Can you get a law degree from the Novus Law School?
Is the Novus Law University a Scam?
There are MANY unknowns regarding the Novus Law School that we intend to provide answers to throughout the course of this honest review.
To learn more we invite you to continue reading on and please feel free to share any feedback, insight or experience you may have below!
About Novus Law School
Novus University Law School claims to offer online law degrees.
As of today, they allegedly offer the following degrees:
- Juris Doctor (JD)
- Executive Juris Doctor (EJD)
- Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL)
- Master of Legal Letters (LLM)
Completion of the Juris Doctor program is said to allow students the opportunity for bar admission through attorney supervised study along with DC Bar admission.
The EJD program is said to provide value to those already in the legal field.
The Bachelors of Science in Law gives students an introduction in law education towards earning a law degree and the undergraduate degree of most attorneys.
Completion of the Master of Legal Letters program is said to assist students and attorneys to specialize in various legal fields such as tax, patents, and contracts.
Novus University Law School states that they are a distance learning school.
Later browsing their FAQ section we came across the following:
“The American Bar Association (ABA) does not accredit distance learning schools.”
We found it a bit, well, contractive that the Novus Law School asserts that students can take the BAR exam after completion of the JD program yet their OWN FAQ section states otherwise.
To expand a bit further, unless we are much mistaken, there are currently zero ABA Accredited Online Law Schools in existence.
Contacting Novus Law School
Novus University Law School can be reached through the following channels:
- Live Chat
- Contact Submission Form
- Telephone: (800) 699-6685
- Email: admissions@novus.edu
Novus University Law School Costs
Tuition for each of the following programs are as followed:
Juris Doctor (JD) – $10,990
Executive Juris Doctor (EJD) – $10,390
Master of Laws (LLM) – $9,390
Bachelor of Science in Law (BSL) – $9,190
*A 10% tuition ‘grant’ is guaranteed for those who pay their tuition in full.
Novus Law School Feedback
There isn’t much relevant feedback regarding the Novus University Law School.
Spanning from 2007 to 2015 there are many reviews that can be found at LawSchoolDiscussion.org.
However, for the past few years, there has been minimum feedback.
Web Intelligence Report
Novus.Edu was registered on March 25th, 2003.
The registrar contact information is as followed:
Registrant:
Novus Law School
PO BOX 140
Education Develope Unlimited
Majuro, MH 96960-3551
Marshall Islands
Administrative Contact:
Natalie Handy
Novus University Law School
2010 West Ave K 815
Education Develope Unlimited
Lancaster, CA 93536
USA
+1.8006886685
presisdent@novus.edu
Novus appears to be trending within the United States.
Over 48% of all the sites traffic stems entirely from YouTube while an additional 48.15% of all traffic is referral based.
So as a whole, Novus University Law School does not receive much organic site traffic.
Salvador v. Touro College
We wanted to share an experience we encountered when investigating into Novus University Law School.
Leodegario Salvador was a master’s student who was admitted to Touro Law Center’s LLM program for foreign-law-school graduates in January 2011.
The issue being? Salvadaor wasn’t a foreign law school graduate.
Being a native of the Philippines, Salvador had attended Novus University School of Law prior to his admission to Touro College.
Fast-forward a couple of years, Salvador is just days away from graduation where he discovered that he was ineligible to receive the degree from Touro College.
Nearly two years of hard-work wasted not to mention an overwhelming feeling of frustration on his behalf.
According to the New York Law Journal, here is what Touro had to say:
“Turo acknowledged that when it admitted Salvador in January 2011, it believed Novus University School of Law was a “brick-and-mortar” institution located in the Philippines, when in fact it is an online-only institution that is not accredited by any foreign authority. Touro alleges Novus is a “diploma mill” based in California that issues sham diplomas. …
Although Salvador did not “affirmatively or explicitly misrepresent facts on his application,” he was “implicitly stating that he satisfied the program’s prerequisites for attendance, in particular, the requirement that he had attended a foreign law school,” [Justice David] Saxe wrote.
