteman, who oversees the college’s adoption of new technology. Entirely online courses will expand elective options.

The restructuring will make it easier for students to commute from outside the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky metropolitan area to earn a law degree in the part-time program.