Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Western Michigan University have implemented their affiliation agreement.

Officials held a ceremony in Kalamazoo Wednesday to mark the start of the renamed institution, Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School. It follows approval from the Higher Learning Commission and the American Bar Association.

Western Michigan says law classes will begin at its Kalamazoo campus in fall 2015. The university says there will be a "3 + 3" program that will allow entering undergraduates to earn a bachelor's and a law degree in six years.

Western Michigan's trustees approved the agreement in July 2013.

Cooley opened in 1972, and it has campuses in Ann Arbor, Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids and Lansing, as well as Tampa Bay, Florida. –AP

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