Abraham Lincoln University (ALU) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, for-profit

online university A virtual university (or online university) provides higher education programs through electronic media, typically the Internet. Some are bricks-and-mortar institutions that provide online learning as part of their extended university courses whi ...

based in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

History

ALU was founded in 1996 by Hyung J. Park, a tax attorney and graduate of

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Catholic university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

. Classes initially were held in a conference room in his office. Park named his school after

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

partly because Lincoln had taught himself law. Park established ALU with the philosophy of "flexibility and affordability" for working professionals to maintain current employment while studying law at an accredited institution under California law. In addition to its core law school curriculum, ALU programs have expanded to include diplomas and certificates and undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in business administration, criminal justice, general studies, law, and legal studies.

Academics

Abraham Lincoln University offers online associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees, plus diplomas and certificates. ALU is a 100% online institution, offering alternative venues to engage students via online, live-engagement sessions and recorded lectures. Classes are archived online for review during each class. Students have full-time access to lectures. Students and professors also participate in online discussion boards.

Degrees Offered

Doctorate Degrees

* DBA , Doctorate of Business Administration * JD , Juris Doctor

Master Degrees

* MSL , Master of Science in Law * MS , Master of Science in Criminal Justice * MBA , Master of Business Administration

Bachelor Degrees

* BS , Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies * BS , Bachelor of Science in Business Administration * BS , Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice

Associate Degrees

* AS , Associate of Science in Paralegal Studies * AS , Associate of Science in Criminal Justice * AS , Associate of Science in Business Administration

Diplomas & Certificates

* DIPLOMA , Criminal Justice * DIPLOMA , Paralegal Studies * CERTIFICATE , Accounting * CERTIFICATE , Marketing * CERTIFICATE , Management * CERTIFICATE , Management (Graduate) * CERTIFICATE , Homeland Security * CERTIFICATE , Human Resource Law (Graduate) * CERTIFICATE , Business Law (Graduate) * CERTIFICATE , Legal Assistant * CERTIFICATE , Investigation * CERTIFICATE , Real Estate Law (Graduate) * CERTIFICATE , Business Administration * CERTIFICATE , Coaching (Graduate)

Accreditation, memberships, and registrations

Abraham Lincoln University is accredited by the

Distance Education Accrediting Commission The Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), formerly the National Home Study Council and then as the Distance Education and Training Council, is a non-profit national educational accreditation agency in the United States specializing in t ...

(DEAC). Its School of Law is registered with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the

State Bar of California The State Bar of California is California's official attorney licensing agency. It is responsible for managing the admission of lawyers to the practice of law, investigating complaints of professional misconduct, prescribing appropriate disciplin ...

in the unaccredited distance learning school category, but is not accredited by the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

. As such, its graduates only qualify to sit for the California bar examination. ALU's academic programs, with the exception of the Juris Doctor degree program, have been licensed by the

California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) is a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs charged with regulation of private postsecondary educational institutions operating in the state of California. The BPPE is ...

(BPPE) by institutional license through accreditation. ALU's Juris Doctor distance learning degree is exempt from BPPE oversight and is instead under the authority of the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California.

Community involvement

Abraham Lincoln University offers free law clinics to women in need of legal advice at the Downtown Women's Center, a homeless shelter in Los Angeles. These include a forthcoming divorce clinic and an ongoing expungement clinic to help reduce recidivism rates. Law students are encouraged to volunteer.

Faculty

More than 90% of Abraham Lincoln University faculty have earned doctoral degrees (PhD, EdD, DBA, or JD) from accredited institutions and currently work as practitioners in their respective fields as professors, attorneys, instructional designers, owners/CEOs, police chiefs, and paralegals.

Bar pass rate

ALU's pass rate for the July 2021 California Bar Examination (CBX) reached 89% for first-time examinees and 11.4% for repeat examinees, compared to overall pass rates of 71% and 19%, respectively, as reported in the State Bar's preliminary statistics for the July 2021 CBX. In 2015, the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

reported that Abraham Lincoln University actively recruits students without the

LSAT The Law School Admission Test (LSAT; ) is a standardized test administered by the Law School Admission Council (LSAC) for prospective law school candidates. It is designed to assess reading comprehension as well as logical and verbal rea ...

exam. The university has confirmed this.

References

External links

* {{authority control Universities and colleges in Los Angeles Distance education institutions based in the United States Educational institutions established in 1996 1996 establishments in California Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles Private universities and colleges in California Distance Education Accreditation Commission Online law schools in the United States