St. Mary's University School of Law Dean Patricia Roberts discusses why the ABA is embracing online-only JD programs and why launching a solely online JD program isn't simply using Zoom. The five-year pilot is set to launch in the fall with 25 students remotely attending the San Antonio-based law school’s virtual part-time J.D. program. The secret sauce for ABA approval? St. Mary’s University School of Law Dean Patricia Roberts noted her law school already had a real-time yearly assessment in place that tracks each student’s progress. “We could say to the ABA we are already tracking that and we can track that with the [new] cohort and the ABA can use that to inform future decisions about online J.D. programs,” Roberts said.
