A Responsible Board of Higher Ed Would Ask

Pioneer has weighed in on the UMASS-Dartmouth law school issue — here and here. And we’ve gotten swept up in the collective reponse, which seems to consist most of ad hominem attacks.

Has anyone asked about the management team that will lead the law school to accreditation? The cornerstone of any private sector business plan is the quality of the management team. As put forward by the University, their proposal is remarkably thin on the management team. They note faculty members at UMass that have law degrees but are silent on the specific skills of managers.

Has anyone asked why the proposal never provides any information on the current achievement levels of the SNESL student body or an assessment of the assets that are being handed over? It’s as if UMass is a homeowner who wants to buy and remodel a house without ever seeing it. The proposal has detail on how the school will look in a few years but never provides any information on how it looks now and what the trajectory might look like.

I did not make it to Tuesday’s hearing on the proposed UMASS-Dartmouth law school, so set me straight if this has already been addressed in a detailed and documented manner. But this information should be the cornerstone of their proposal, not an afterthought.