Word: hls
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...Both HLS students and faculty members have clamored for smaller class sizes, which would require a smaller student-faculty ratio. If HLS were to reduce the size of its classes, the administration would have to shift resources and commit itself to recruiting and hiring more professors. Currently, the 1999 U.S. World News and World Report ranks Harvard's 20-1 student-faculty ratio the highest of the nations' top 25 law schools. Large classes, according to many responses to the McKinsey survey, contribute to a palpable sense of disconnect between the students and the school. Expectedly, students at law schools...
...equally important reform is revamping HLS' arbitrary grading system. HLS students are graded on a letter grade scale ranging from A+ to F, and sometimes these grades are contingent solely on the results of one exam. The school is considering a pass/fail grading system for students' first semester--which is similar to Yale's grading system for the first two semesters--and then a fail/low pass/pass/high pass system for the remianing semesters. The administration has expressed legitimate concerns that a pass/fail system for the entire first year might disadvantage students who interview for second-year jobs. Nevertheless, if there exists...
What, of course, could possibly be preventing the HLS administration from making the changes that students and faculty have encouraged for years and that have now been validated by a fancy Manhattan consulting firm? Like most things at the University, change always requires an impressive amount of money. HLS will need more funds to hire new professors, expand their student financial aid packages and research for the school. But according to HLS administrators, the results of the McKinsey study should be able to provide a persuasive argument for donors and alumni to dig a little bit deeper into their pockets...
Harvard Law School (HLS) suffers from "Harvard Hubris"--trying to be the best, the hardest and, for some unknown reasons, the largest elite law school in the country. The McKinsey & Co. study has shown that HLS is simply trying to do too much--and has made no one happy in the process. The staff suggests further expenses and an expanded faculty. A simpler, quicker, cheaper alternative exists, however, and it is even spoken of in law school circles elsewhere: Cut the class size...
While the staff may gripe about their own dreams to continue their studies at HLS, a smaller and more responsive law school will ultimately do Harvard proud--students and faculty alike...