October 6th, 2009 10:22 pm
Ranked as the second school in the country in terms of educational quality, Chicago law school undoubtedly stands out from the pack. So how do they ensure they remain top despite getting a lot of rivalry from such institutions as Yale and Harvard? Chicago law school has made a decision and put it as its top priority quality teaching at the law school. Though this has brought about deterioration in other aspects of the school, law in the institution has continued to excel. This is largely attributed to the law school going the other way as other elite schools took a completely different turn.
Chicago law school took a different turn by cinching its belt while other institutions made their curriculums more flexible. While these institutions enabled for a more ‘crossover’ program where they created more opportunities for students to integrate other programs, Chicago law school remained unmoved in this change. In fact, it was required that students take even more classes within the law school. During this time when many institutions welcomed the classroom internet which seemed to threaten the professor-student dialogue, the university yanked out the network cables and removed wireless connections in all rooms. As you can imagine, this did not go well with the students. However, the university seemed to care less, at least, they did not want the quality of instruction within the law school to be diluted with flexible classes and wireless access. That however is not the only reason why Chicago law school has stayed elite.
The university also seems to have continued with their quest of finding and nurturing new potential professors and giving them a chance to shine in this ‘think tank’ atmosphere. The hiring committee is composed of elite professors in their own right who are also highly engaged. Furthermore, it is considered one of the first institutions to implement a mandatory legal writing class that is called the Bigelow Program. This program is staffed with aspiring academics who show great potential. Some of the university’s best new professors have also come from the Bigelow Program.
Even with a lot of the professors going to other top-ranked institutions, Chicago law school still maintains a list of emerging legal minds that should keep them on top of the academic heap for years to come, in addition to many stars of yesteryears who continue to make a great contribution to the institution’s high education quality.