UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law has been granted provisional accreditation by the American Bar Association, UNLV President Carol C. Harter has announced.

Provisional accreditation means that graduates of the school are now permitted to sit for state bar examinations across the country.

"This is exciting news for the law school and the university," Harter said. "In less than two years after opening its doors to the entering class of 1998, the Boyd Law School has achieved provisional accreditation, which means that it substantially complies with the standards of the ABA for the approval of law schools. This is yet another form of recognition for the Boyd School of Law and one that speaks to its credibility and high standards of quality, as well as the dedication of its faculty and administration."

Having achieved provisional accreditation, the Boyd Law School will seek full accreditation at the earliest possible time -- two years from now, according to Richard Morgan, dean of the Boyd School of Law.

"The Boyd Law School, which is the only law school in Nevada, already enjoys a great deal of support from the state, from the university and university system, from the legal profession, and from the community," Morgan said. "Dr. Harter has been unwavering in her support of the law school from the time she arrived here. Her contributions to the law school's success -- her vision, her commitment, and her planning -- have had a tremendous impact on our ability to get to this point. This provisional accreditation will now enable us to continue moving forward with our plans to make the Boyd School of Law a great law school and a very important resource for UNLV and Nevada."

The Boyd Law School submitted its application for provisional accreditation in the summer of 1999, which was the earliest possible time for it to do so under the ABA rules; the school was visited by a site inspection team from the ABA in November of that year.

The report of that team formed the basis of a positive recommendation from the ABA Accreditation Committee in April 2000, and that recommendation led to a favorable decision on provisional accreditation by the ABA's Council of the Section of Legal Education in June 2000.

The ABA's House of Delegates then concurred with the decision of the council, resulting in the granting of the provisional accreditation.