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News Release #14497
May 5, 2008
Contact: Brian Johnston
216.687.2290 | pr@csuohio.edu
Ninety-Five Percent of Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Students Pass February Ohio Bar Exam on First Try; CSU Law School is First in the State for Overall Passage Rate
Cleveland State University law students who took the Ohio Bar Exam for the first time in February 2008 achieved a 95 percent passage rate, improving on the outstanding results of the July 2007 exam when 90 percent of Cleveland State students passed on the first try.
For the February, 2008 exam, the combined passage rate for all CSU law graduates, including first-time takers and any who were taking the bar exam for at least the second time, was 72% -- the highest combined passage rate for any Ohio law school.
On the February 2008, bar exam, 35 of 37 people who graduated from Cleveland State's Cleveland-Marshall College of Law passed the exam on the first try. On the July 2007 bar exam, 110 of 122 graduates passed on the first try, the second highest passage rate among all nine Ohio law schools.
“We’re extremely proud of our law graduates and recognize how hard they worked to achieve such spectacular results,” said Geoffrey Mearns, dean of the College of Law. “First-time passage on the bar exam is an important mark of excellence. These results show that our plan is working, thanks to the dedication and collective efforts of our students, faculty and staff.”
The College of Law adopted a comprehensive bar passage plan aimed at improving graduates’ performance on the Ohio bar. The College strengthened the admissions qualifications and reduced the size of its incoming classes; increased the rigor of its academic program; provided more substantial academic support to students; hired a bar coordinator; and taught students to prepare more thoroughly for the exam. As a result, the College’s bar passage rate steadily improved over the last three years. In 2006, the passage rate among first-time takers was 84 percent.
The 95 percent passage rate represents Cleveland State’s best since July 1996, when the score needed for passage was substantially lower. The score was raised a year later in July 1997.
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, founded in 1897 as the Cleveland Law School, was the first law school in Ohio to admit women and one of the first to admit minorities. In 1969, the College of Law joined Cleveland’s new public university as its sixth college and was renamed the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law of Cleveland State University. Early graduates of the College of Law laid the foundation for the legal profession in Northeast Ohio. Now in its 110th year, Cleveland-Marshall is preparing promising students to be America’s leaders in the 21st century in law, business, nonprofit agencies and government.
For more information, please visit www.law.csuohio.edu or call University Marketing at 216.687.2290.
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