WHITE PLAINS, NY, December 12, 2006 – Pace Law School’s combined pass rate surpassed the New York average for all first time takers for the first time since 1995. In data received from the July 2006 New York Bar Examination, the combined pass rate was 83%. This is three and a half percentage points higher than the benchmark New York average for all first time takers, and is virtually equal to the corresponding pass rate from ABA accredited law schools. 

The pass rate for the full-time class was particularly impressive at 86.6%. The part-time class returned to its traditional range at 67.7%, which is below the New York average but considerably higher than the part-time class pass rate for last year.

“Our success this year [is due] to a collaborative effort by the faculty, staff, and administration, as well as our students’ hard work and focus on effective bar preparation,” said Mark Padin, director of Pace Law’s Academic Support Program. 

That collaborative effort was led by the Faculty Bar Pass Task Force, which formed in 2004 and met again in 2005 to analyze the results of the New York Bar exam and discuss ways to improve Pace Law School’s bar pass rate. The committee comprised then-Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Michelle Simon, who served as chair, Professor Horace Anderson, Professor Gretchen Flint, Professor Leslie Garfield, and Mark Padin, director of the Academic Support Program. The committee reviewed Pace’s current program, surveyed programs of schools across the country, attended AALS programs aimed at improving bar pass rate, and analyzed statistics relating to our own pass rate. 

Improvements to our current bar pass program offered through Academic Support, include: mandatory academic advising for all first-year students and mandatory academic advising for upper-class students with a GPA below 2.8; academic dismissal for all students with a GPA below 2.3; mandatory second year skills lab for students who have a GPA of 2.6 after their first year; group information sessions on bar preparation; individual counseling with present students and alumni on bar preparation and development of study plans; and mandatory upper-level orientation during which second-year students take practice bar exam questions.

Founded in 1976, Pace University School of Law has nearly 6,500 alumni/ae throughout the country. It offers full- and part-time day and evening JD programs on its White Plains, NY, campus. The School also offers the Master of Laws in Environmental Law and in Comparative Legal Studies. The School, which has one of the nation's top-rated environmental law programs, also offers the SJD program in that field. The School of Law is part of a comprehensive, independent, and diversified University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. www.law.pace.edu.

A private university in the New York Metropolitan area, Pace University is commemorating 100 years of providing opportunity, educating achievers in business, industry, healthcare, education, government, and law. Pace has a growing national reputation for teaching and learning based on research, fostering engagement with critical issues locally and globally, for international perspectives and measurable outcomes. It is one of ten founders of Project Pericles, developing education that encourages lifelong participation in democratic processes. Pace has seven campuses, including downtown and midtown New York City, Pleasantville, Briarcliff, and White Plains. Approximately 13,700 diverse students are enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs in the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lienhard School of Nursing, Lubin School of Business, Ivan G. Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Education, and School of Law.  www.pace.edu