To Site Visit or Not to Site Visit? That is the Question Externships 8 Conference Concurrent Session March 5, 2016 D’lorah L. Hughes, Wayne State University Law School Ashley E. Lowe, Wayne State University Law School Beth Schwartz, Fordham University School of Law

Introductions  Name  Law School & Its Location  Brief Program Description

Program Objective Begin a discussion to determine if we can create a best practice standard for field placement evaluation for multiple program types. This best practice standard will not only assist clinicians in the administration of their programs but will allow externship clinicians to advocate for the resources they need.

Our Approach Examine Trends: Are site visits required or recommended? How frequently are sites visited? Consider: Factors that influence whether a school chooses to conduct site visits. What “regular contact” between faculty member and site supervisor should consist of.

ABA Accreditation Standard 305(e) for Field Placements from 2000 to Standards: Periodic on-site visits preferred (for all placements); if program awarded more than six credits, on-site visits required in each term program offered Standards: Periodic on-site visits or their equivalent by a faculty member if program awarded four or more credits in any academic term, or if on-site visits or their equivalent “otherwise necessary and appropriate.”

ABA Accreditation Standards, cont’d Current Standards 305(e)(5) For field placements that award three or more credit hours, regular contact between the faculty supervisor or law school administrator and the site supervisor to assure the quality of the student educational experience…. Interpretation Regular contact may be achieved through in-person visits or other methods of communication that will assure the quality of the student educational experience. Proposed Standard 304(c): (iv) a method for selecting, training, evaluating and communicating with site supervisors, including regular contact between the faculty and site supervisors through in- person visits or other methods of communication that will assure the quality of the student educational experience….

Data from The Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education (CSALE) , and Surveys

Number and Types of Field Placement Courses Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements Judicial Other Government Placements Public Interest Organizations Criminal Prosecution Civil & Criminal Litigation/General Litigation Criminal Defense Legislative Civil Litigation Environmental Administrative Law Appellate Family Law2.1

Number and Types of Field Placement Courses, cont’d Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements Health Law Immigration Transactional (domestic) Bankruptcy Children & the Law Tax Civil Rights Intellectual Property Domestic Violence International Transactions Mediation/ADR Human Rights2.01.1

Number and Types of Field Placement Courses, cont’d Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements Housing Consumer Law Community/Economic Development Death Penalty Employment Law Disability Law Asylum/Refugee Elder Law Constitutional Law Indian Law Prisoner’s Rights Securities Wills/Trusts/Estates1.00.4

Remote or “Distant” Field Placements Nearly 65% of respondent schools permit remote or “distant” field placements. Over 80% of these placements include a classroom component.

Challenges Insufficient Number of Clinical Faculty51.8%37.4% Lack of Administrative/Secretarial Support28.8%35.8% Lack of Hard Money7.8%22.6% Lack of Support Among Doctrinal Faculty14.3%13.9% Lack of Physical/Office Space12.9%12.4% Lack of Support from the Administration8.0%9.5% Lack of Student Demand4.3%10.2% Major Challenges to Field Placement Courses

Who’s in Charge? Field Placement Programs Job Description Percentage Reporting Tenured Tenure Track Clinical Tenured Clinical Tenure Track Year (or more) Contract Year Contract Year Contract00 3 Year Contract Year Contract Year Contract Adjunct Fellow0.70 Non-Adjunct At Will Employee Other5.48.2

Evaluating Field Placements Methods of Evaluating Student Evaluation of Placement Office and Supervisor 74.6%81.8% Communication with Field Supervisors -78.8% Field Supervisor Evaluation of Students65.5%74.1% Telephone Calls with Field Supervisor-67.6% Site Visits49.1%59.4% Remote Video Connection w/ Field Supervisors -11.2%

Frequency of On-Site Visits Frequency of Site Visits % Completing Onsite Visits60.4%58.5%77.8% Biennially28.3%24.4%43.6% Annually30.0% % Every Term36.7%24.4%24.5% More than Once a Term5.0%7.3%6.4%

Guidance Best Practices 2007 The school should ensure that the placement sites provide acceptable space, word processing equipment, and supplies to enable students to accomplish their assignments. In large externship programs, administrative support should be provided to assist the faculty in recruiting, monitoring, and communicating with field supervisors, keeping track of whether students are meeting their obligations, and providing other support as needed. Beyond Best Practices 2015 Monitor student work and supervision in field placement through a combination of site visits, student and supervisor evaluation tools, periodic phone or check-in with supervisors, and/or careful review of student timesheets and journals.

Question for discussion What factors matter in determining how you evaluate field placements?

Small Group Breakouts If resources were not an issue, how would you choose to evaluate field placement to assure the quality of the student educational experience?  Identify best practices for each of these categories: Part-Time Placements Full-Time Placements Distant Placements (Domestic) Distant Placements (International)

Next Steps? Involve CLEA and/or AALS Externship Committee Continue discussion on Externship listserv Setup follow-up call discussions Set aside a time at AALS Clinical Conference