UMKC School of LawRetention Efforts and Plan

UMKC Retention RetreatFebruary 14-15, 2011

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

• Retention begins with admissions– Marketing as student-centered law school– Interview most applicants, have them meet with faculty

and Emissaries, receive letter from Dean (with personal note) , follow-up by faculty and students

– Spring Orientation – prospective students come to campus, have mock class, learn about the School and meet other prospective students

– Summer welcome picnic

• If we enroll the right students,our retention will increase

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

• Retention continues when students arrive in the Fall– The first day of Orientation

• Matriculation Ceremony• First Inns Meeting (career oriented Inns)

– Throughout the year• Supportive environment with limited competition• Student Services (Adela first “Unsung Hero” winner)• Laptop Clinic• Exposure to career opportunities and networking

• Academic program facilitates retention and student success– Required basic curriculum– Skills orientation brings reality to classroom– Emphasis areas allow for organized approach to upper level

education, incorporating coursework, writing, skills and professionalism

– Advisement Convocation – Pre-registration and approval of every student program– Bar preparation after graduation, bar survival bags given to all

students

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

• Students engaged in the School– Very active student organizations– Students participate in governance

• Students engaged in the community– Externships and clinics– Pro Bono/Public Service Honors Program– Volunteer Fair– Christmas in October

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

• Students and faculty engaged together– Suites where students have offices and carrels

alongside faculty– Faculty very accessible to students in person, via

e-mail– Faculty and students interact outside of the

classroom and the suites: Day of the Banana, 1.98 Law Review, softball tournament, etc.

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

• As a result of the student-centered approach at our School, we have very low voluntary attrition– No 1L student dropped out before finals this year– Over the past five years, transfer attrition was less than 2

students per year• Academic attrition and probation is still higher than

we would like– Fall 2010

• 4 students dismissed after first semester• 10 students on probation• Underrepresented students have higher attrition than students in

general

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

Efforts to reduce academic attrition:• Change 1L required support course from Intro Plus to Con law

Analytics, allowing for learning in greater context• Assess Academic Strategies Program, make changes as

needed• Offer Summer Enrichment to larger group of students by tying

it to teacher training program• Reconsider policies for allowing students to move from full to

part time program

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan

Other retention efforts:• Revise website to make information of importance to

students (curricular requirements, policies, etc.) more easily accessible

• Add a new professional staff position in Law School Career Services Office to better help students identify career goals and develop and implement strategies to meet those goals

• Revise Inns Program, moving from RSVP to “attendance-expected unless decline,” thereby increasing student involvement and helping them better develop knowledge of career options as well as social and professional skills

• While we will always have some attrition, we believe the combination of changes to our admissions approach as well as greater skills and reality based curriculum, academic support efforts, provision of information and exposure of students to career options and professionalism education will reduce attrition and lead to greater student success.

• We will participate in LSSSE this year to obtain better feedback from our students which will assist in planning going forward.

UMKC School of Law Retention Plan