University of Denver Sturm College of Law.

More law schools are transforming their part-time programs to hybrid formats, with the University of Denver Sturm College of Law as the latest to go that route.

The school this month launched its new hybrid professional part-time J.D. program, which combines online and in-person coursework, with 35 students.

Students will come to campus eight weekends each semester for live instruction, with online classes offered in between. The hybrid program replaces the school's traditional part-time program, where students attend classes on campus. The change is designed to make the program more accessible to working professionals and those with family commitments, according to the school.

“The University of Denver Sturm College of Law has offered a nationally acclaimed part-time JD program for more than 100 years,” said dean Bruce Smith. “Our goal was to make this historic and mission-driven program even more accessible, affordable, and attentive to work-life balance—while, at the same time, preserving its exceptional quality and rigor.”

While some schools have shut down their part-time programs in recent years as J.D. enrollment overall has waned, others have replaced traditional and evening part-time programs with hybrids, as online education gains credibility.

Loyola University Chicago School of Law announced in 2015 that it was ending its night program and replacing it with a weekend program that combines in-person and online instruction. Seton Hall University School of Law followed suit the following year. And Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center also launched a hybrid weekend J.D. program this fall. (Western Michigan University Cooley Law School and Mitchell Hamline School of Law have each has weekend part-time programs for more than a decade.)

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Still other schools have received variances from the American Bar Association to exceed its limits on J.D. credits earned through online courses, including Mitchell Hamline, Syracuse University College of Law, Southwestern Law School and the University of Dayton School of Law. Regent University School of Law has also requested a variance, though the ABA has yet to announce a decision.

It remains to be seen whether newly adopted rules allowing more online credits will speed the movement toward hybrid programs. The ABA this month increased the allowable number of online credits from 15 to as many as 30 and dropped its prohibition on online courses during the 1L year. (The new rule stipulates that up to a third of credits may be taken online, which will range from 28 to 30 at most law schools.) That change will enable hybrid programs that don't rely on ABA variances to shift more coursework online.

The online classes in Denver's new hybrid are asynchronous, meaning students may complete them on their own schedule. The program typically takes four years to complete, and the total cost of the degree is comparable to the cost of the traditional three-year J.D. program.

The program drew students from a wide variety of professional backgrounds, including education, compliance, engineering, sports management and molecular biology. Among them is Salt Lake City resident Jonathan Clark, who is vice president of workplace planning and advice at Fidelity Investments.

“I always liked the idea of earning a J.D. but didn't think that as a working executive that was possible,” he said. “When I heard about the format, I was excited because it allows me to continue to progress through my career, while at the same time go to law school.”