Law Schools, Student Loans

Law School Faculty Rebels Against For-Profit Infilaw, Stands By Students In Time Of Need

They're ready to go to war for their students.

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Charlotte Law professors are going to war for their students.

Charlotte Law professors are going to war for their students.

On Monday, the Department of Education announced that Charlotte School of Law, a for-profit Infilaw institution, would lose its eligibility to participate in the federal student loan program on December 31, 2016. Thanks to the school’s non-compliance with American Bar Association standards and its misrepresentations to students regarding their ability to pass the bar exam, Charlotte Law students are feeling as though they’ve been left out in the cold, despite the fact that administrators at the school claim to want to protect them.

The administration’s goal to protect students who have been wronged — not by Charlotte Law’s alleged malfeasance, of course, but by the Department of Education — flies in the face of what we’ve been told by students who attend the school. We’ve heard that members of the law school administration have blocked all student access to the seventh floor of the building where their offices are located, and haven’t been answering calls.

Charlotte Law faculty members, on the other hand, are standing by their students, and are ready to go to war for them. A source at the law school told us that faculty members are now “rebelling against [their] Infilaw overlords,” and sent out a strongly worded letter via email to all students and alumni of the school. Here’s a pertinent passage from that letter (which is available in full on the next page):

Students, we share in your feelings of sadness, anger, and disappointment. At this juncture, we are insisting that Infilaw recognize that decisions about admissions and curriculum must be made by the faculty. These decisions are the subject of our current situation and were made without the benefit of those best able to protect the students’ interests.

Despite the institutional failures listed in the letter from the DOE on December 19, 2016, we assure you that your faculty remains committed to delivering quality legal education. We are unified in our desire to the best by our students and alumni as we face the challenges ahead.

You know that your law school has been doing something incredibly wrong when the faculty refer to “institutional failures” in a letter that has been sent directly to students and alumni who have paid (or more likely, borrowed) money hand over fist to attend.

The Charlotte Law faculty members go on to state that Infilaw must release a statement committing to the law school and assuring students that all students will be able to continue their education at the school this spring — specifically those who were set to graduate — regardless of whether or not the situation with the Department of Education has been resolved. Thus far, Infilaw has yet to release such a statement.

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Students, please know that while it may seem as though the administration isn’t on your side, your professors are standing by you. If you need someone else to speak to during this difficult time, Charlotte Law is a member school of the North Carolina BarCARES program. To speak to someone immediately, call 919-929-1227 or 1-800-640-0735.

(Flip to the next page to see the full letter to students from the Charlotte Law faculty.)

Earlier: For-Profit Law School Wants To ‘Protect’ Students Now That They Can’t Get Loans
Law School DENIED Access To Federal Student Loan Dollars
ABA Cracks Down On Law Schools Admitting Students Who Can’t Pass The Bar Exam

Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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