WNE Law School in Springfield, Worcester State sign 3+3 agreement speeding education and saving money

Western New England Law School

12/14/2018 — SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University in Springfield and its School of Law signed it latest 3+3 articulation agreement Friday with Worcester State University. Here, Sudha N. Setty, dean of the School of Law, WNE President Anthony S. Caprio, Worcester State President Barry M. Maloney and Russ Pottle, dean of the school of humanities and social sciences at Worcester State, prepare to sign the agreement. (Jim Kinney / The Republican)

SPRINGFIELD — Western New England University School of Law and Worcester State University on Friday signed an agreement that could allow Worcester State students to earn both undergraduate and law degrees in six years, not the traditional seven.

Called a 3+3 articulation agreement, the program requires Worcester State students to complete bachelor’s degree requirements except for free electives in their first three years of college. The students apply to the law school in their junior year and attend their first year of law school during what would have been their senior year in college, said Russ Pottle, dean of the school of humanities and social science at Worcester State. The students must first finish all degree requirements except for free electives.

The first-year law school courses count as those free electives for the Worcester State undergraduate degree, he said.

The move saves the student a year’s cost of attending Worcester State, Pottle said. Tuition and fees total $10,000 for in-state students and $15,000 for out-of-state students.

“And the opportunity cost of that year,” said Sudha N. Setty, dean of the School of Law. “That year you are saving is a year where you can be out in the workforce as a lawyer.”

Western New England University President Anthony S. Caprio said how happy he was that WNE was able to collaborate with a quality institution.

“We want to provide opportunities to our students that are cost-effective,” Caprio said. “The key is access.”

Worcester State President Barry M. Maloney, a Springfield native, said the two campuses are within commuting distance of each other.

“It’s a great deal for students looking for the most affordable pathway to a law degree,” he said.

Setty said these 3+3 arrangements are not uncommon. Western New England has them with a dozen other schools, and the one with Worcester State makes 13. Other schools in the program include Springfield College and Elms College locally, and one as far away as SUNY Delhi in New York’s Catskill Mountains.

Internally, Western New England has a 3+3 agreement for its own undergraduates.

School of Law enrollment is on the upswing, said Anthony Orlando, director of admissions. The current first-year class is 88 students, up from a recent low of 70 in 2015.

The recession caused a national slowdown in law school applications, Setty said. But now students are more tuned into the value, both academically and financially, of a law degree.

Pottle said Worcester State’s pre-law programs are in history, political science, philosophy and criminal justice.

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