Download the Quality of J.D. Programs spreadsheet here.
This spreadsheet includes data from five categories that one can use to help assess the quality of a J.D. program: Student Engagement, Curriculum (particularly in experiential learning), Student-Faculty Contact, Use of Best Practices, and Legal Writing. We welcome your input as to how to improve use of such data going forward.
Student Engagement
Average Study Hours: Average hours of study per day for a law student. Students who study more learn more.
Source: The Princeton Review: Best 174 Law Schools 2009 edition.
Professors Interesting/Engaging: Law students rated the “quality of teaching at their law schools on a scale from 60 to 99.”
Source: The Princeton Review: Best 174 Law Schools 2009 edition.
Academic Experience: Measures the “quality of the learning environment, on a scale of 60-99. . . factors considered include how students rate the quality of teaching and the accessibility of their professors, the school’s research resources, the range of available courses, the balance of legal theory and practical lawyering skills stressed in the curriculum, and how intellectually challenging the coursework is.” We have adjusted The Princeton Review rating to eliminate Admissions Selectivity as a factor. The adjusted rating is what appears here.
Source: The Princeton Review: Best 174 Law Schools 2009 edition.
Law School Survey of Student Engagement Participation: This indicates the number of years that each school has participated in the Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE). Participation can be used as a proxy for a school’s attention to keeping its students engaged, thereby improving learning outcomes.
Source: Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE) website at issse.iub.edu.
Curriculum
Upperclass Course Titles per 20 Students
Source: ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
Simulation Courses per 50 students. Simulation and clinic courses are cited in the Carnegie and Best Practices reports as some of the best learning experiences for students, but course offerings are limited at many schools.
Source: ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
Clinics per 50 students
Source: ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
U.S. News & World Report Specialty Rankings: Gives the rankings of law schools based on a survey of instructors in the field for the following categories: clinical training, environmental law, intellectual property law, legal writing, tax law, dispute resolution, healthcare law, international law, part-time law, and trial advocacy.
Source: The U.S. News & World Report online survey at http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools.
Student/Faculty Contact
Professors Accessible: Measures the law student opinion of the accessibility of law school faculty at their law school on a scale of 60-99. The Law School Survey of Student Engagement cites student-faculty interaction as being correlated with higher learning outcomes (LSSSE-Law School Survey of Student Engagement Website, About LSSSE, http://lssse.iub.edu/html/about_lssse.cfm).
Source: The Princeton Review: Best 174 Law Schools 2009 edition.
Student/Faculty Ratio: Measures the ratio of number of students to number of full-time faculty.
Source: The Princeton Review: Best 174 Law Schools 2009 edition and the ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
1L Section Size: Measures the typical section size of the first-year class.
Source: ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
Small Section Size: Measures the number of small section classes other than Legal Writing, if a school has any, for the first-year class taught by full-time faculty.
Source: ABA-LSAC data updated for 2010 on the lsac.org website (the data reflects research done at the end of 2008).
Use of Best Practices
This data comes from a survey conducted by Race to the Top in the fall of 2008 to determine what type of educational practices are utilized at various law schools. The particular practices are drawn from the 2007 Carnegie Foundation and Best Practices in Legal Education reports found here.
Legal Writing
This data comes exclusively from a survey conducted by the Association of Legal Writing Directors. The most comprehensive study of law school alumni, “After the JD,” says that Legal Writing was the course most often cited by alums as important to their practice, according to their report found here.
- Size of Legal Research & Writing Class
- Who Teaches Legal Research
- What Percentage of Major Writing Assignments in the Required Course are Graded
- What Writing Assignments are Assigned and What Speaking Skills are Taught in the Required Program
- How is Your Required Course Graded
- Does your Law School Offer Elective Writing Courses
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Advanced Legal Writing-General Writing Skills
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Advanced Legal Writing-Survey Course
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Drafting, Generally
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Drafting, Litigation
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Drafting, Legislation
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Drafting, Transactional
- How Many Students Enroll Each Year in Advocacy
- Percentage of Courses That Include a Writing Component
- Number of Major Assignments (Final Product of Equal to or Greater than 5 Pages) Fall Semester
- Number of Major Assignments (Final Product of Equal to or Greater than 5 Pages) Spring Semester
- Must Students Satisfy an Upper-Level Writing Requirement, Beyond the Required Program, for Graduation
- How Many Credits Are Awarded Each Semester of the Required Program-Fall
- How Many Credits Are Awarded Each Semester of the Required Program-Spring
- Are any Legal Writing Assignments Coordinated Collaboratively by the Legal Research and Writing Faculty and Doctrinal Faculty with Reading or Writing assignments in other 1L courses
- Do you Require Rewrites of Major Writing Assignments in the Required Program? (A major writing assignment is: the final product is equal to or greater than 5 pages.)