Appalachian School of Law’s Academic Support program is an integral part of the school’s commitment to provide all students the chance to succeed in law school.
New students at Appalachian School of Law get the benefit of an expansive orientation experience two weeks before the official start of the semester. In addition to allowing students to get to know the campus, students will complete the BARBRI Lawyering Fundamentals course, which is designed to prepare students for the intensive study, demanding assignments, and professional writing required at law school. This course includes both simulated and live classes in which students are questioned on assigned reading and engage in case briefing, outlining, essay writing and other helpful law school success strategies.
Additionally, all incoming students are required to take Introduction to ASL Legal Studies, which helps students to build upon the skills acquired during BARBRI's Lawyering Fundamentals Orientation course and improve the essential skills needed to succeed in law school. These skills include, but are not limited to, critical thinking, reading, and listening as well as effective case briefing, note taking, outlining, and exam writing.
ASL continues to provide academic support to its students beyond their first year of law school and through students’ post-graduate phase of bar preparation to ensure its students are in the best position to succeed in law school and pass the bar exam.
For most students, the baseline point of law school is to become a licensed lawyer, and passing the bar exam is the price for admission. At Appalachian School of Law, the bar-exam challenge is addressed on day one with each incoming student. This long-term partnership with BARBRI provides each ASL student with highly effective analytical and practical skills that are individually designed to ensure that every graduate is in the best position to pass the bar exam.
The ASL-BARBRI plan involves all three years of a student’s law school experience and continues several months after graduation. The first year includes a detailed series of learning assessments during the Lawyering
Fundamentals course to set a baseline for progress and to identify any areas needing improvement. This is done to gauge the learning needs of incoming students individually and collectively as a new ASL class.
In their second year, all students complete BARBRI’s 2L Diagnostic. This diagnostic tool examines various proficiencies (knowledge retention and application, reading comprehension, and analytical skills) in substantive legal subjects and pinpoints issues requiring focused attention.
The plan’s third year and post-graduate phase involve a regimen of practice tests on subjects and skills likely to be on the bar exam. All students in their third year complete two semesters of the BARBRI NextGen Skills course. Similar to the day-one assessments, the post-graduate program uses similar testing and re-testing practices, delivering substantive lectures in addition to testing strategies. This final component of the BARBRI service is a 10-week program leading up to the bar examination.
The law school experience is not for the faint of heart. It is demanding and yet highly rewarding. The desire to succeed must be matched with the tools of success.
Embracing the maxim that we should “begin with the end in mind,” ASL is pleased to offer its students at no extra financial cost the benefits of this ASL-BARBRI partnership. For additional information and details about the plan, please contact Professor Bazzle at 276-244-1216.
