HLS Public Service Initiative Program Becomes Too Big, and Fails

In an move that's been rumored for months, Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow announced the school's decision to phase out its Public Service Initiative (PSI) program.   Introduced in the spring of 2008, and hailed as a "first of it's kind" program that "further strengthened HLS's commitment to public service," the PSI waives third-year tuition for socially conscious law students who agree to work in public service for five years following graduation.  Best of all, the PSI tuition waiver is offered in addition to HLS's already generous Low Income Protection Plan -- HLS's version of loan forgiveness. 

But then came the economic meltdown that not only caused HLS's endowment to nosedive 27%, but also sent thousands of would-be BigLaw candidates scurrying for jobs in the public sector after BigLaw firms slashed their summer associate programs.  Suddenly, the PSI offer of a year's free tuition (about a $43K savings) for working at a public sector job you'd be lucky to have, seemed a lot more attractive to HLS students.  How much more attractive?  A lot.  According to the Harvard Crimson, when the program was introduced in 2008, HLS budgeted for about 75 PSI participants; however, last year 110 students -- 50% more than expected -- expressed their intention take advantage of the PSI tuition waiver.  This type of popularity has proven just too much for HLS.  The law school plans to phase out the PSI, but will stand by the commitments it made to the Class of 2011.  HLS intends to pilot another program (possibly as early as March 2010) that will replace the PSI.

Amid many top law schools' new initiatives to improve financial aid for their grads interested in public service (see, e.g., UVA Law's new Program In Law & Public Service or Boalt's and GULC's new and improved loan forgiveness programs), Harvard -- with an endowment that currently measures in the tens of billions  -- is sure to take some heat for pulling the plug on the PSI (and already has begun to here and here).  In her announcement (below), though, Dean Minow decided to accentuate the positive by explaining all the ways that HLS will continue -- and improve upon -- existing public service programs for its students and graduates.

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL — MEMO — STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

Dear students,

Faculty and staff at the school are mindful that the job market challenges for law students also bring new pressures on those of you—the vast majority of HLS students—who depend on financial aid. Fewer available jobs, lower salaries, deferred starting dates—all these things affect how much money students need to borrow, how soon students can begin repaying loans, and whether students can afford to pursue public interest and government jobs.

These are sobering and real challenges arising precisely at the same time that the school’s own resources are sharply constrained. We are doing all that we can to stretch shrinking resources and want to enable students to make plans, and where possible, reduce anxiety.My purpose here is to give you an update about some adjustments to our financial aid programs, so that you know what to expect and can plan accordingly. Ken Lafler and our Student Financial Services staff will be able to answer more detailed questions about your personal situation, and to work with each of you individually.As a threshold matter, although the endowment will produce $2.5M less in financial aid support than was expected 18 months ago, I have made sure that HLS nonetheless plans to increase its total financial aid spending by $2.7M.[1] With regard to need-based financial aid, I can happily say that the School is as committed to a strong and competitive need-based aid program as ever, and has no plans to reduce its base of need-based grant funding.

Beyond that, in order to make sure that the available funds equitably reach those with varied kinds of needs, we have reviewed every element of our financial aid program and have planned now some modifications to the levels and terms of assistance in some of our other programs of financial support, including LIPP, SPIF, and the Public Service Initiative (PSI). These are summarized below.

Low Income Protection Plan (LIPP)

HLS remains fully committed to the Low Income Protection Plan. Indeed, we are expanding its coverage in response to the current economy. Graduates—including deferred associates—who enter qualifying employment at any time can continue to count on help from LIPP to repay their eligible loans. In addition, we will expand LIPP benefits to help new graduates most in need. LIPP assistance has historically been available only to those working in paid positions. For the classes of 2010 and 2011, we will extend LIPP benefits to those working without pay in full-time public service positions that would otherwise be deemed “qualifying employment” under the terms of the program.

We recognize that many other law schools, facing this challenging time, are finding that they have to reduce benefits and are restructuring their loan repayment assistance program accordingly. We have decided that here at Harvard Law School, this is a crucial time to increase our already strong commitment to expanding students’ career choice through loan forgiveness. In addition, with the recently announced creation of the Holmes Public Service Fellowships, which will fund one year of public service work for approximately 12 graduates during 2010-11, we seek to enlarge public service opportunities for students even in this tight job market. The graduates receiving these fellowships of course will also be eligible to receive LIPP assistance during the term of the fellowship.

Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF)

We will continue to offer Summer Public Interest Funding (SPIF) to all JD and SJD students in the summer of 2010, but, in order to preserve this vital opportunity, we are offering this funding for a maximum of 8 weeks instead of the 10 weeks of the recent past. SPIF will continue to provide a base of guaranteed funding to all students regardless of financial need. The weekly SPIF pay will be $550 for 2Ls and SJDs, $500 for 1Ls, and $375 for students who do not receive financial aid during the academic year. Students will be able to supplement SPIF funding with pay from the employing organization or other fellowships up to a cap of $6,500 for 1Ls and $8,000 for 2Ls and SJDs.

This adjustment in SPIF terms is necessitated by not only the other funding that we are offering such as the expansion of LIPP but also the dramatic increase in the number of students seeking summer funding. The number of students receiving SPIF rose from 375 in 2008 to 495 in 2009 and is expected to exceed 600 in 2010. Despite such increases, we remain one of few law schools that offer guaranteed summer funding to all law students. We need to make adjustments so that we can continue to do so.

Public Service Initiative

In 2008, we launched the Public Service Initiative (PSI) as a pilot program to provide tuition grants in exchange for student commitments to pursue postgraduate public service regardless of students’ financial need. We remain committed to this program for current students despite the economic downturn, but we are not likely to extend it to future incoming classes. Hence, currently enrolled students (and those admitted last spring who deferred) who elect to participate will remain eligible and will receive the promised PSI benefits in full, provided that they meet the obligations of the program. Meanwhile, I have appointed a PSI Task Force that is currently examining how best to use our resources to enhance and promote public service and government career opportunities for future incoming classes. Together, we will develop a successor initiative to offer to students admitted after the fall of 2009. Details of the successor program will be announced by March 2010 to assist the admitted students in their law school decision.

In the weeks and months ahead, we have one clear goal: We want to make sure every available dollar assists students in managing this challenging economic time so that financial difficulties do not unduly constrain career choices nor cause distractions from students’ work and lives. Our priority is to make sure that we offer all of these programs in the most equitable and most effective ways and our commitment is to offer you timely and clear information that you can use in making plans. Please do not hesitate to ask all your questions—we will do our very best to get you all the information you need and to provide you with as much financial security as possible in this time of economic turbulence.

Best wishes,

Martha

Back To About Us