Delaware Law School to offer degree in higher ed compliance

In a quest to expand its reach, the Widener University Delaware Law School is targeting a demographic close to home: university administrators. 

Beginning in fall of 2016, Delaware Law will offer a master’s degree in higher education compliance.

The online program hopes to provide higher ed officials with basic legal skills, as well as more focused knowledge in the areas of law administrators tend to encounter in their daily work.

“This program was designed with the needs of working academic professionals in mind,” said Assistant Dean for Graduate and Compliance Programs Eileen A. Grena in a press release. “Courses are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so students can study when and where it fits into their schedules.”

The curriculum includes classes on the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), and network security, among others.

Students will need 29 credits to earn a general master of jurisprudence with a concentration in higher education compliance. Full-time students are expected to complete the degree in a year. Part-time students will need two years. The cost will be around $31,000, according to a university spokesperson.

Though Delaware Law officials are wary of calling the new higher education compliance program first of its kind, a spokesperson did say the school was “unaware of other schools offering this degree.”

Last year, Widener University split its two-campus law program into two distinct schools, each with a separate dean.  The campus in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania became the Widener University Commonwealth Law School. The campus in Wilmington became the Widener University Delaware Law School under Dean Rod Smolla.