The University of Minnesota’s Law School is about to receive money to combat its financial issues as its enrollment continues to decline, according to the Minnesota Daily.
The proposed budget from President Eric Kaler includes a $2.2 million allocation to help the school cover a loss in revenue from tuition.
Despite somewhat consistent enrollment over the past couple of years, Dean David Wippman said that the number of first-year students and applications to the school continue to drop.
Only 180 students will enroll for the fall of 2014, which is a significant drop from the 220 first-year students in the fall of 2013.
“That’s a pretty significant drop,” Wippman said.
Wippman said that if the law school did not receive aid from the University and if it did not alter its operations, the school would be faced with a $3 million deficit next year.
Raises for employees are being lowered, contracts are not being renewed with adjunct faculty and publications are being moved to the internet to cut costs. Wippman said that the law school has begun admitting more transfer students that normal. It will also launch a one-year master’s program for patent law in an effort to attract new students.
The law school received $950,000 from the University last year for scholarships and tuition increased by 5 percent or more for full-time resident students for the school year that just ended.