SYSTEM TOO LEAN ? PART III : INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
SYSTEM TOO LEAN ? PART III : INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS
KATHRYN R . L . RAND Dean , University of North Dakota School of Law
In my last two columns , I shared the impacts of the latest round of budget cuts at the School of Law . While we have long prided ourselves on “ doing a lot with very little ,” I believe the law school has reached the point our “ check engine ” light is on , and that means we have something we need to fix .
One aspect of our “ check engine ” light is identifying where we can make changes that result in savings , while still serving students and the legal profession . While these changes are most certainly budget-driven , we would not have made these decisions without the necessity of a reduced budget , we worked very hard to find ways in which to minimize negative impacts , especially on students , and to seek creative and considered opportunities in the face of deep cuts . If there is a “ silver lining ” to the storm clouds of dramatically decreased resources , it is that a reduced budget inspires innovation . Necessity is the mother of invention , after all .
Let me share with you one of the budgetdriven changes that caused us a great deal of angst and concern , and how we have worked to make the best of a challenging situation .
As a result of the Spring 2017 budget cuts , I made the very difficult decision to place
24 THE GAVEL the law school ’ s Clinical Legal Education Program on hiatus . Through the Clinic , second- and third-year students represent clients under the supervision of full-time faculty who teach in the Clinic . Clinical legal education , when done right , is considered by many to be the most effective form of experiential education to prepare students for practice .
Over the past 15 years or more , we ’ ve invested resources to align the Clinic with national best practices , starting with the decision , under former Dean Davis ’ s leadership , to stabilize the Clinic ’ s caseload by eliminating its dependence on grant funding . We also made the faculty positions eligible for tenure , raised the number of credits students earn through the Clinic courses , developed expertise in specialized areas of law for which there is a community need , heightened confidentiality and security measures , limited the student-to-faculty ratio in order to enhance the non-directive approach to student supervision , renovated space to create a specially designed office suite , and designed a curriculum based on cases and projects selected for their educational value .
All of these changes greatly improved students ’ educational experience in the Clinic . They also made the Clinic the most expensive component of our program of legal education . With two full-time faculty , a fulltime staff member , student workers , summer coverage of cases , and other expenses , the Clinic courses generated relatively high costs for the number of students served .
So long as we could afford these investments in the Clinic , they were absolutely the right decisions for our students . But with budget cuts , we had to figure out a way to serve students with fewer resources . The American Bar Association ’ s accreditation standards require us to provide six credits of experiential coursework to each student . The Clinic counts as an experiential course , but students can also earn experiential credits through simulation courses , like Trial Advocacy , and through externships . Looking at the financial bottom line , we saw we could offer experiential credits at less expense by expanding the number of simulation courses and externships available to students . Thus , we made the difficult decision to put the Clinic on hiatus .
We didn ’ t just stop there , though . We immediately set to work to ensure there would be sufficient student “ seats ” in our simulation courses and externships . In fact , more than 50 students , a record number , completed an externship this summer , and we will offer four sections of Trial Advocacy , along with other simulation courses , this academic year . We were so successful in expanding these opportunities , we have had some growing pains in the last several months . My challenge now is to assign resources to ensure we keep up with student demand in these areas while maintaining a high-quality educational experience for our students .
We also listened to faculty , staff , students , alumni , and friends who were critical of the decision to place the Clinic on