Taft Accreditation and Affiliations

Accreditation and Affiliations

Overview of Accreditation

The goal of accreditation is to ensure that education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. Accreditation in the United States involves non-governmental entities as well as governmental agencies. Accrediting agencies, which are private educational associations of regional or national scope, develop evaluation criteria and conduct peer evaluations to assess whether or not those criteria are met. Institutions and/or programs that request an agency’s evaluation and that meet an agency’s criteria are then “accredited” by that agency.

The United States has no federal Ministry of Education or other centralized authority exercising single national control over postsecondary educational institutions in this country. The states assume varying degrees of control over education, but, in general, institutions of higher education are permitted to operate with considerable independence and autonomy.

In order to insure a basic level of quality, the practice of accreditation arose in the United States as a means of conducting nongovernmental, peer evaluation of educational institutions and programs. Private educational associations of regional or national scope have adopted criteria reflecting the qualities of a sound educational program and have developed procedures for evaluating institutions or programs to determine whether or not they are operating at basic levels of quality.

The U.S. Department of Education does not accredit educational institutions and/or programs. However, the Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency.

Accreditation

Taft Law School, as an educational division of The Taft University System, is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission. The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a recognized accrediting agency. The Distance Education Accrediting Commission is recognized by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

The Distance Education Accrediting Commission (www.deac.org) is a non-profit section 501(c) (6) educational association located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1926 to promote sound educational standards and ethical business practices within the correspondence field. The independent nine-member Accrediting Commission of the DEAC was established in 1955.

The DEAC is a voluntary, non-governmental, educational organization that operates the nationally recognized accrediting association, the DEAC. The DEAC defines, maintains, and promotes educational excellence in distance education institutions. The Commission is dedicated to fostering quality assurance, protection of the rights of the students and institutional self-improvement through voluntary accreditation via peer evaluation. DEAC accreditation aims to instill public confidence in DEAC institutions’ missions, goals, performances, and resources through rigorous application and peer-developed accreditation standards.

With its 80-plus years of history and its highly refined and federally recognized accreditation program, DEAC offers distance learning institutions the most current, relevant and practical services for the 21st Century.

Distance Education Accrediting Commission

1101 17th Street NW, Suite 808

Washington, D.C. 20036

Phone: (202) 234 – 5100

The Distance Education Accrediting Commission has provided Taft Law School with a DEAC Student Achievement Disclosure for the Public detailing it’s Aggregated Institutional Data on Student Achievement.

Recognition by the State Bar of California

Degree granting authority in connection with its students qualifying to take the California Bar Examination and obtain admission to the practice of law in California is based on Taft Law School’s registration as an unaccredited law school with the Committee of Bar Examiners.

The Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California requires all distance education law schools to include the information set forth below in their catalog. As described in greater detail in the Taft Law School Catalog Supplements, the School utilizes both directed study and independent study learning modalities in its Juris Doctor Programs.

The Committee of Bar Examiners classifies distance education law schools into two categories, “distance-learning law schools” and “correspondence law schools.” By rule, a “distance-learning law school” must require that students participate in not less than 135 hours of synchronous (live) interactive classes per year.

Because Taft Law School students reside in many time zones, Taft faculty believe it would be an unreasonable hardship to require students to be available on specific days and at specific times. Therefore, it has NOT implemented any policies that would require its students to participate in live classes. As a result, for Committee of Bar Examiners purposes Taft Law School has elected to be
classified as a correspondence law school. (It is important for students to note that this classification has no bearing whatsoever on a student’s eligibility to sit for the bar examination or admission to practice law in California.)

The method of instruction at Taft Law School for the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree program is principally by correspondence. Students enrolled in either of the Juris Doctor-Attorney Track Programs at Taft Law School who successfully complete the first year of law study must pass the First-Year Law Students’ Examination required by Business and Professions Code § 6060(h) as part of the requirements to qualify to take the California Bar Examination. A student who passes the First-Year Law Students’ Examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it will receive credit for all legal studies completed to the time the examination is passed. A student who does not pass the examination within three (3) administrations of the examination after first becoming eligible to take it must be promptly disqualified from the law school’s Juris Doctor-Attorney Track Program. If the
dismissed student subsequently passes the examination, the student is eligible for re-enrollment in this law school’s Juris Doctor-Attorney Track Program but will receive credit for only one year of legal study.

Study at, or graduation from, this law school may not qualify a student to take the bar examination or to satisfy the requirements for admission to practice in jurisdictions other than California. A student intending to seek admission to practice law in a jurisdiction other than California should contact the admitting authority in that jurisdiction for information regarding the legal education requirements in that jurisdiction for admission to the practice of law.

Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE)
TLS is approved to operate by means of accreditation by the State of California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. https://www.bppe.ca.gov/

American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers

The Taft University System is an institutional member of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO). AACRAO is a non-profit, professional association of higher education administrators. Its goal is to foster the professional development of its individual members by providing guidelines and voluntary standards for best practices in records management, admissions, enrollment management, administrative information technology, and student services. Institutional membership is limited to nationally or regionally accredited colleges or universities.

Institutional Outcomes

The principal objective of the JDAT program is to maintain educational programs that are designed to qualify its graduates for admission to the California Bar. The programs offer instruction in the traditional theoretical subjects generally regarded as the core of the law school curriculum while providing exposure to and training in the approach and skills necessary to successfully complete the GBX.

TLS is committed to providing a quality education responsive to the needs of society, now and into the future. Valuing the rich variety of cultures, races, ages, religions, and ethnic backgrounds in the world today, TLS seeks students from all regions of the United States, and English-speaking students from around the world.

It is an objective of TLS to utilize advancing technologies in the delivery of its educational services to support the mission of the school, the administration and faculty have committed themselves to the attainment of the following objectives for the JDAT:

  • To offer courses in law which contribute to any diligent student becoming a better-informed citizen, voter and/or businessperson.

  • To explore the art of the argument and develop the students’ ability to apply the law to the facts in a logical and persuasive manner.

  • To develop students’ abilities and skills in legal fundamentals and practical legal skills.

  • To make students aware of the ethical responsibilities of attorneys.

  • To develop in students an understanding of common law, analytical skills and writing approach necessary to perform well on the GBX.


Satisfaction Indicators

Every student who completes a Law School course is requested to answer a number of questions related to his or her experiences in the course. The questions are scored using a five point scale covering the gradient between Strongly Agree (5) and Strongly Disagree (1). Set forth in the PDF below are the average responses received by Taft Law School from students who completed courses during the calendar year 2011.

April 15, 2024 – First & Advanced Years

May 14, 2024 – First & Advanced Years

June 10, 2024 – First & Advanced Years

 

April 8, 2024 – First Year

June 17, 2024 – Advanced Years

September 9, 2024 – First Years