Indiana Tech Law School receives provisional accreditation from American Bar Association

Indiana Tech Law School announced on Monday that it has earned provisional accreditation from the American Bar Association (ABA).

“I’m grateful for the ABA’s work in reviewing our program and all of the support we have received along the way from our students, faculty and staff, Indiana Tech alums and the legal community in Fort Wayne and beyond,” said Indiana Tech Law School Dean Charles Cercone. “All of us here at the law school are excited about what the future holds for our program.”

“Everyone at Indiana Tech appreciates the hard work that our students, faculty, staff and Dean Cercone have done in building our law school,” said Indiana Tech President Arthur E. Snyder. “It’s gratifying that the ABA sees the quality and value of our work to date in creating a truly innovative and effective program of legal education.”

Provisional accreditation entitles Indiana Tech Law School to all the rights of a fully accredited law school, and enables its graduates to take the bar exam in any American jurisdiction. A provisionally accredited law school may apply for full accreditation no earlier than two years after receiving provisional accreditation and must obtain full accreditation within five years after receiving provisional accreditation. A law school seeking accreditation must demonstrate that it is in substantial compliance with all of the ABA Standards for the Approval of Law Schools.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller, who, as an adjunct law professor, taught a course on Indiana constitutional law during the fall semester at Indiana Tech and serves on the law school’s board of advisors, said the following regarding the ABA’s accreditation:

“Indiana Tech Law School offers an exciting new approach to legal education with its focus on experiential learning and a commitment to ethics. The hard work of the administrators, professors and students during the ABA review has resulted in reaching this significant milestone, which will allow this year’s third-year students, who graduate in May, to sit for the bar exam after graduation. It is fitting that this occurs in 2016, when Hoosiers celebrate the bicentennial of the State of Indiana’s founding.”

Indiana Tech Law School was founded in 2012 and welcomed in its first class in 2013. The members of that charter class will graduate this May.