Awarded Grants

Grant Title: Assessing the Impact of Cohort Structure on First-Time Bar Pass Rates

This project hypothesizes that implementing a cohort structure for recent law school graduates who use Helix Bar Review while studying for state bar exams will result in improved bar passage rates for these first-time test takers. Project results will inform legal education literature as well as other ongoing studies and activities to improve passage rates and may, depending on cohort size, provide insight into the disparity currently seen in the passage rates of underrepresented populations.

One & Done addresses three barriers to passing the bar exam on the first try that face "at-risk" graduates. First, these graduates need more personal support with time management than they typically get from commercial preparation programs, as well as additional study time devoted to spaced repetition study and practice-as-study. Second, many need financial support. Third, many need support to stay emotionally, psychologically, and socially healthy through the grueling bar preparation process.

Summer Pre-Law Program (SPPARK) is an annual program designed to expand diversity in law school and the legal profession. The program is delivered over three weeks in the summer and accepts approximately 25 students per cohort. The program is held at the University of Arkansas School of Law. View grant outcomes.