Arizona Summit Law School officials are remaining hopeful, as the school nears hearings to appeal the loss of its accreditation, according to Interim President Peter Goplerud.
The school was put on probation by the American Bar Association in March 2017, but Arizona Summit lost its accreditation in June 2018.
The law school is currently appealing
the removal of its accreditation, and Goplerud said he believes they have strong case for appeal. The final outcome could be determined as soon as Sept. 25 or as late as Oct. 25.
ABA said its decision stemmed from Arizona Summit’s non-compliance with the association’s standards.
“[The school] believes that the ABA’s action in making its decision was arbitrary and capricious and should be reversed and the school’s accreditation should continue,” Goplerud said.
Arizona State University is expected to help Arizona Summit should its appeal be unsuccessful. Goplerud said “in order to provide the greatest level of support for the students,” the school has been in discussions with the university about a teach-out proposal. The proposal would allow students to receive their degree from Arizona Summit by taking the rest of their classes at ASU.
Goplerud became interim president in July when Don Lively, former president, stepped down. Goplerud had been involved in InfiLaw, the school’s parent company, and had been providing support to the school with regard to accreditation regulatory matters prior to assuming the position.
“[The proposal] would provide a home for students that need to continue their coursework to graduate and ultimately take the bar,” Goplerud said.
If the school wins its appeal, Goplerud said the school will look at launching classes again, depending on how many students they will still have.
Arizona Summit cancelled its classes for the fall semester less than two weeks before it was scheduled to begin. The cancellation announcement was sent to students via email, leaving some students without a replacement.
Some students were transferred to ASU and Florida Coastal School of Law, while others took a leave of absence for the semester. Goplerud said Arizona Summit worked hard to find replacements for its students.
According to Karen Sung, senior director of communications for the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, the university received 16 students from Arizona Summit. Three are visiting students who will receive their degree from Arizona Summit despite attending ASU for the semester and 13 were transferred to ASU.
Florida Coastal, Arizona’s Summit sister school in Jacksonville, Fla., took about 15 students, according to Goplerud, who is a former dean of Florida Coastal. He said there are no real differences between the two programs, except Summit students are now taking classes online.
Arizona Summit Law School officials also got locked out of their building, located on 1 N. Central Ave., in August. Officials are currently negotiating with the landlord to reach a solution.
While waiting for the final decision, Goplerud said his main focus is the students.
“My concern at the moment is to simply do everything I can to support our students and to work with our team members who are working every day to try and provide the necessary support in all possible areas for our students,” he said.
Contact the reporter at afuenmay@asu.edu.
Correction: An earlier version of the story stated that ASU received three students who were either transfer or visiting students. The story has been updated to state that ASU received three visiting and 13 transfer students.
