Distance Education: Implications for

Physical Facilities

Bricks, Bytes And Continuous RenovationABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar

Law School Facilities CommitteeMarch 2006

Dean Barry CurrierConcord Law School

Concord website, usually:

http://www.concordlawschool.edu

For the moment:

http://info.concordlawschool.edu

Concord is a …

For-profit

Online

Law School

Why Me?• A Surprising Choice?

– Dean of a cyberspace law school– Never taught an online class

• But:– Long-time interest in distance learning– Had a hand in the development of Standard 306– Relevant experience in fixed-facility world– Good understanding of Concord LMS and program– New gig provides opportunities to understand how non-

law school world is embracing distance learning

• Show Up Anywhere to Say a Few Words About Concord

Distance Learning: the Continuum

• Distance learning: separation between students and teacher in time or space

• A variety of ways to use contemporary distance learning approaches and technologies:

– Class supplement – Hybrid course – Fully online course – Hybrid degree program – Fully online degree program

Synchronous

Asynchronous

No F 2 F

100% F 2 F

= Correspondence

= Concord

= A Course

= Classroom

Distance Learning is Coming to a Law School in Your

Neighborhood

In Fact, You Are Already Doing It

• Student-teacher and student-student interactions: TWEN, LEXIS/Blackboard, E-mail, BBS, classroom components of semester-long clinics/ externships, CALI lessons

• Plus: administrative systems (registration, paying fees), library/legal information, school calendars, take-home exams, career service interviews

ABA Standard 306:What the Law of Law Schools (Now) Allows

• No more than 12 credits of Distance Learning courses may count toward JD

• No more than 4 of these units allowed in any one semester

• No distance learning in 1L

• Up to 1/3 of the work for which credit is awarded can be by distance learning before a course becomes a “D”“L” course that counts against the 12 credits [Int. 306-3]

• Interpretations require interactivity, infrastructure, support, training, plan [Int. 306-4, -5, -6, -8]

Accrediting Community Accepts Distance Learning

Regional Accrediting Commissions’ Statement of Commitment for the Evaluation of Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs

(2001)

Technologically mediated instruction offered at a distance has rapidly become an important component of higher education…. The approach of the regional commissions to these emergent forms of learning is expressed in a set of commitments aimed at ensuring high quality in distance education….

* * *

As the higher education community increasingly expands educational opportunities through electronically offered programming, the regional commissions are committed to supporting good practice in distance education among affiliated colleges and universities. Doing so is in keeping with their mission to encourage institutional improvement toward a goal of excellence….

Accrediting Community Accepts Distance LearningBest Practices for Electronically Offered Degree and Certificate Programs

… The[se] Best Practices … are not new evaluative criteria. Rather they explicate how the well-established essentials of institutional quality found in regional accreditation standards are applicable to the emergent forms of learning; much of the detail of their content would find application in any learning environment. …

These Best Practices are divided into five separate components:

1. Institutional Context and Commitment. Electronically offered programs both support and extend the roles of educational institutions….

2. Curriculum and Instruction. Methods change, but standards of quality endure. The important issues are not technical but curriculum-driven and pedagogical….

3. Faculty Support. …[F]aculty roles are … increasingly diverse…. For example, the same person may not perform both the tasks of course development and direct instruction to students….

4. Student Support. …[T]he twenty-first century student is different, both demographically and geographically, from students of previous generations. These differences affect everything from admissions policy to library services. Reaching these students, and serving them appropriately, are major challenges….

5. Evaluation and Assessment. Both the assessment of student achievement and evaluation of the overall program take on added importance as new techniques evolve. For example, in asynchronous programs the element of seat time is essentially removed from the equation. For these reasons, the institution conducts sustained, evidence-based and participatory inquiry as to whether distance learning programs are achieving objectives. …

Virtual High School Marketing is Booming

Online Degree and Certificate Programs are Growing

Online Learning is Here, Here to Stay and Working Well in the University Environment

• > 2.6 millions students studying online (Fall 2004 semester), up 37% from Fall 2003

• 88% of higher education institutions report that online learning is “important” or “very important” for long term strategic plan (92% of doctoral/research universities).

• 97% of institutions report that students are as or more satisfied with online courses as with face-to-face courses.

Entering the Mainstream: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004 (The Sloan Consortium)

Distance Learning in Legal Education: Neither the Perfect Solution Nor the End of Life as We Know It

• Distance learning done well adds interest, depth, and perspective that can make the traditional environment better; focus on how to use distance learning it effectively in our law schools.

