Private nonprofit

Thomas M Cooley Law School

Lansing, Michigan·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·cooley.edu
Total enrollment
420
peer median 489
Use this data
Ask Clema
Program outcomesAccreditationFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyPeers

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 2 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail.

Total programs
2
Passing
2
100.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

2programs
  • Passing2 · 100.0%
  • No Data0 · 0.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
0

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

2
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+36.0%
$74,147 vs $54,534
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
+65.0%
$89,975 vs $54,534

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

2
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
264%
$195,901 debt · $74,147 earn
Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
171%
$153,980 debt · $89,975 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 2001Next review Aug 2036
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Accredited since 1975Next review Aug 2031

Action history · 7

  1. Jan 2026Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Nov 2025Accreditation Reaffirmed: Probation Removed
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
  3. Aug 2025Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Probation
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
  4. May 2022Probation or Equivalent or More Severe Status: Monitoring
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar
  5. May 2020Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Show Cause
    American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, students received in Pell grants, alongside $19.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
—
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
—
null total
Direct Loans
$19.1M
668 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Unsubsidized · Grad$8.2M
353 loan awards
Grad PLUS$10.9M
315 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 430 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
430
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
3.4%
2017
2.9%
2018
1.9%
2019
0.0%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Thomas M Cooley Law School

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs4
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

149 total completions
01Legal Professions
149100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
420
12-mo unduplicated
462

Gender split

Men
44%201
Women
56%261

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 451 students

3-year trend

1.452 yrs ago1.771 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
2
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Thomas M Cooley Law School vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Thomas M Cooley Law School selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectThomas M Cooley Law School
    		——420——
    Trinity Law School
    		——273——
    Roger Williams University School of Law
    		——484——
    California Western School of Law
    		——650——
    Albany Law School
    		——670——
    Community Care College
    		——493$26,489Community College
    Peer group median——489$26,489

    Institutions like Thomas M Cooley Law School

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Thomas M Cooley Law School's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Frequently asked questions about Thomas M Cooley Law School

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Thomas M Cooley Law School.

    How many students attend Thomas M Cooley Law School?

    Thomas M Cooley Law School reports a total enrollment of 420 students per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Thomas M Cooley Law School located?

    Thomas M Cooley Law School is located in Lansing, Michigan 48933.

    About the data on this page

    Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

    IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
    Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
    National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
    College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
    Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
    U.S. Department of Education
    FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
    Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
    U.S. Department of Education
    DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
    Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
    Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
    Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
    Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

    Have a question this page can’t answer?

    Ask Clema anything about Thomas M Cooley Law School and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.

    Try for freeBook a demo

    Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card