LSU Law Center changing

• By JORDAN BLUM
• Advocate Capitol News Bureau
• Published: Oct 26, 2009

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LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center is planning substantial curriculum and student-policy changes to adopt a more lenient grading system and decrease the number of course credits required for graduation.

The student-led effort is being championed by Chancellor Jack Weiss and many faculty as a means to modernize the law center and make the law school more competitive with peers.

“It’s a watershed moment for the law school, in my judgment, and a highly positive one,” Weiss said. “Ever since I arrived here (in 2007), I’ve been intending to review a number of policies I thought were out of step with the rest of the law school world.”

First off, the law school plans to decrease the time to graduate from 97 credit hours to 94 hours. The move eliminates the need to take summer school at least one of the three years of law school, but it will not do away with summer offerings,  such as the summer coursework in France.

LSU requires more credit hours than any law school in the nation, and will continue to require more than most, Weiss said. But LSU offers unique dual law degrees in common and civil law.

Also, the 600-student law school will move away from its “notorious” and “very challenging” grading reputation by adopting a curved, mandatory grading system to make the law school’s upper and median grade levels more comparable to peer schools, Weiss said.

The chancellor is adamant that none of the changes will make LSU “easier.” Instead, Weiss said, the changes will offer more flexibility for students while making the students more competitive in the global work force.

The average grade-point average for the top 10 percent of LSU law students is about 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, compared to at least 3.6 for LSU’s peer group, Weiss said.

He is hoping the bulk of the changes can be brought before the LSU Board of Supervisors for approval at its December board meeting.

Scott Sternberg, LSU Student Bar Association executive president and student member of the LSU Board, helped lead the effort and co-wrote a “white paper” on the topic.

Sternberg said he is pleased to see the law center making quick progress with the support of Weiss and faculty.

Changing the amount of credits to graduate gives students more opportunity to work during the summer or to take on an extra internship, Sternberg said.

As for the grading system, he said students for years have been disadvantaged against graduates from other schools. When an LSU law graduate and a graduate from another school have the same class ranks, but the other student has a sizably higher grade-point average, then the LSU student is less likely to get the job, he said.