FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
603.458.514
Email: info@achls.org

March 12, 2010

AMERICAN COLLEGE OF HISTORY AND LEGAL STUDIES TO USE HARKNESS
AND SOCRATIC METHODS OF EDUCATING AND INSPIRING STUDENTS

"What I have in mind is a classroom where students could sit around a table with a teacher who would talk with them and instruct them by a sort of tutorial or conference method, where each would feel encouraged to speak up. This would be a real revolution in methods." -John Harkness, 1930
Philanthropist

SALEM, NH-- The new American College of History and Legal Studies, set to open its doors in
Salem, New Hampshire in August, is a revolutionary development in higher education. Students
at the completion college, offering only the senior and junior years of study, will have the
opportunity to learn through the renowned Harkness and Socratic methods rather than by the
traditional lecture model of teaching.

The Harkness method allows a small group of students to sit at an oval table with their teacher in
the classroom and discuss subject matter in depth throughout the term. It differs from the more
traditional learning setting where the professor stands at the front of a hall and lectures on the
course material.

The Socratic method is used by the new college's sister institution, the Massachusetts School of
Law. It is a form of inquiry based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical
thinking and illuminate ideas.

Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts,
along with many of the other most prestigious private schools in the United States, have found
that the Harkness method inspires students. They learn to listen carefully, speak respectfully,
accept new ideas while questioning old ones, integrate new knowledge, and enjoy the richness
and fullness of human interaction.

Teaching by the Harkness and Socratic methods on the college level is only one of the ways that
the American College of History and Legal Studies is setting new standards in education. The
innovative college offers only the junior and senior years and focuses exclusively on American
history and legal history. The only degree awarded will be a Bachelor of Arts in history and legal
studies.

Moreover, since the college is affiliated with the Massachusetts School of Law, it will provide
guaranteed pathways into the law school for qualified students. Under the unique "3+3
Program", students may complete their senior year of college and first year of law school
concurrently and thus earn their Juris Doctorate degree in six years rather than the traditional
seven years it takes to earn both a B.A. and a J.D.

Another way that the American College of History and Legal Studies differs from other
institutions of higher learning is that it provides a low cost, yet high quality education.
Tuition at the college will be only $10,000 per year and half-tuition scholarships are available to
make the cost only $5,000 per year. Students will receive a rigorous education that is very
inexpensive in these times when the cost of an education is rising dramatically.

All of these features, including the Harkness and Socratic methods of teaching, make the
American College of History and Legal Studies a revolutionary development in higher
education.