Welcome back to Ahead of the Curve. I'm Karen Sloan, legal education editor at Law.com, and I'll be your host for this weekly look at innovation and notable developments in legal education.

This week I'm checking in on a trio of elite law schools that have recently improved their Loan Repayment Assistance Programs for graduates in public interest and other low-paying jobs, and what's driving the trend. Next up is a closer look at Syracuse University College of Law's brand new hybrid J.D. program, which takes place mostly online. And I've got a rundown on women and minority law deans taking center stage, with Notre Dame University Law School hiring its first ever non-white dean. Read on.

Please share your thoughts and feedback with me at [email protected] or on Twitter: @KarenSloanNLJ

LRAP Arms Race

Now here's a trend I can get behind. A number of elite law schools have in recent months bolstered their Loan Repayment Assistance Programs for graduates who go into public interest and government law jobs. Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School and New York University School of Law have since the summer announced improvements to their existing programs that expand coverage and options for graduates. (It's possible that even more schools have also upped their programs without my noticing.)

I think a few things touched off this movement to sweeten LRAP deals. First, elite schools at long last saw an increase in high LSAT scorers during last year's application cycle. Some of those applicants no doubt want to go into government jobs or other public service positions and a robust LRAP program—which in some cases covers the entirety of loan payments—is a handy recruiting tool.

Second, I think uncertainty and concern about the future of the federal government's Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is prompting these elite law schools to ensure graduates that their own programs are there for the long haul. And lastly, I think there is some “keeping up with the Joneses” going on here. Harvard's move to improve its LRAP likely nudged some of its competitor schools to think about how they, too, can keep up. (Not unlike how Harvard's embrace of the GRE in 2017 prompted a wave of followers.)

Let's step back a bit, though. LRAPs have been around for a long time, primarily at higher-ranking, well-funded law schools. They're intended to enable graduates to pursue lower-paying public interest jobs without drowning in debt payments. Many schools modified their programs to work in tandem with Public Service Loan Repayment program, which limits federal loan payments to a percentage of the borrower's monthly income, then forgives the debt balance after 10 years of qualified employment. (The likelihood of fitting the myriad criteria is a discussion for another day.)

Harvard got the LRAP party started in August when it unveiled a number of enhancements to its Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP), which also covers some low-paying private sector jobs. They include expanding coverage during temporary leaves such a parental leave and medical leave, as well as covering more transitional periods between jobs.

Columbia announced in November that it's pumping an additional $4.5 million into its public interest support programs over the next three years. The school is upping the income threshold for the program to $55,000 from $50,000.

Not to be outdone, NYU last month announced a revamped LRAP program that it many cases covers all law school debt payments for qualifying students earning as much as $100,000 annually. The new program allows students to opt into the federal loan repayment program and have the law school cover the unpaid portion of the bills. Or they can choose the school's own 10-year repayment plan, which will cost them more per month, but will reduce their overall debt load more quickly while offering participants more flexibility.

I spoke with NYU law dean Trevor Morrison last week about the LRAP, which he called one of the most far-reaching in the nation. I wondered whether concerns about the viability of Public Service Loan Forgiveness were the catalyst for the school creating its standalone repayment program. (For the record, he said the changes had been in the works for the better part of a year, predating Harvard's move.) He acknowledged that questions remain about the federal program's future, but said that it wasn't the reason for the change. The school instead was looking at the long-term careers of graduates who go into public interest and thinking through what would give them the most flexibility in managing their debt and employment choices.

It's worth noting that should anything happen to the federal program, NYU has assured graduates that they can transfer into its standalone 10-year repayment program and still get help covering loan payments. NYU currently pays about $5 million annually in loan repayment assistance, and that cost will increase about 10 percent next year and will grow to about 50 percent more over time.

The takeaway: It's a pretty good time to go into public interest work, at least if you graduate from a law school with a generous LRAP. I suspect that we'll see more law schools announce improvements to their own programs, likely increasing the maximum incomes that are eligible for help. Now, if only those coveted public interest jobs were easier to land….

Consulting the Crystal Ball on Online JDs

I'd like to revisit a story I wrote last week about the early success of the new hybrid J.D. program offered by Syracuse University College of Law. The bulk of coursework in the JDinteractive program is completed online, with students coming to campus for six week or long weekends of in-person study. (Syracuse received a variance from the American Bar Association to exceed the 30-credit limit on distance education—only the second school to do so, after Mitchell Hamline School of Law.)

Associate Dean for Online Education Nina Kohn told me that the school received 241 applicants for its first cohort of the JDinteractive degree and enrolled 32. I don't know how many applicants were accepted in total, but that's got to be a remarkably low acceptance rate. One tidbit from that story that garnered a lot of attention was the fact that JDinteractive students had higher LSAT scores than incoming students in the traditional program. I think that point resonated because of the pervasive perception that online student simply aren't as smart, ambitious or well-credentialed as those in traditional programs.

I wrote that the high interest in Syracuse's program bodes well for other schools looking to enter the online JD space. (Southwestern Law School and the University of Dayton have already secured the ABA's blessing to do so, and I'm certain others will follow.) But I also think it's wise to not read too much into Syracuse's successful debut. Here's why: Syracuse is the highest-ranking school thus far to offer an online hybrid. It's No. 88, according to U.S. News & World Report. Will high LSAT scorers be as interested in applying to online programs offered by lower-ranked or non-ranked schools, which make up the bulk of schools entering the online space?

Second, Syracuse's program is brand new. It's possible that there has been pent-up demand among highly credentialed prospective online students that resulted in the school having the luxury of being so choosy this year. If that's true, then the addition and expansion of online J.D.s over the next few years could mean that Syracuse and other schools won't have the luxury of so many high LSAT earners to pick from.

Lastly, the big question in my mind remains bar pass rates. Will the online/hybrid students score as well as their residential counterparts? Will they score higher? (With pass rates in the dumps, you never know.) We just don't know how pass rates will shake out. William Mitchell has graduated 73 online students so far, but told me it didn't yet have verified data on how they fared on the bar exam. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Extra Credit Reading

A record number of women and minorities are now leading law schools—a trend that comes after minority and women faculty have made a concerted effort to mentor and prepare diverse candidate for leadership positions.

The government shutdown has left hundreds of law students out in the cold, as they expected to be starting externships at federal agencies. Schools are trying to help them find alternative opportunities.

The University of Notre Dame Law School has chosen Stanford law professor G. Marcus Cole as its next dean. He'll be the school's first non-white dean.

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I'll be back next week with more news and updates on the future of legal education. Until then, keep in touch at [email protected]