Lately I have received a number of emails about various law schools and I have visited a good many law school websites. Most are not very good, which is amazing when you think that this is by and large a prospective student's look at the school. I certainly do not know what the motivation or priorities were behind the design of some of these websites, although I have to believe in many cases that there was not motivation or priorities (in fact no planning) at all. Which is a shame.
And then, with many you have to wonder what the law school is trying to hide. Maybe not the best example, but certainly the most current example for me, is the University of Miami School of Law website. A graduate emails me and asks me to publicize the school. I immediately go to the website. It is designed pretty well. It actually contains a lot of information about the school. It has a whole section trumpeting the latest news. It has links on how to give to the law school, how to apply, the alumni, student spotlights, offices and telephone numbers, faculty and staff email, information about it summer programs, its CLE, its law library, and it even has a virtual tour and class schedule.
What you cannot seem to easily find on many sites, especially on the sites of private law schools, is ultimately important to any decision a prospective students makes. What is the cost of your education? What is the tuition? Maybe you can find this information by digging elsewhere, but what is the point? Is the law school of such a questionable value that the information is not prominent? That is what is left to be believed.
Any law school that is worth its salt will list its current tuition and fees on the homepage, or at least have the link prominently displayed.
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