Northwestern California University School of Law - My Journey

[SweetSecret]

It looks like NWCA accepts transfer credits - has anyone explored if these would suffice?
lawshelf.com/coursewareview/

I tried asking about that, but the answer I received was "Unfortunately not, we can only accept transfer units from someone who was enrolled in a Law School J.D degree program."

The key is obviously communication and wording. If you are interested in re-phrasing and asking I would appreciate it. I have already had to re-email them numerous times to get answers and clarification. I do not want to come across as nagging. Maybe phrase the question as: "If I were to matriculate in the NWCU Law, and complete any of these Law Shelf courses between terms, could I receive credit for them?"

Also, I am still trying to get an answer on if the LawShelf credits could be used towards Concord's JD program too, but have not received an answer. I am going to try sending another email on that. 

Please report back on anything you find out. This could get interesting if the LawShelf credits could be used towards the JD somehow. NWCU still looks very appealing. I spoke to a graduate who was practicing in Wisconsin and after talking to her I feel like it could be a really great fit for me.

[Old Guy]

Quote from website:

Transfer credit is awarded at the discretion of the dean, however, NWCU typically awards transfer credit for courses completed at U.S. law schools which are approved by the American Bar Association (ABA) or are accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) of the State Bar of California, provided that the credits to be transferred are appropriate to the law degree program at NWCU.

In accordance with California law and the rules of the State Bar of California, NWCU may grant transfer credit for units earned in unaccredited programs registered with the State Bar of California to students who have passed the California First-Year Law Students' Examination (FYLSX) during the first three administrations after becoming eligible to take the examination, for all courses taken prior to passing. Those who do not pass the examination within the first three administrations of the examination upon first becoming eligible to take it, but who subsequently pass the examination, can receive credit for one year of law study only. Transferability of credits is determined on an individual basis.

As part of the application process, NWCU may require an evaluation of prior law studies by the State Bar of California. Additionally, a proposed plan of study may be required to verify eligibility for California bar admission after completion of the law study program. (End of quote)

I suspect the school will jealously guard their accreditation and go strictly by the book. It's not like anyone is getting rich enrolling students. Law courses taken outside law schools cater to the lowest common denominator. Courses taken at law schools are hard as nails.

[lumina]

I wonder how the proctored final exams are handled...

Final examinations are proctored online through Examity or by a proctor of your choice.

[jsd]

Are NWCU courses self paced? Their FAQ seems to imply they are, but I'm thinking they're probably still 16 weeks (or whatever specific length long), and you can do work at your own pace, but can't complete the course officially any faster than the 16 (or so) weeks?

It's not self-paced in the sense that you can complete the whole program faster than the designated 4 years, correct? (Assuming no xfer credit, that is).

[SweetSecret]

...
I suspect the school will jealously guard their accreditation and go strictly by the book.  It's not like anyone is getting rich enrolling students.  Law courses taken outside law schools cater to the lowest common denominator.  Courses taken at law schools are hard as nails.

I actually am hoping someone will recheck with Concord, because they seem to be willing to accept those Law Shelf courses for their other programs, but I have not gotten a solid answer about the JD program. Northwestern California University School of Law seems to like they will not accept them.

[jsd]

It is likely a Cal Bar accreditation issue, like Old Guy said, meaning none of these schools will accept them. which would explain why Concord accepts them for their non-JD courses, but (seemingly) not for the JD program. But that's just a guess, so still worth checking.

[Old Guy]

Are NWCU courses self paced? Their FAQ seems to imply they are, but I'm thinking they're probably still 16 weeks (or whatever specific length long), and you can do work at your own pace, but can't complete the course officially any faster than the 16 (or so) weeks?

It's not self-paced in the sense that you can complete the whole program faster than the designated 4 years, correct? (Assuming no xfer credit, that is).

Courses are one year long and the program is four years, reduced only by prior successful completion of approved law school courses.  You are free to do as little or as much in any particular month as long as you meet all the requirements within the year.

[jsd]

Makes sense, thanks for the info. So you could potentially finish all of year one super early, but you wouldn't be able to start year 2 at that point -- you'd just be waiting until year 1 was officially over. In such a setup, pacing yourself is likely a much better strategy than accelerating through the work, I would imagine.

[jsd]

I'm a bit tempted to do this, as the price is so low (compared to all the other CA schools, even the ones not accredited by the Cal Bar), and their bar passage rate is pretty respectable.

Some cons for me personally -- I'm bummed that, even though they're programmatically accredited by the state bar, they don't have institutional accreditation (neither RA nor NA), so I can't get my employer to cover any of it (and on that note, it closes the door to ever potentially teaching law at most schools, since almost all other CA online law schools have at least NA and would likely want your JD to be NA or RA for teaching). Their job placement is pretty terrible, but I'm not exactly looking to switch careers. And 4 years is a very long commitment for essentially a hobby degree. I'm hesitant about the hurdles it puts up around practicing outside of CA, but it's very unlikely I'll be leaving the state anyway. It'd just be nice to have that option.

I've been very critical of the California state bar-unaccredited online law schools, but with the moves Cal Bar has made over the past few years to start allowing online/distance schools to be accredited, and therefore waiving the baby bar and giving an incentive for these schools to maintain higher bar passage rates (or risk losing accreditation), things seems to be moving in a very interesting direction.

It's still very hard to justify this degree for myself personally, but I am certainly tempted.

[indigoshuffle]

I'm a bit tempted to do this, as the price is so low (compared to all the other CA schools, even the ones not accredited by the Cal Bar), and their bar passage rate is pretty respectable.

Some cons for me personally -- I'm bummed that, even though they're programmatically accredited by the state bar, they don't have institutional accreditation (neither RA nor NA), so I can't get my employer to cover any of it (and on that note, it closes the door to ever potentially teaching law at most schools, since almost all other CA online law schools have at least NA and would likely want your JD to be NA or RA for teaching). Their job placement is pretty terrible, but I'm not exactly looking to switch careers. And 4 years is a very long commitment for essentially a hobby degree. I'm hesitant about the hurdles it puts up around practicing outside of CA, but it's very unlikely I'll be leaving the state anyway. It'd just be nice to have that option.

I've been very critical of the California state bar-unaccredited online law schools, but with the moves Cal Bar has made over the past few years to start allowing online/distance schools to be accredited, and therefore waiving the baby bar and giving an incentive for these schools to maintain higher bar passage rates (or risk losing accreditation), things seems to be moving in a very interesting direction.

It's still very hard to justify this degree for myself personally, but I am certainly tempted.

If you're in California and you actually want to practice law, it's a good move.