When it comes to providing access to a legal education, The John Marshall Law School has always been at the front of the pack. With advances in technology and the growth of the alternative student population, that mission now takes a great leap forward with distance education.
In 2002, the law school offered its first distance education, or online, class. At that time, videoconferencing allowed
Professor Doris Long to share her Unfair Competition class at John Marshall with students at Southern Illinois University (SIU) School of Law. John Marshall students were also able to watch an SIU professor teach a School Law course. Since then, The John Marshall Law School has never looked back.John Marshall’s Distance Education Program continues to expand, growing from an initial two “eCourse” offerings to more than 20 online courses in three short years. In the fall 2011 semester, the law school offers online LLM and MS courses from the Centers for Information Technology and Privacy Law, Intellectual Property Law, International Law, and Tax Law and Employee Benefits.
The online format allows practicing attorneys and working professionals to complete certain LLM or MS courses as they begin earning a specialized degree in law, on their own schedule. “This gives lawyers and professionals opportunities for learning that they otherwise may not have,” said Professor Robert J. Nye, director of distance education, who has been studying various teaching formats for a decade. “We’ve seen that students don’t always have to be in a classroom to learn. I think it’s an exciting model,” he said.
The “eCourses” are offered on an asynchronous basis. Graduate students sign onto their class websites to interact with
their professor and fellow classmates using chat, discussion boards, and email. Students enjoy several advantages, including: added assessment during the semester (unlike traditional law courses that tend to depend on one final exam); classes which can be re-watched several times to help students absorb the material; and, individual and group assignments, quizzes, downloadable lectures, and weekly chats that allow the professor to fully engage the students in their course material while providing the students the flexibility to take their classes anytime, anywhere.
Visit ecourses.jmls.edu/ for additional information about the fall schedule.