A once inactive program will now be resurrected, allowing law students to participate in a program that could cut off a year from their pursuit of a law degree.
After much discussion during Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting, the proposal to bring the 3 & 3 Program back from the inactive list passed. However, there were many topics discussed regarding what the program provided to law students.
“There is a renewed interest in this and I have a feeling, my strong sense is … we are going to see increased numbers in interest in students coming through this,” said Associate Dean for the College of Law, Jeffrey Dodge.
Dodge presented the proposal to Faculty Senate, giving a general overview of what the program entails.
“The 3 & 3 Program allows undergraduate students to do three years of their baccalaureate degree and begin law school, even though they haven’t been awarded the bachelors degree, and have the first 30 credits of their law degree go to complete their baccalaureate degree,” Dodge said.
Dodge also explained to Faculty Senate why he thought the program should once again be an active program in the College of Law.
Although there had never been an affirmative decision to move the 3 & 3 Program onto the inactive list, Dodge said it quietly fell off of the active list, leaving many law faculty members surprised.
“It was dead,” Dodge said. “It had fallen off onto the inactive list, even though we were actively promoting it.”
Many members of Faculty Senate asked questions about the program. Some senators expressed concern, while others said they thought the program could be beneficial.
“It seems to me that if students can save one year by following this. It’s a huge thing,” said Faculty Senate Vice Chair Patrick Hrdlicka. “I mean it should be very popular, I would have imagined.”
Sen. Chantal Vella of the College of Education said she had concerns with the program. She mentioned some problems the athletic training program ran into with the 3+2 Program.
Vella said some students were able to obtain their degree in exercise science and health without taking some of the required coursework.
Dodge said this would not be a problem in the College of Law.
A substantial part in this proposal was associated with the fact that students had reached out to administrators in the law department, Dodge said.
With multiple students expressing interest, Dodge said the proposal to re-activate the program was necessary.
Despite the fact that the program cuts off one year from a law student’s college career, Dodge said students should plan out their academic career in order to actively take advantage of the program.
Any student wishing to pursue the program must exhibit commitment, dedication and strategic planning, Dodge said.
“A student really needs to be planning for this type of program in their first, at the latest beginning of their sophomore second year, because you need to strategically leave all of those elective credits to the end,” Dodge said.
Savannah Cardon can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @savannahlcardon