Page 15 - NYLS Strategic Plan Progress and Outcomes • 2015

acadeMIc InITIaTIveS
n in 2014-2015, the Initiative for excellence in Law Teaching (IeLT), under the co-direction of Professors kris franklin, doni Gewirtzman, and kim hawkins, hosted nine sessions of the Pedagogy Discussion group, a monthly group for nYlS faculty featuring speakers on topics related to legal education. in addition, IeLT launched its Design Lab, which will develop new pedagogical approaches and teaching tools through an innovation process that values collaboration, human-centered design, and experimentation.
n appointed the first ever evening division coordinator who will provide additional support and resources tailored to part-time and evening division students.the coordinator is a one-stop initial contact for accessing campus resources including academic advising, career planning, and financial aid counseling, as well as the registrar and Business operations.
n became one of only a handful of schools in the country participating in the United States Patent and Trademark office’s (PTo) clinic Program which allows current law students, under the supervision of an experienced attorney, to represent patent and trademark applicants before the PTO in an accelerated application procedure. in spring 2015, nYlS began representing its first clients, under the direction of Michael Marcin, named partner of Fay kaplun & marcin, llP.
n expanded support and resources for NYLS graduates sitting for the bar exam including the Jump Start 5- day intensive course, matching graduates with a faculty mentor to provide individual feedback sessions, and the development of a multi-department task force to assist and coordinate all nYlS-based resources. this past year, nYlS sponsored each bar taker for a 3-day review course of the national multi-state bar exam (mBe). the course included a full-day test simulation, followed by a review of each student’s performance, and a 2-day, intensive review of test-taking strategies. in the coming year, we will continue to evaluate our programming and resources, and adapt where necessary to provide the best opportunity for our students to successfully pass the Bar.
n revamped the content of the course evaluation tool to help students better understand their roles and responsibilities in the classroom while giving them the guidance and vocabulary needed to describe what they are learning within the framework of the student competencies adopted in may 2013. the new approach is an important step to helping students see the contextual connections between the theory and the practice of law, in helping faculty measure student learning outcomes, and in providing critical information needed to help make better-informed decisions regarding teaching methods and student support.
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NYLS AND The UNIVerSITY Of rOCheSTer’S SImON bUSINeSS SChOOL JOIN fOrCeS: The ONLY CO-LOCATeD LAW SChOOL AND bUSINeSS SChOOL IN NYC
during the spring of 2015, nYlS partnered with the University of rochester’s Simon business School, enabling the upstate school to establish a home base at nYlS close to new York city’s financial district, technology corridor, and civic center. By uniting institutions dedicated to business and legal education
under one roof, NYLS is breaking the mold: this is the only co-located law school and business school in new York city. never before has there been a stronger need for law students to learn the fundamentals of business and finance, and nYlS is working with the Simon Business School to explore and develop opportunities for NYLS students to receive business education as part of their legal studies. the two institutions have the unique opportunity to harness the synergies that exist between them, especially given NYLS’s prime location, with direct access to Wall Street, the city’s government offices, and its tech corridor.
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Strategic Plan ProgreSS and outcomeS
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