Saxe said Salvador had “knowingly allowed Touro to admit him on the basis of inaccurate information.”
Court Justice Saxe concluded,”Pursuant to the school’s code of conduct, the terms of the application and the law, the school had no contractual obligation to award a degree under these circumstances.”
Touro is said to have offered Salvador a refund, however, the school claims he decided to continue his studies as a non matriculated student to satisfy the requirements required to take the D.C. bar exam.
You can read more about this experience at AboveTheLaw.com.
Better Business Bureau
The Novus University School of Law does not possess a Better Business Bureau ranking.
We did, however, uncover an insightful complaint that brings much light into the degree granting authority of Novus:
“Novus University School of Law does not possess degree granting authority nor accreditation by a governing body. Novus University School of Law advertises, disseminates in print and distributes over public domains degree granting authority for undergraduate and graduate degrees, certifications and LLMs. Novus University School of Law charged an $825.00 Registration Fee; $200.00 Portfolio Fee; $910.00 in Exam Fees ($130.00 per Exam) and $250.00 Tuition Fees for the months of October 2018 through May 2019, totaling $3,935.00, via automatic account draft. There is not a single State Bar that recognizes Novus University School of Law thus, work completed at Novus University School of Law is worthless and any type of degree granting authority that is advertised is null and void. So much so that the District of Columbia Board of Bar Examiners, rescinded it’s agreement with Novus University School of Law (as of Fall 2018) which allowed students from Novus University School of Law the ability to sit for the District of Columbia Bar Examination. A student is not able to sit for a single State’s Bar Examination with a Juris Doctor from Novus University School of Law. I took the liberty to call the Board of Bar Examiners for all 50 states and learned that a degree from Novus University School of Law does NOT qualify a student to sit for the Bar Examination, even in states where Correspondence and/or Distance Education and/or Law Office Study is accepted. Not only does Novus Law School possess degree granting authority, there is absolutely no accreditation body in place to govern Novus University School of Law’s undergraduate nor graduate degrees, certifications nor LLMs. Novus University School of Law has been the subject of numerous investigations and litigations due to being an establishment delivering “sham” degrees. Novus University School of Law’s practices are unethical, reeks of poor professional responsibility and character, and exhibits itself as an disreputable part of the legal community. During my tenure at Novus University School of Law, there were problems with billing, payment information and other sorts of unfair practices. Lastly, when I reached out to Novus University School of Law requesting a refund based on the above admissions, a letter from an attorney’s office was sent to me with accusations of “improper behavior, refusing to continue to pay monies due and demanding repayment of monies paid by you to Novus.” Additionally, the attorney’s letter continued by stating that “your claims to be relieved of your obligations to pay and be refunded monies paid by you to Novus are completely without merit.” I was also called “disingenuous, if not untrustworthy.” In conclusion, the following was added, “Unfortunately your improper behavior has continued. Be advised that Novus will not refund any monies…” It is high time for Novus University School of Law to be closed under lock and key – forever. There have been more than enough victims to this scam and scandalous activity.”
Can a US Student Receive a Law Degree Directly from Novus Law School?
No, a US student cannot receive a law degree directly from Novus nor do they possess the qualifications required to take the BAR exams.
Novus Law School (University) Scam Review
Is Novus University School of Law a Scam?
Legally speaking, Novus is not a scam – they appear legitimate (although we would not advise them).
But is what they are offering misleading?
Yes, we believe so unless you read word-for-word on their site their numerous exemptions that are tucked away from eye sight.
Can Novus Law School add value to your education?
Yes, we believe so but you must be diligent in discovering whether the educational opportunities fit your needs and are congruent with your goals.
To conclude, if you are a college student looking to acquire college credit through Novus in the hopes that your credits will transfer to a specific university then we suggest you research elsewhere otherwise you may find yourself in a similar situation to Mr. Salvador.
Please share any insight, feedback or experience you may have below!
[If You Still Desire To Check Out Novus University School of Law You May Here]
How do they handle the testing process?