The Assistant Dean of Academic Success and Bar Passage reports to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Law School Dean, and works in partnership with the Law School Dean to advance law school priorities and maximize outcomes. The Associate Dean supervises the Assistant Director of Academic Success and Bar Passage and oversees Loyola Law’s Academic Success and Bar Passage program. The main goal of the Academic Success Program is to develop and deliver programs to promote the academic success of students from matriculation, throughout law school, and as they prepare to enter the legal profession. This includes programming and support for students during pre-orientation, orientation, the three years of law school, and bar prep.
Primary Responsibilities (include but are not limited to):
Academic Success and Bar Passage
• Develop and enhance school-wide bar support initiatives in every semester of the students’ law school education. These initiatives will include programming for all students as well as programming specifically designed for targeted students.
• Implement, coordinate, and evaluate exam skills programs and resources for targeted students, including the first-year Academic Enhancement Program and continuing in each semester through the bar exam.
• Develop courses designed to teach skills essential for all components of the bar exam. These courses must include individualized formative assessment. The Assistant Dean will teach some courses and will coordinate with adjunct faculty and/or bar preparation vendors to develop additional courses.
• Develop workshops and other resources addressing essential information and skills relating to the bar exam. eg: “Bar Exam Orientation,” "Bar Exam Diagnostics for 2Ls, one-on-one meetings, bar exam lunches, work with at-risk students. In addition, this position prepares and offers ongoing bar exam support and academic enhancement programs throughout the summer.
• Work individually with targeted students and other students seeking additional academic support during law school and through the bar exam, including providing counseling, individualized study plans, and preparation plans for the bar exam.
• Analyze academic support and bar preparation data to formulate progressive annual goals.
• Formulate innovative academic support programs that respond to the needs of law school students and graduates in coordination with the law school and members of the team.
Administration
• Coordinate communications with the Board of Bar Examiners in various states and with commercial bar exam preparation providers.
• Oversee the administration of the Academic Tutor Program (staffed by second and third year students). This will involve working closely with doctrinal faculty, coordinating with the Director and Associate Director of Writing Programs and Academic Support, and selecting/training/supervising student tutors.
• Coordinate with the Registrar’s office each semester to identify and reach out to students who fall below certain GPA parameters regarding additional course graduation requirements.
• Collaborate with the Associate Dean for Administration, the Director and Associate Director of Writing Programs and Academic Support, and other faculty members to identify and support at-risk students.
• Develop and provide additional resources for repeat bar exam takers.
o Coordinate with MLER to send 10 students to their programming.
o Coordinate with “Jump Start” and Admissions to invite students and administer their participation.
Create and maintain a webpage with information and resources relevant to the bar exam including the bar application process, the structure of the bar exam/subjects tested, and relevant bar exam preparation resources.
• Follow scholarship and developments regarding legal pedagogy and the bar exam. Advise administration regarding any bar developments and assessments, as well as provide faculty members, upon request of administration or faculty, educational resources on these developments. Educational resources include but are not limited to: faculty presentations/workshops, library of bar exam questions, or other bar exam scholarship articles.
• Track student performance through data collection and compiles bar exam results in a database. Use statistical analysis of data to assess current programming and to develop and assess new initiatives. Regularly report to the administration on the findings and suggestions for future program development to best meet students’ needs.
• Complete the annual disclosure requirements necessitated by the American Bar Association for law school accreditation status.
Other
• Perform other duties as assigned.
About Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Jesuits, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Loyola's professional schools include programs in medicine, nursing, and health sciences anchored by the Loyola University Medical Center.
Comprising eleven colleges and schools, Loyola offers over 80 undergraduate and 140 graduate/professional programs and enrolls approximately 16,000 students. Loyola has six campuses across the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as a campus in Rome and guest programs in Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City. The flagship Lake Shore Campus is on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods of Chicago, eight miles north of the Loop.