Graduates of the Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law continued their record of outstanding achievement on the Ohio bar examination with an overall passage rate of 80 percent, which ranks first among applicants from all Ohio law schools who took the examination in February 2014.

ONU’s passage rate of 80 percent was well above the overall state average of 64.3 percent. Out of 440 applicants who sat for the exam, 283 applicants received passing scores. ONU had an 80 percent passage rate for first-time takers, which was also above the state average of 79 percent.

Richard Bales, dean of the Pettit College of Law, said, “ONU Law’s consistently high bar passage rate over the last several years reflects the strong work ethic and abilities of our students and the dedication of the law faculty to our students receiving strong theoretical and practical legal instruction.”

Ranking behind ONU in the state average for all takers in the February 2014 bar exam were Case Western Reserve University (77 percent), University of Akron (77 percent), Capital University (70 percent), Ohio State University (70 percent), University of Dayton (64 percent), Cleveland State University (58 percent), University of Cincinnati (58 percent), and University of Toledo (57 percent).   

In February 2013, ONU graduates had a perfect 100 percent passage rate for those who took the test for the first time.