Regent University third-year law students are indicating high levels of satisfaction with their educational experience, compared to many of their peers nationwide who express discontent with the state of legal education. In a recent national survey, students rated Regent Law very well in several key areas.
The Law School Survey of Student Engagement (LSSSE), co-sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) and The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, assesses whether an institution's programs and practices are having the desired effect on students' activities, experiences and outcomes.
The 2012 LSSSE found that, in terms of ethical formation, employment services and overall satisfaction, Regent's law students are very pleased to have come to Regent and, in very high numbers, would come back if they had the chance to do it again.
"My personal experience as a recent graduate confirms the phenomenal academic training and environment Regent provides," said Paul Boller '12. "As I prepare this summer to take the Bar Exam, I repeatedly find myself thankful for the high degree of excellent legal instruction that Regent gave me. As the results of this survey and my own experience indicate, Regent is truly in a class of its own."
Overall, the survey found that:
- 88 percent of third-year Regent students indicated "Very much" in response to being asked if their law school environment encourages the ethical practice of law. This is compared to the national average of 38 percent.
- 68 percent of third-year Regent students indicated "Quite a bit" or "Very much" in response to being asked if their law school environment provides support they need to succeed in their employment search. The national average was 33 percent.
- 68.6 percent of third-year Regent students would "definitely" come to Regent again if they could start over, compared to the national average of 32.8 percent.
- 75.4 percent of third-year Regent students evaluated their entire educational experience as "excellent," compared to the national average of 30.4 percent.
Law school Dean Jeffrey Brauch says the LSSSE results reflect Regent's commitment to training both the heads and hearts of future lawyers within a supportive Christian academic community.
"If you come to Regent, you will not only be trained to be an excellent lawyer, you will be trained to be a lawyer of integrity and honor," he said. "You'll also be trained in an environment in which both students and faculty support you, care for you and encourage you."
Recent graduate Ashleigh Chapman '12 agreed. "I was drawn to Regent Law School because of the motto: 'Law is more than a profession. It is a calling,'" she said. "And indeed, having spent three years among our faculty and student body, and immersed in all that is 'law school,' I have been deeply impressed with Regent's commitment to teach law with excellence; to integrate at every opportunity how one 'ought' to practice law, not just how one may do so; to pour their efforts into training us to be lawyers in the classroom, and working diligently to place us in the field and not just any field, but one we feel called to pursue. I can say with all my heart that I was not disappointed in my expectations."
The 2012 LSSSE measured the expectations and satisfaction among 58,208 law students from 81 law schools, including 17,168 third-year law students. Regent's student response rate was 44 percent; for all schools, the response rate was 43 percent.
Learn more about Regent Law's history of national moot court competition success, bar pass rates, and other measures of academic excellence.