Breaking News

State board says no to UI law school branch campus in Boise

August 21, 2008, 3:20 pm

POCATELLO — The State Board of Education has shot down the University of Idaho law school’s proposed Boise branch campus.
Instead, the board during its meeting here today authorized the UI to ask the Legislature to fund a full third-year of law school in Boise for UI students starting next year.
Several board members were skeptical of the expense of a full branch campus, both for the state and for future students, and of the demand for more lawyers in Idaho. Acknowledging there is a need for expanded legal education in the state’s population center, the board settled for approving the third and final year of law school in Boise, and asked the UI to revisit a full three-year branch campus in the future.
Board members Paul Agidius of Moscow and Blake Hall of Idaho Falls voted against the measure, which authorizes the UI to ask for additional money to pay for the limited expansion starting in fiscal year 2010.
Law school Dean Donald Burnett said the cost of starting a full third-year curriculum in Boise for about 30 students would be similar to starting a new class of first-year students, about $1 million.

Receive Breaking News Emails

E-mail
Name