Regents OK $7,000 tuition rate for UNLV law school

Saturday, Sept. 6, 1997 | 9:15 a.m.

But Carol Harter told University and Community College System of Nevada regents the annual tuition will be higher than some other schools, such as Idaho at $3,308, Montana at $5,854 and Arizona at $4,009.

The board voted Thursday to approve the $7,000 in-state tuition and $14,000 for out-of-state students. The school will open for the fall 1998 semester.

Regent Mark Alden of Las Vegas suggested a tuition of $5,000 or $6,000 to make it easier for Nevadans to attend. But Harter said Gov. Bob Miller and the Legislature, in building the budget for the law school, set the tuition at $7,000 in order to save money for the state.

That compares with UCLA's $10,800 in-state tuition and Oregon's $9,053. California Western School of Law in San Diego charges $19,000 to $20,000 a year. Church-supported Brigham Young law school has a tuition of $4,950 for Mormons and $7,425 for non-Mormons.

Richard Morgan, who will be founding dean of the William S. Boyd School of Law, said this was the first state-supported law school to start in the last 20 years. But he added that a number of private law schools have opened their doors around the nation.

Morgan, former dean of the law school at Arizona State, said he wants to get the Nevada school going "on a high note and keep it going on a high note."