• We can learn to live well with distance learning in law schools by:– Remaining curious and skeptical about all teaching

methodologies, not just distance learning; and – by considering that

• it’s evolution, not revolution• it’s additive, not substitutional• there are lots of possibilities (e.g., hybrid programs)• it works well in many contexts – people and program

matter more than format• facts count, but so does what your intuition tells you

Facilities Implications

Space

• More or less? • Flexible• More individual, semi-private space (cubicles

where students can take a class online – watch, type, listen)

• Small group space (classes; projects)• Larger classroom space for remote professor • More tech space• Power, power everywhere

Access

• 24/7 access• Library – facilitate remote access and

use of collection, including document delivery

• Support remote delivery of services – registrar, career services

• Parking to facilitate coming/going

Other• Facilitate meetings – faculty, staff, students –

done remotely• Facility that embraces connection of school

with community and lives of students, faculty, staff

• More branch and satellite facilities, taking school to where students, faculty, staff are rather than the converse

• Accommodates many modes, many providers

Concord Law School:A Brief Introduction and Overview

Concord’s Corporate Context

Concord Basics• Began in 1998, California “correspondence school”• Four-year, part time J.D. program; also an EJD, non-bar

track degree option• Graduates can take California Bar Exam• DETC accredited• Enrollment: 1,400+ JD; 300+ EJD• Average age is early 40’s; 40% have advanced

degrees• Cost of JD degree: $33,200• Students in all 50 states and a dozen foreign

countries; 25% are California residents• Faculty: ~110 professors/instructors (~25 full-time)

ABA Faculty Working with Concord

• Colleagues from a number of ABA law schools participate or have participated in Concord’s program of legal education as lecturers, classroom professors, course developers, instructors

• Professors come from a variety of schools including Arkansas, Cornell, George Washington, Harvard, John Marshall-Atlanta, Loyola of Chicago, McGeorge, Montana, New Mexico, New York Law School, North Dakota, Tulane, Wake Forest, William Mitchell

• A number of full-time Concord faculty have experience as faculty members at fixed-facility ABA law schools

A Day in the Life of a Student, Concord Style

Get to School, Arrive at Front Door …

Go On In …

Grab the School Paper …

Get Organized …

Read the Casebook Assignment …

Take a Quiz …

Get Some Feedback on Quiz …

Get Feedback on That Essay You Completed a Couple of Days Ago…

Listen to a Lecture …

Go to Class …

Check Out a New Case or Reference from

Class, Readings, Lectures …

Participate in Student Life …

• Join SBA, Student Organizations• Be in a study group• Hang out in the cyber-hallways, cyber-

lounges• Support a fellow student in need• Raise money for a worthy cause• Complain about “the administration”

Go to a Lecture or Forum …

Take Exams …

Take Exams …

And If All Goes Well … Graduate

Concord: A Work in Progress(Like Every Good School)

We need to

– Deepen and broaden curriculum– Build a full skills program– Improve Academic Support– Improve Library/Information Resources

Program– Improve career services– Increase career opportunities for graduates– Figure out what “faculty” means in our

context; work on governance

Concord: A Work in Progress(Like Every Good School)

We want to work with law schools, the profession, the accrediting/bar admissions community, publishers, tech community, and others to:

– Expand access to legal education – Make it work better for students– Moderate cost increases– Help protect and improve our legal system and

promote the rule of law throughout the world

California Bar Examination ResultsFebruary 2003 – July 2005

Passing Percentages 1st time Overall

Concord 41 36Overall* 61 45ABA-approved 67 57Non-ABA* 25 15Other correspondence* 32 19*Excludes Concord passers/takers

• First –time pass rate and overall pass rate during this time exceeded the first-time pass rate of 4 California ABA-approved schools and a number of non-California ABA-approved law schools with significant number of first-time takers during this period

• Concord’s first-time pass rate was 62% better than all other non-ABA California schools and 28% better than other California correspondence schools

http://www.calbar.ca.gov

Student Engagement and Satisfaction at Concord

2005 Law School Survey of Student Engagement53 Law Schools, 21,500+ student responses*

Concord All LSSSE 1L/4L 1L/4L

Asked questions/contributed in class 3.04/3.13 2.61/2.83Came to class unprepared (4=never; 1=often) 3.43/3.30 3.29/2.88Provided academic support 3.42/3.62 2.78/2.59Quality of relationships – students (7-1 range) 5.01/5.43 5.52/5.45Quality of relationships – faculty (7-1 range) 5.93/6.46 5.26/5.11Developing legal research skills 2.88/3.72 3.26/3.04Thinking analytically and critically 3.53/3.66 3.38/3.30Working effectively with others 2.32/2.42 2.39/2.34Learning effectively on your own 3.62/3.79 3.17/3.10Solving complex, real-world problems 2.79/3.06 2.53/2.52Encouraged ethical practice of law 3.21/3.68 3.03/3.05Entire educational experience 3.50/3.88 3.19/3.08Go to same school, if had to start over 3.58/3.78 3.19/3.07* Scored from 4 (high) – 1 (low), unless noted

http://www.iub.edu/~lssse