To many new law students, law school can seem very foreign – an experience for which none of their previous educational experience has prepared them. The goal of the Academic Success Program (ASP) is to facilitate academic excellence by easing the transition to law school. The program provides all first-year students with the opportunity to learn the skills necessary to be a successful law student. The program centers on the process of critical thinking and the accompanying analytical skills that are needed to succeed in the law curriculum. The program does not provide a substantive review of course material but focuses on specific skills for law school success that include: reading and briefing cases; note-taking; time and stress management; course outlining; and taking final exams.

The Academic Success Program consists of nine workshops offered weekly during the fall semester. Each workshop provides students with a preview of what is expected of law students and thereby relieves some of the typical anxiety experienced in the first year of law school. The Academic Success Program also includes a specially designed course, conducted in the spring semester, for first year students on academic probation.

ABOUT THE ASP DIRECTOR:

Bethany R. Lesniewski

Director of Academic Support
bethany.lesniewski@valpo.edu
219.465.7974

Education
J.D., Florida Coastal Law School (2004)
B.A., Miami University (2001)

Courses
Advanced Legal Studies
Legal Method

Professional Activities
Florida Bar, Member
Standing Committee on Professionalism, Florida Bar (2008-2011)