Standard & Poor's, As Law School Demand Drops, Credit Quality Among U.S. Schools Diverges:
Stable-to-growing demand has been a characteristic of law schools for the much of the past 25 years, but since 2010 enrollment at many law schools has dropped precipitously. … Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has observed a significant reduction in enrollment at the law schools it rates [123 of the 201 ABA-accredited law schools], which, in many cases, has more than offset the growth generated during the recession. We believe high prospective debt loads and dwindling post-graduation employment opportunities have contributed to the large declines in enrollment at many law schools in the short term. We will continue to assess these risks, as well as the medium to long-term risks to law school enrollment associated with technological advances and increasing efficiencies in the legal employment market that have the potential to permanently alter the demand for lawyers.
This is significant. As far as I know, USD Law only "borrows" money from the whole university and that often takes the form of just keeping the money we bring in. The credit situation of the university as a whole is not bad, last I checked. Anybody who knows differently is welcome to comment. Of course, we're exposed to the whole market in law schools now, which is pretty bad.