stfrancislaw.com

What It Is

St. Francis School of Law is a U.S. law school offering an online Juris Doctor (JD) program and is now part of Baker College. The program emphasizes online legal education, rigorous coursework, practical skills training, and a clear focus on California legal career pathways. The school states that its JD program is accredited by the State Bar of California’s Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE), and that it is also accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

Core Curriculum and Delivery Format

The program focuses on legal education and JD training, aiming to help students build knowledge of legal doctrine, theoretical frameworks, critical thinking, oral advocacy, writing, and the ability to solve real-world legal problems. The page highlights small class sizes, experienced faculty, practical learning opportunities, and classroom interaction supported by online technology. However, it does not clearly state whether courses are live, recorded, or one-on-one, so it can only be understood as online instruction; details on the specific format are insufficient.

Accreditation, Faculty, and Services

Accreditation is the key point for this program: its JD program is accredited by California’s CBE, and the school discloses that enrollment or graduation may not satisfy bar exam or licensing requirements outside California. It also reports a 66.7% pass rate for students who took the California General Bar Examination from August 2018 to July 2024. On faculty, the text states that instructors are experienced, and lists the president, dean, admissions lead, board members, and support staff. Student services include academic support, progress monitoring, IT support by phone/email, the business office, library access, and disability services.

Pricing and Refunds

The clearly disclosed price on the page is for the 2017–2018 academic year: total tuition of US$10,000, split into four quarters of US$2,500 each, plus a non-refundable US$55 application fee. The page also notes that tuition may change in later years, so current tuition cannot be confirmed directly from this information. The refund policy is relatively specific: within 5 days of signing the enrollment agreement, students receive a full refund except for the application fee; after that, students who have not started courses may still receive a refund, while those who have started courses receive a partial refund based on the number of weeks completed.

Pros, Cons, and Who It’s For

The main advantages are online flexibility, small classes, transparent accreditation information, and a relatively complete student support system. It is suitable for U.S. legal learners who are working or need to study remotely. The main limitation is geographic career applicability: students must reside in California or state an intention to work in California after graduation, and eligibility to practice outside California must be verified independently. For Chinese users, the text does not explain whether network access or payment is feasible; the curriculum is heavily tied to the U.S. legal system, especially California law. Alternatives could include U.S. LLM programs, other California CBE-accredited online law schools, or courses related to China’s domestic legal professional qualification exam.