Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission
Kaplan University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission
(HLC).* The formal merger of Concord Law School into Kaplan
University in the fall of 2007 made Concord the first online law school
to be part of a regionally accredited institution of higher education.
*HLC, Tel.: 312.263.0456 Website: www.ncahlc.org
Additionally, Concord is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of
the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC),
a nationally
recognized accrediting agency. Concord's degree-granting authority in
connection with its JD students qualifying to take the California Bar
Examination and obtain admission to the practice of law in California is
based on its registration as an unaccredited law school with the
Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California..
Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC)
(Formerly the Distance Education and Training Council‒DETC)
1601 18th Street NW, Suite 2
Washington, DC 20009
www.deac.org
State Bar of California Registration
Concord is registered as a Distance Learning Law School in the
unaccredited category with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State
Bar of California. Concord's method of delivering instruction—via the
Internet
without a fixed classroom facility—places it in the Distance Learning
Law School category under the State Bar rules. While the State Bar
of California and the American Bar Association (ABA) do not accredit
distance learning schools, the Committee registers schools in this
category. Concord Law School is registered as such. Its Juris Doctor
(JD) program is designed to meet the legal education requirements of the
Committee and JD graduates, who meet
the regulatory requirements, are eligible to apply for admission to the
State Bar of
California.
Concord operates under the rules and guidelines established by the Committee. Those rules and guidelines require certain disclosures
to prospective students and students, which Concord supports. Study at,
or graduation from, Concord may not qualify a student to take the bar
examination or satisfy the requirements for admission to practice law in
jurisdictions other than California. A student seeking admission to
practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the
admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the
legal education requirement for admission to the practice of law.
Bar Admission
Concord is proud of the legal education program that it pioneered and
continues to develop. Our program is distinctive because of the ways in
which it employs multiple methods of delivering course material to
students, because of our proactive approach in dealing with students
enrolled in the program, and because the program is delivered completely
in a distance learning environment.
A person who earns a Juris
Doctor (JD) degree from Concord Law School and meets the other
regulatory requirements, including passing the First Year Law Students’
Exam, is eligible to sit for the California Bar Examination. If that
person passes the exam and meets the State Bar of California’s other
admissions requirements, he or she can be admitted to practice law in
California.
Concord does not have formal recognition or approval
in any state other than California. Bar admission is a state-by-state
matter. Admission to the State Bar of California may provide a basis for
an application to sit for the bar exam in other states—either
immediately after admission or after a specified period of active law
practice. Concord, however, cannot give any formal advice or assurance
regarding the requirements for admission to the practice of law outside
of California. Persons interested in such information should contact the
bar admission officials in the particular state. The National
Conference of Bar Examiners (NCBE) www.ncbex.org website includes links to state sites, contact information, and other bar admission information.
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