OATdb Archive

2008 - 2009

Students' Legal Services And Mediation Services

Goal
Student Legal Needs
Assess and respond to students' legal needs.

Objective
Student Legal Consultation: Needs Analysis
Students will be able to determine their legal needs by the legal advice given to them in their consultation.

Indicator
Student Satisfaction With Legal Needs Analysis
An assessment survey will be given to each student after their legal consultation. We will measure whether the consultation helped the student determine their legal needs. We will measure this on a LIKERT scale of 1-5; 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.

Criterion
Student Assessment of Legal Needs Analysis
At least 90% of student surveys should show ratings of 5 on the LIKERT scale.

Finding
Students' Understanding of Their Legal Needs Exceeded Expectations
95% of the students indicated a 5 on the LIKERT SCALE showing they strongly agreed that their legal consultation identified their legal needs. This exceeded the 90% expectation.

Action
Continue Student Legal Need Consultations
It is extremely important that students not only understand their legal needs, but also how to put a plan in action for the future. The form and type of legal interview with the student will determine if student learning has taken place. The learning outcomes wil be expressed in the student's answer to the exit survey we give each student. Since student assessment ratings were 95% and exceeded the 90% expectation, the manner and form of student legal needs consultations will continue as presently exists. This same structure will assist in quality control with student interviews.

Goal
Student Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to demonstrate learning outcomes from consultation on their specific legal issue.

Objective
Student Learning: Identification Of Issues
Students will be able to identify their legal problem, legal position, and legal rights.

Indicator
Student Learning: Identification Of Legal Issues
An assessment survey will be given to each student after their legal consultation. We will measure whether the consultation helped the students identify their legal problem, legal position, and legal rights. We will measure this on a LIKERT scale of 1-5; 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree.

Criterion
Student Assessment of Learning Legal Issues
At least 90% of student surveys should show ratings of 5 on the LIKERT scale.

Finding
Student Learning Identification of Issues Exceeded Expectations
95% of the students indicated a 5 on a LIKERT scale showing that they strongly agree that they identified and learned their legal issues. This exceeded the 90% expectation.

Action
Continue Issue Identification For Student Learning
It is expremely important that students feel comfortable in fully explaining their legal issues and problems to the student legal advisor. Students must know that their information is confidential and will be held confidential. Thus, interviewing students must be done in a non-evasive manner that establishes trust with the student. Once the student has divulged the appropriate information, that student can relax and begin to learn what she needs to do, action wise, to work on her problem. Based upon the results of exit surveys, the Student Legal Advisor will continue to consult with students in the same manner as surveyed. Such a consultation allows students to know their information will be held confidential and demonstrate learning outcomes on their specific legal problem, position, and rights.

Goal
Professional Development
Participation in professional legal education.

Objective
Attend Professional Legal Conferences
The Student Legal Advisor will attend at least one professional conference each year.

Indicator
Professional Development Participation
Provide a completed travel application to the Dean of Students' Office for attendance at a professional legal conference.

Criterion
Professional Development Participation
Attend and complete at least one professional legal training conference within FY 2008-2009.

Finding
Conference Attendance Met Expectations
The Student Legal Advisor attended and completed the University Of Student Legal Services Conference January 7 thru 9, 2009 and was awarded teh Special Project Excellence Award of 2008 and the 15 years of Services to the association award.

Action
Continue To Attend Legal Conferences
The law is constantly changing; therefore, a student legal advisor must keep up with these law changes. Also, the manner and way in which student law practice is most efficiently accomplished is important to better serve students. Thus, it is imperative that the Student Legal Advisor attend at least one legal conference a year just to keep up to date on current issues that affect students and the best way to deal with there issues. Therefore, Student Legal Advisor will continue to attend at least one professional training conference per fiscal year to stay current of students' legal issues.


Update to previous cycle's plan for continuous improvement

Plan for continuous improvement STUDENT'S LEGAL AND MEDIATION SERVICES

Executive Summary
2008 - 2009

Student's Legal and Mediation Services at Sam Houston State University operates as a
learning center to support the academic success and retention of students by providing effective
legal consultation. Each legal consultation must advance the student's understanding of his
immediate legal need, problem, legal position, and legal rights. Our mission is student learning,
not only for the students present dilemma, but also for the future. As a result of what we have determined in our exit surveys, we have discovered that the form and type of legal interview will instill in the student trust. Thus, the student will trust us that his information will be confidential . As a result of this, the student will divulge all of the necessary information to fully understand an interpretation of his legal need and remedy and action for the future.

In order to provide effective legal consultations, a variety of learning services is provided
including individual legal consultations, brochures, pamphlets, a compendium of legal topics and
websites plus State Bar of Texas materials. Each student must leave his consultation with the
knowledge necessary to confront his legal issue(s). As a result of our assessment surveys, we found that students had a more full understanding with written materials given to them during the interviews. Thus we are keeping this aspect of service in our future counseling.

In order to more effectively provide service to an expanding student population,
Student's Legal Services is moving to a discreet location on the top floor of the Lowman Center.
Such space allocation will allow privacy and confidentiality for students which is a hallmark of
the attorney/client privilege as students should feel safe and secure in disclosing their legal
problems to third parties. As a result of our student surveys in the past 07-08 amd 06-07 fiscal years, we determined that more space was needed to adequately serve the students...especially an appropriate waiting area and confidential check-in area. The past exit surveys provided a rational for the move that has now taken place.

Student's Legal Services assessed three major factors in student learning for the fiscal year 2008-2009: first, legal need analysis; second, student learning outcomes; and third, professional legal development. Please see the ACTION Items above that reflect the rational for all there action items. In summary, all three assessments exceeded the criterion in each category; therefore, Student's Legal Services will continue serving students in the future as in this 2008-2009 fiscal year. According to results from student satisfaction surveys, the manner and form of student consultations will remain the same in regard to students identifying , understanding, and analyzing their legal problem, legal position, legal rights, and more importantly, what actions need to be taken to resolve their legal issues...both now and in the future.

Professional development exceeded expectations during the 2008-2009 fiscal year as the
Sam Houston State University Student's Legal Services office was awarded the Special Project
Excellence Award of 2008 and the Fifteen Year Service Award by the national professional
Association of Student Legal Services for the Southwest Region. In addition, Dr. Gibson was
awarded an endowed scholarship in his name by the Texas Mediators Credentialing Association.
This scholarship will allow a credentialed mediator to attend the yearly conference and defray
the cost of quality speakers for the annual conference in Austin, Texas.