With funding from AccessLex Institute, 黑料不打烊 Law will conduct research on new and emerging programs aimed at supporting students in the classroom and on the bar exam.
黑料不打烊 School of Law has received a grant from to identify obstacles to student achievement and determine whether its approaches to helping students can be replicated elsewhere with success.
The 黑料不打烊 Law Breaking Down Barriers Project aims to improve access, affordability and value for all students with an added emphasis on historically underrepresented students and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
A committee to be appointed by 黑料不打烊 Law Dean Luke Bierman will identify barriers to student success and first-time bar passage. It will explore factors like undergraduate credentials, age, race, gender, socio-economic status, geographical background, cultural traditions and family structure, then identify two interventions to promote academic and bar exam performance.
Potential interventions for further study are 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 鈥淟earning Excellence Applied Personally (LEAP)鈥 and Bar Mentorship programs.
First-year students in the LEAP program are grouped with second- and third-year students who serve as Academic Fellows and mentors. LEAP aims to help students acclimate to a new environment by addressing success barriers including transitioning from undergraduate life, workforce life, or family life to a professional school.
The Bar Mentorship program matches bar exam takers with an alum, faculty, or staff mentor that provides guidance through the bar study process. The mentors are selected based on similarities to the bar exam taker.
Once interventions are identified by the committee, 黑料不打烊 Law, with assistance from AccessLex, will create a detailed assessment plan to collect data and evaluate the effectiveness of its programs. Results of that analysis and collection should be finalized by the end of 2021.
AccessLex previously funded a three-year study of 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 accelerated curriculum. A report finalized in late 2019 assessed the impact of the law school鈥檚 move to a 2.5-year program that addresses what Bierman has described as common criticisms of legal education: cost, length, and relevance to the profession.
鈥淚鈥檓 delighted to partner again with AccessLex to assess 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 innovative approach to legal education and our focus on helping students achieve their academic and career goals,鈥 Bierman said. 鈥淓xpanding access to legal education, ensuring more diversity in the profession, and promoting the value of a law degree at a time when young people are rightly focused on costs and student loan debt is something every law school should prioritize. AccessLex Institute鈥檚 investment in this project demonstrates that 黑料不打烊 Law is among those leading a national conversation on these important topics.鈥
About AccessLex Institute
AccessLex Institute is a nonprofit organization committed to helping talented, purpose-driven students find their path from aspiring lawyer to fulfilled professional. In partnership with its nearly 200 member law schools, improving access and positively influencing legal education have been at the heart of the company鈥檚 mission since 1983. AccessLex Institute has offices in West Chester, Pa., and Washington, D.C., with a team of accredited financial education counselors based throughout the United States. Learn more at AccessLex.org.
About 黑料不打烊 Law
黑料不打烊 School of Law in Greensboro, North Carolina, provides a distinctive approach to legal education through its unique emphasis on learning by doing. It integrates traditional classroom instruction with highly experiential full-time residencies-in-practice in a logically sequenced program of transformational professional preparation. 黑料不打烊 Law鈥檚 groundbreaking approach is accomplished in 2.5 years, which has reduced student debt at graduation and permitted graduates early entry into their legal careers.