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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
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Introductions Name Law School & Its Location Brief Program Description
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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.
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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.
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ABA Accreditation Standard 305(e) for Field Placements from 2000 to 2014 2000 - 2005 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. 2006-2014 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.”
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ABA Accreditation Standards, cont’d Current 2014-15 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 305-1 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….
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Data from The Center for the Study of Applied Legal Education (CSALE) 2007-08, 2010-11 and 2013-14 Surveys http://www.csale.org/index.html
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Number and Types of Field Placement Courses Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements 2010-112013-14 Judicial8.612.5 Other5.29.9 Government Placements6.38.2 Public Interest Organizations6.07.3 Criminal Prosecution7.57.0 Civil & Criminal Litigation/General Litigation5.36.5 Criminal Defense6.05.9 Legislative2.33.3 Civil Litigation3.22.6 Environmental2.72.5 Administrative Law2.52.3 Appellate2.72.3 Family Law2.1
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Number and Types of Field Placement Courses, cont’d Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements 2010-112013-14 Health Law2.92.0 Immigration2.31.9 Transactional (domestic)2.01.9 Bankruptcy2.11.8 Children & the Law2.91.8 Tax1.91.6 Civil Rights2.01.5 Intellectual Property1.81.5 Domestic Violence2.31.4 International Transactions1.01.4 Mediation/ADR2.11.3 Human Rights2.01.1
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Number and Types of Field Placement Courses, cont’d Substantive Focus of Field Placement As % of All Field Placements 2010-112013-14 Housing1.41.0 Consumer Law1.50.9 Community/Economic Development1.30.9 Death Penalty1.00.9 Employment Law2.40.9 Disability Law1.10.8 Asylum/Refugee1.00.6 Elder Law1.20.6 Constitutional Law0.70.5 Indian Law0.50.4 Prisoner’s Rights0.70.4 Securities1.10.4 Wills/Trusts/Estates1.00.4
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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.
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Challenges2010-112013-14 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 2010-11
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Who’s in Charge? Field Placement Programs Job Description Percentage Reporting 2010-112013-14 Tenured26.925.8 Tenure Track4.01.3 Clinical Tenured2.70.6 Clinical Tenure Track01.9 6 Year (or more) Contract0.73.1 5 Year Contract10.713.2 4 Year Contract00 3 Year Contract7.47.5 2 Year Contract1.33.1 1 Year Contract16.118.9 Adjunct20.814.5 Fellow0.70 Non-Adjunct At Will Employee3.41.9 Other5.48.2
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Evaluating Field Placements Methods of Evaluating2010-112013-14 Student Evaluation of Placement Office and Supervisor 74.6%81.8% E-mail 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%
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Frequency of On-Site Visits Frequency of Site Visits2007-082010-112013-14 % Completing Onsite Visits60.4%58.5%77.8% Biennially28.3%24.4%43.6% Annually30.0%42.925.5% Every Term36.7%24.4%24.5% More than Once a Term5.0%7.3%6.4%
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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 email check-in with supervisors, and/or careful review of student timesheets and journals.
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Question for discussion What factors matter in determining how you evaluate field placements?
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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)
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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
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