The Law School Survey for Student Engagement has found female students and students who do not identify with their gender assigned at birth are more likely to participate in classes if they are online. The LSSSE surveyed more than 13,000 law students at 70 law schools in 2022. The goal of the survey, which was administered by the Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, is to “improve legal education and inform decision-making and compliance efforts, enhance student success, facilitate internal assessment and analysis, and support research on legal education.”
LSSSE found that, over the past year, at least half of law students were enrolled in at least one course that was mostly or entirely online. It also found that law students are comfortable learning online and say it has led to excellent learning outcomes.
LSSSE found that the majority of law students are “mostly comfortable” or “very comfortable” with nearly all aspects of attending online classes, including taking online exams (80%), interacting with instructors (80%) and other students (77%), and participating in live online course discussions (75%).
Importantly, women and those who do not identify as a man or a woman may feel more comfortable participating in courses that are online, LSSSE reported. Thirty percent of women with most of their classes online said they participated “very often,” compared to 23% who attended classes in person “very often.”
For respondents who did not identify as a man or a woman, 32% of those who attended classes mostly online reported they participated very often, compared to 21% of those with mostly in-person classes.
Overall, 25% of students taking in-person classes and 31% who mostly had online courses said they participated very often.