In the article, “See how U.S. News and World Report ranked UNM’s law school,”Albuquerque Business First reporter Sal Christ writes that the UNM School of Law ranks 71st out of 149 schools overall in the latest US News rankings, tying with Washington D.C.’s American University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of San Diego.

Christ reports, “In a time when many law schools are cutting courses, decreasing faculty numbers and struggling to maintain enrollment numbers, UNM’s law school is thriving and endeavoring to meet the needs of students and employers.”

Examples are given of the steps the law school has taken over the last few years to “maintain its enrollment of an average of 115 students each year and ultimately grow the program in terms of private support and faculty” and staff. These include:

• Increased financial support in the form of donors, sponsors and a growing scholarship portfolio
• Increased number of named-scholarships – from 30 to 62 over the last three years
• Increased number of first-time givers and young alumni donating to the school’s Annual Fund for Law

Christ comments that the law school’s image is of a “small school offering big value” and that the law school hopes to maintain it by “keeping tuition prices relatively low, maintaining class sizes and maintaining opportunities for students to network with the legal community.”

The article also points out that “the school has turned its attention to workforce readiness – something likely to contribute to future enrollment at the school.”