Tuesday, March 18, 2024
Elena Kagan Steps It Up
Showing why she's making a name for herself as dean at Harvard Law School, Elena Kagan is announcing a new program today in which HLS students who spend five years working for non-profits or the government will not have to pay their third year of tuition.
“We know that debt is a big issue,” said Elena Kagan, dean of the law school. “We have tried to address that over the years with a very generous loan forgiveness program, but we started to think that we could do better.”
Whether because of their debt load or because of the culture of the law school, HLS students virtually never go into public interest law.
From 2003 to 2006, as many as 67 and as few as 54 of the 550 students graduating from Harvard Law went to work for a nonprofit organization or the government. That translates to 9.8 to 12.1 percent of the graduating class. A vast majority of students have chosen to join law firms, where they can earn well over $100,000 a year immediately after getting their degree.
The Times points out that, in order to ensure compliance, HLS will be monitoring the employment and incomes of students in this program for five years after they graduate, which is a little creepy.....
Perhaps the program should be extended. What if Harvard repaid students 20% of a year's tuition for every year they spend doing non-profit work, up to five years?
Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea..... ¶ 7:07 AM
“We know that debt is a big issue,” said Elena Kagan, dean of the law school. “We have tried to address that over the years with a very generous loan forgiveness program, but we started to think that we could do better.”
Whether because of their debt load or because of the culture of the law school, HLS students virtually never go into public interest law.
From 2003 to 2006, as many as 67 and as few as 54 of the 550 students graduating from Harvard Law went to work for a nonprofit organization or the government. That translates to 9.8 to 12.1 percent of the graduating class. A vast majority of students have chosen to join law firms, where they can earn well over $100,000 a year immediately after getting their degree.
The Times points out that, in order to ensure compliance, HLS will be monitoring the employment and incomes of students in this program for five years after they graduate, which is a little creepy.....
Perhaps the program should be extended. What if Harvard repaid students 20% of a year's tuition for every year they spend doing non-profit work, up to five years?
Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea..... ¶ 7:07 AM
