Indiana Law Annotated Vol. 15 No. 14 December 7, 1998
Table of Contents
- FROM THE ASSOCIATE DEAN
- STUDENT EVALUATIONS: HOW ARE THEY USED?
- ANONYMOUS GRADING: HOW DOES IT WORK?
- EVENTS & LECTURES
- NEWS FROM CAREER SERVICES
- NEWS FROM THE RECORDER
- AROUND CAMPUS
- CALENDAR
FROM THE ASSOCIATE DEAN
LAUREN ROBEL
A HAPPY THOUGHT BEFORE EXAMS
As you prepare for exams, you might be cheered by the results of a recent study by American Bar Foundation Distinguished Research Fellow John Heinz. Heinz, who has studied lawyers in Chicago for over twenty years, reports that, contrary to popular belief, job satisfaction among practicing lawyers is quite high. As reported in the most recent issue of "Researching Law," the study, which focused on the Chicago bar, reports that 84 percent of lawyers surveyed were either satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs; 10 percent were neutral, 5 percent were dissatisfied, and only 1.6 percent were very dissatisfied. And the longer you practice law, the more satisfied you become: None of the respondents older than 55 reported being dissatisfied with practice. And women report overall job satisfaction that is equivalent to men. The study concludes, "Countering the 'doom and gloom' in the press, the ABF survey found that most Chicago lawyers are happy in their work. The survey's findings match those 'in careful studies of lawyers in Toronto, Minnesota, and New York State.' [And] the lawyers in all these studies expressed about the same levels of satisfaction as people in other occupations."
The results of this study will be published in "Lawyers and their Discontents: Findings From a Survey of the Chicago Bar," 73 Indiana Law Journal (March 1999).
STUDENT EVALUATIONS: HOW ARE THEY USED?
As you participate in course evaluations, you may be wondering how they are used. The school uses the evaluations in a variety of ways. First, and most obviously, many professors read the evaluations in order to assess their effectiveness as teachers. Second, the evaluations are used by the school in setting salaries, and are read during the promotion and tenure process as part of the information available to the school about a professor's teaching.
Professors may only see their evaluations after they have graded their exams and submitted the grades to the Recorder's Office.
ANONYMOUS GRADING: HOW DOES IT WORK?
As finals near, a refresher course on anonymous grading may be useful.
Examinations at the law school are graded anonymously. Students are required to obtain an examination number each semester. During the exam period, professors are given a list of the exam numbers for students in each of their classes. The list contains no names and is used for two purposes. First, it allows professors to check the numbers on the exam booklets against the numbers on the list to ensure that all students have turned in their exam booklets. Second, by placing the grade next to the examination number on this list, professors report grades to the Recorder. Two copies of the examination grades are given to the Recorder, who initials and keeps one copy. The second copy, along with a key to identify students by name, is then returned to the professors who wish to adjust grades for class participation.
The requirement that initial grades be turned in before members of the class are identified by name ensures that the identities of the class members will not be known until professors have relinquished control over their initial grades. The Recorder keeps the initial grade sheet on file, as well as the sheet adjusting grades for class participation. If a question arises as to whether a change was made to a grade after a student's identity was revealed, the exact nature of the change can be obtained from the Recorder.
As noted earlier, professors cannot read their student evaluations until their final grades have been turned in.
EVENTS & LECTURES
FACULTY LECTURE SERIES
Wednesday, December 9, at noon in the Faculty Lounge, Aviva Orenstein will deliver a Law and Society talk on Talmud.
Friday, December 11, appointments candidate Jeannine Bell will be presenting a talk at noon in the Faculty Lounge.
NEWS FROM CAREER SERVICES
ISBA MINORITY CLERKSHIP PROGRAM
Student registration materials are now available for the Indiana State Bar Association's Minority Clerkship Program for the Summer of 1999. This program creates opportunities for first- and second-year law students to clerk with employers throughout the State of Indiana during the Summer of 1999. Twenty-three employers are participating in this year's program. Applications are due to the CSO by noon, December 7, 1998.
NEWS FROM THE RECORDER
Examination numbers for the I Semester (Fall) 1998-99 are available in Room 022.
AROUND CAMPUS
WORKSHOP IN ENVIRONMENTAL ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
A forty-hour intensive course presented by RESOLVE Center for Environmental Dispute Resolution and the Indiana Conflict Resolution Institute.
Topics Include:
- Determining whether mediation might be appropriate in specific cases
- Using interest-based negotiation skills
- Understanding the role and functions of a mediator
- Dealing with parties new to the mediation process
- Complex dynamics in negotiations
- Anticipating, avoiding and/or managing implementation problems
- Ethics in ADR
- ADR in State Agencies
- Environmental ADR in Indiana
Where: SPEA, IU Bloomington
When: January 6-9, 1999
Cost: $450
If you would like to participate, please send your name, address, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address, whether or not you are an IU student, and, if so, your degree and expected date of graduation along with a $100 deposit to ICRI, 1315 E. 10th St., SPEA 322, Bloomington, IN 47405. Complete payment is due by 8:00 a.m. January 6, 1999.
For more information call Gina Viola or Lori Riggs at (812) 855-1618.
CALENDAR
Monday, December 7, at noon, Career Services Office, applications are due for Summer 1999 ISBA Minority Clerkship Program
Updated: 5 December 1998