The U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Law Schools 2014 Edition” showed the SIU School of Law has increased 14 slots and is now 140 in the nation.

Cynthia Fountaine, dean of SIU’s law school, said the change occurred from three specific categories, all of which showed high scores for the program. These three areas came from assessment by lawyers and judges, employment rate nine months after graduation and bar passage rate.

“I think that is, in part, due to SIU’s reputation for excellence in skills training and emphasis on the professional development of each student,” she said.

Alicia Ruiz, director of Communications and Outreach for the law school, said the methodology that U.S. News used for employment data was recently revised. Ruiz said that the publication now places more weight on full-time jobs that require a law degree, or on professions in which a law degree would be an advantage. She said the ranking is great for the program, as well as students and faculty.

Jennifer Franklin, the law school’s assistant dean of Career Services, said the bump in ranking could be attributed to many reasons. She said although it is great to be ranked, there is no set of uniform standards on how the rankings are determined, which means the rankings could easily change from year to year.

“It is bittersweet to be ranked,” she said

The law school’s recent recognitions include a 2012 National Jurist grade of A- for “Best Value Law School” as well as earning a top 20 ranking in preLaw magazine’s “Top Schools for Externships,” published in their September 2013 issue.

Christopher Hicks can be contacted at 

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