AREA LAW SCHOOL LOSES ACCREDITATION STATUS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

The University of West Los Angeles School of Law has lost one key accreditation, which will affect students' ability to get federal financial aid.

The Western Association of Schools and Colleges voted in November to terminate its accreditation of the school, which has campuses in Inglewood and Woodland Hills, but UWLA appealed the decision. WASC reviewed the law school's appeal, but decided two weeks ago to terminate the school's accreditation. WASC's actions were made public Friday.

The termination is effective June 30 to allow current students to complete the spring term.

``We will be working with UWLA to arrange for a review of each student's case and to work out the best possible arrangement for the students,'' said WASC executive director Ralph Wolff.

UWLA President Robert W. Brown could not be reached for comment Friday. Contacted earlier this week, Brown declined to comment on the WASC decision before it was made public.

Without WASC accreditation, the school can still remain open, but students will not be eligible for federal financial aid, Wolff said. Brown has said students could apply for private loans if the school lost its appeal.

Wolff said the law school could again appeal WASC's decision, but UWLA has indicated to WASC that it will not. The accreditation termination also includes UWLA's paralegal program.

William Goldstein, 45, of Los Angeles, who is scheduled to graduate from the law school in May, said the WASC decision was not a surprise.

``Right now, we're all keeping our fingers crossed, hoping to graduate or go on in some manner or form,'' Goldstein said, adding that the school had not yet informed the students about WASC's latest decision.

Although the school's paralegal program is accredited by the American Bar Association, its law school is not, in part because it allows law students to attend on a part-time basis. Graduates of non-ABA-accredited schools that are California-accredited can only sit for the California bar, with a few exceptions.

The State Bar of California's Committee of Bar Examiners, however, voted in January to proceed with the withdrawal of its accreditation of UWLA and will take up the matter again when it meets in two weeks. UWLA remains accredited while it appeals.

State accreditation is critical because students who attend a nonstate-accredited law school are ineligible to sit for the bar exam without first passing the First-Year Law Students' Examination, or ``Baby Bar,'' according to the State Bar.

The California bar exam is considered one of the toughest in the country, with an average first-time pass rate of 63.7 percent, according to the State Bar. First-time pass rates vary according to individual schools.

The University of California, Los Angeles, which is ABA-accredited, had an 89 percent first-time pass rate in 2005, with 265 students taking the exam. Glendale University College of Law, which is only state-accredited, had a 27 percent first-time pass rate, with 15 students taking the bar, and UWLA had a 21 percent pass rate, with 28 students taking the bar.

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com