Klein Hall at Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia.

The Temple University Beasley School of Law is proposing a tuition freeze in response to the financial pressures created for students by the coronavirus pandemic.

Greg Mandel, the law school's dean, said in an interview Monday that he has proposed to the university's board of trustees that the law school should keep tuition the same as it was for the current academic year, for both incoming and continuing students, instead of implementing the usual increase—about 3% each year.

The board is set to vote on the proposal Tuesday, Mandel said.

Asked whether this is a unique measure, he said he does not remember the last time the law school froze tuition.

"It's an unusual measure for the law school," Mandel said. "The university president has also proposed tuition freezes for undergrad as well, obviously thinking along the same lines. Even though these are challenging financial times for universities, we recognize that some of our students are in even more difficult financial straits."

For the current academic year, tuition for full-time students who are residents of Pennsylvania was $25,980. For nonresidents it was $41,354.

Mandel said the law school has also aimed to raise funds and give grants to students who need additional financial support because of the pandemic. Its student emergency assistance fund raised more than $50,000, and has already given more than 60 grants, he said. He noted that the school has also chosen not to withdraw any merit scholarships this year for students whose grades do not meet the usual minimum requirements.

"We had students who had lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis, and those outside jobs were how they were affording to put food on their shelves to eat," Mandel said. He noted that more than 80% of Temple's law students have some financial need, as defined by federal guidelines, and more than 40% have full financial need.

"We have students who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They're in an equally wide variety of situations right now," he said.

The virus, and resulting economic pressures, have caused many businesses, including law firms, to find cost reduction opportunities. For some firms, that has included canceling or shortening summer associate programs, and some of those adjustments have also cut the amount of money those summer associates would have received.

Still, Mandel noted that a lot of the law firms that recruited summer associates from Temple are continuing to hold their summer programs—many remotely—and have pledged to still pay summers. He noted that a lot of students rely on those jobs, as well as part-time work during the school year, to help pay for tuition.

Law schools have also not been immune to the economic conditions, facing their own budget shortfalls. Schools including Harvard University, the University of Arizona and University of Michigan have announced measures such as hiring freezes and pay cuts for certain employees.

Asked about such measures, Mandel said Temple has announced a hiring freeze and salary cuts for administrators making over $100,000.

"The law school already tries to run a very lean operation in order to keep tuition as low as possible for students. We are looking for additional ways to control expenses in these times, but do not expect to make any cuts that would affect students or the high quality of the education that they receive," he said.

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