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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Willamette University
Program:
Bar Success Intervention Grant Program
Date:
January 2023
Amount:
$233,287
Status:
Completed
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.
View grant outcomes.
Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology
Program:
Bar Success Intervention Grant Program
Date:
June 2022
Amount:
$299,940
Status:
Completed
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.
View grant outcomes.
University of Minnesota
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
May 2020
Amount:
$49,794
Status:
Awarded
Research grant awarded to Krista Soria, Director of Student Affairs Assessment at the University of Minnesota, to better understand the roles of financial factors (e.g., funding sources, debt, financial stress, and food and housing insecurity) in graduate, professional, and law students’ mental health, time to degree completion, and career interests.
Pennsylvania State University
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
May 2020
Amount:
$50,000
Status:
Awarded
Research grant awarded to Kelly Rosinger, Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University’s College of Education, to examine how LSAT-optional admissions policies impact diversity (e.g., the share and number of Black, Latinx, and Native American students enrolled) and selectivity (e.g., the number of applicants, acceptance rate, and the LSAT scores of enrollees) at adopting U.S. law schools.
University of Kentucky
Program:
Research and Dissertation Fellows Program
Date:
May 2020
Amount:
$50,000
Status:
Awarded
Research grant awarded to Willis Jones, Associate Professor at University of Kentucky’s College of Education, to study variation in cost of living estimates among U.S. law schools.
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).
University of Arkansas School of Law
Program:
Legal Education Diversity Pathway Grant Program
Date:
March 2019
Amount:
$125,000
Status:
Completed
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.
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