AccessLex
Since launching our grantmaking activities in 2014, we have awarded over $26.4 million in support of our research priorities: access, affordability, and the value of legal education.
Awarded Grants
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University of Iowa
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
May 2020
Amount:
$49,712
Status:
Awarded
Research grant awarded to Nicholas Bowman, Professor at University of Iowa’s College of Education, to examine factors that predict changes in enrollment and graduation of students from marginalized racial groups at U.S. law schools.
University of Pennsylvania
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
May 2020
Amount:
$25,000
Status:
Awarded
Dissertation grant awarded to Chad Losee, Ed.D. candidate in Higher Education Management at University of Pennsylvania, to better understand factors related to the aspirations to pursue a top-ranked graduate degree (e.g., MBA).
Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
February 2020
Amount:
$125,000
Status:
Completed
The project seeks to...
- Evaluate a replication on the State Bar of California’s July 2019 Bar exam of a Productive Mindset intervention that improved passage rates on its July 2018 exam.
- Examine predictors of bar passage in a data set compiled with over 7,000 takers across three years of California’s exams.
- Scale the Productive Mindset program to three new jurisdictions and examine predictors of passage in a multi-jurisdictional data set of over 10,000 takers of the July 2021 bar exam.
Hofstra University
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
February 2020
Amount:
$155,000
Status:
Completed
The project will develop metacognitive teaching materials to be used within the law school curriculum and study the impact of this instructional intervention on bar passage. The project will use a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative data, to examine whether students who are taught and prompted to engage in metacognitive skills develop stronger skills over time.
View grant outcomes.
Roger Williams University
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
January 2020
Amount:
$125,000
Status:
Awarded
The project seeks to identify law schools that consistently overperform—and underperform—on their expected bar exam passage rates, controlling for the quality of the students they accept. The project plans to examine which state bar exams law graduates take and the difficulty of those bar exams. The project will also determine the school-specific characteristics leading to overperformance among law schools that consistently beat their estimated bar passage rate by interviewing deans at these law schools.
University of Denver
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
March 2019
Amount:
$125,000
Status:
Awarded
This grant, in partnership with the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Education and Prof. Deborah Merritt (Ohio State University Moritz College of Law), will develop a fair, evidence-based definition of minimum competence. The grant will build on existing research, including the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS)’ Foundations for Practice, and will use layered focus groups to deepen our understanding of minimum competence.
Read more here.
University of Cincinnati
Program:
Bar Success Research Grant Program
Date:
March 2019
Amount:
$125,000
Status:
Completed
The grant will conduct rigorous, multi-site analyses to develop a richer empirical model of bar passage and improve understanding through qualitative interviews of student graduates. The grant will use this information to extend existing literature and build research-practice partnerships that provide university partners with actionable insight into programmatic decisions, student interventions and supports, and advising.
View grant outcomes.
University of Tennessee
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
February 2019
Amount:
$50,000
Status:
Awarded
A $50,000 research grant was awarded to Louis Rocconi, Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee’s College of Education, Health & Human Sciences, to examine the relationship between law school rank and student engagement.
To read more, please visit AccessLex Institute Announces Grant Winners
University at Buffalo
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
February 2019
Amount:
$49,925
Status:
Awarded
A $49,925 research grant was awarded to Jaekyung Lee, Professor at University at Buffalo’s Graduate School of Education, to study academic and sociocultural readiness for postgraduate education among immigrant and international students to promote equal access and success in graduate/professional schools.
To read more, please visit AccessLex Institute Announces Grant Winners