BOSTON – The Massachusetts Board of Higher Education approved a plan Tuesday to create the state’s first public law school.
Members of the board, meeting in Bridgewater, voted unanimously to accept the Southern New England School of Law’s offer to donate its campus, valued at $23 million, to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.
With the board’s final approval, UMass-Dartmouth officials are set to open the law school in September. Tuition and fees for the 2010-2011 academic year will be about $23,500 for in-state students and $31,000 for out-of-state students.
University of Massachusetts President Jack M. Wilson called the vote “a historic moment for public higher education in Massachusetts.” He said residents in 44 other states already have access to a public law school education.
“A public law school means that law students will graduate with less debt and will have more flexibility in making their career choices,” Wilson said in a statement.
UMass-Dartmouth said a special panel of academics, judges, attorneys and higher education experts is being formed to help with the merger. Current Southern New England students will be invited to transfer to the new school. Officials said the merger could take several weeks.
Officials said a range of financial aid will be available, including a public interest fellowship program that will provide a 50 percent discount for 25 students each year who agree to practice public interest law after graduating.
