NYU Offers On-line LLM Program

According to today’s National Law Journal:

New York University School of Law is making its LL.M. tax degree available online starting in the fall….

The law school expects to enroll about 25 students from around the world in the online program for its LL.M. degree, considered a premier tax credential for lawyers and scholars….

Both the online program and the school’s regular LL.M. program require students to complete 24 credits. For online students, they, generally, must complete two of those credits at the NYU campus in New York and can take all others electronically.

The article somewhat confusingly confuses the issue of accreditation for this new online program:

The ABA does not accredit schools that offer only online courses, and it permits accredited schools to offer only second- and third-year courses online.

In NYU’s case, it did not need to obtain ABA approval for the new LL.M. program, Cunningham said, because it is part of the graduate tax law program and because its requirements are, basically, the same as the part-time program. Tuition for the online program is $1,731 per credit, the same charge for the part-time program.

In fact, the ABA does not accredit LL.M. and other post-JD degree programs; however, ABA-accredited schools must receive ABA “acquiescence”: “Standard 308 of the ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools states that an ABA-approved law school may not establish a degree program in addition to its J.D. degree program unless the school is fully approved, and the additional degree program will not detract from a law school’s ability to maintain a sound J.D. degree program.”

(Cross posted at Buffalo Wings and Toasted Ravioli.)

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