At a time when the national bar passage rates are at a 34-year low, Georgia State University College of Law’s state bar passage rate has increased from 2017 for first-time test takers and overall test takers.

The college’s passage rate for first-time applicants on the July state bar increased from 81.8 percent in 2017 to 85.4 percent in 2018, well ahead of the statewide average of 72.9 percent.

The College of Law’s overall passing rate of 83 percent for all applicants is significantly higher than the statewide average of 61.2 percent.

“Our improvement over last year is a good indication of the efforts we’ve taken to improve bar passage, including hiring Kim D’Haene, our first full-time faculty member devoted to this purpose,” said Wendy Hensel, dean of the College of Law. “We will continue to aggressively assess how we can do better in the future.”

The college’s passage rate in the July state bar exam has remained steadily ahead of the state’s average since 1999. The college has earned recognition as a national top-ranked institution, and was named a “Best Value” law college by the National Jurist in 2017.