If UV ink spilled is any indication, a number of U of T Law students think our tuition is too high (or, at the very least, that it shouldn’t be getting so high so fast).
Proponents of this argument believe that law school is too expensive for many students. Not everyone gets (or wants) the high-paying Bay Street or Wall Street jobs that can justify $100,000 in debt. Many students feel trapped into pursuing jobs they don’t want, just so they can pay back this obligation.
One could argue, however, that a greater problem than what law school costs is that prospective students can’t predict what they’ll make afterwards.
To address this problem, the Faculty should follow the example set by business schools. Their tuition is even more exorbitant than ours (Rotman MBA students pay $43,000/year) and students there take on just as much debt as law students do.
Business students, however, are under no illusions as to the nature of their education. They know their degree is an investment. Unlike law students, business students are actually given the information they need in order to decide whether enrollment is worth the cost.
Business schools provide very explicit breakdowns of what jobs their students get and at what pay. For example, one of the most important metrics in comparing business schools is median salary upon graduation. Prospective U of T Law students, on the other hand, have a much poorer idea of what they stand to make when they graduate. It’s this ignorance that makes investing in $100,000 of debt so daunting.
Not everyone goes to law school with the goal of getting the highest paying job possible. Many people don’t even know what kind of job they want when they get out. Every student, however, should know what options will be available to them, and what their likelihood is of getting those positions.
While the administration is at it, it could even prepare an annual report like the one the Queen’s School of Business does (see http://business.queensu.ca/about_us/annual_report.php). If a law degree were a security, such reporting would be a mandatory.
The Faculty of Law’s Annual Report could include:
- Job and pay breakdowns for recent graduates;
- A breakdown of the Faculty’s revenue streams and expense items; and
- Highlights from the year such as moot wins, ground-breaking legal research and new faculty hires.
There is undoubtedly some room for discussion on how the law school spends our tuition. Knowing where the money goes is crucial for such a debate, as is a better understanding of the school’s many initiatives and successes.
An annual report would provide all of these things, and would give prospective students a much better idea of what they’re getting into.
