According to data from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, online law school classes promote a broader range of participation from students than in-person classes, particularly among women.
The Success with Online Education report collected responses from 13,000 law students at 70 schools, and sought to understand the success of online learning in the law school environment. Online learning remains relevant due to the ABA’s recent expansion of online learning options for accredited law schools. Students may now take up to one-third of their credit hours for graduation online. Among the survey respondents, 50 percent had taken at least one online class.
A quarter of students taking mostly in-person classes reported participating “very often” in class, and 31 percent of students taking mostly online classes said the same. But among women, 30 percent of those taking mostly online law school classes participated in class “very often” compared to 23 percent of those taking mostly in-person classes.
In addition to increased participation, a comparison of responses between mostly in-person and mostly-online students showed similar proportions who agreed that they are learning to think critically and analytically, are developing legal research skills, and are honing their writing abilities. Similar numbers also reported developing positive relationships with faculty and staff.