North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
The Charlotte School of Law has been treading water for months now, avoiding many predictions of an inevitable descent into murky depths.
On academic probation and without federal funding, the school was recently buoyed by a University of North Carolina Board of Governors’ decision to continue its license to operate, subject to certain conditions and limitations.
Should the school meet these conditions, according to a Charlotte Law news release, it may petition for expeditious review and removal of those limitations.
“This is unquestionably a positive development for CSL,” the release states.
A review by the UNC General Administration examining Charlotte’s compliance with certain legal education standards, faculty qualifications, and financial matters was “largely positive,” school officials said in the statement, regarding its program and faculty.
The board found that Charlotte is not in compliance with certain financial requirements but will allow additional time for the school to strengthen its financial position, according to the statement. Under UNC licensure rules, the board “may continue in force the licensure of an institution deemed by the Board to be making substantial and expeditious progress toward remedying its licensure deficiencies.”
According to the statement, Charlotte has taken “concrete steps to reduce its debt and related obligations” on its way toward compliance.
“Thus, when CSL’s application to resume participation in the Federal Direct Loan Program is approved, which we hope will happen soon, we believe CSL will be financially capable of returning to full operation,” the statement reads. “Moreover, assuming our Reliable Plan is acceptable to the ABA, we will promptly return to the UNC Board to seek removal of its conditions and a full reinstatement of our license.”
