Learn more about contracts in this online course from Harvard Law Professor Charles Fried, one of the world`s leading authorities on contract law. « We designed Zero-L as a course that all law schools can benefit from by ensuring that the content does not focus on institution-specific pedagogy, » said Jessica Soban `07, associate dean for strategic initiatives. Professor I. Glenn Cohen `03, a member of the HLS committee responsible for developing Zero-L, notes, « The learning curve in law school can be steep. » Zero-L was designed as an « access ramp » to facilitate this transition; We want to make sure that all law students have access to this ramp. « We are thrilled with the results, » said Dionne Koller, associate dean, professor of law and director of the Center for Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore. « Zero-L allows us to communicate with our new students in a way that both prepares them for law school and calms them down. The program is an important complement to our traditional orientation and directly serves our mission of access. Harvard is authorized to offer distance learning under the State Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), an agreement that allows Massachusetts colleges to provide distance education to students residing in other SARA participating states. For information on SARA-related complaint procedures for distance learners, see vpal.harvard.edu/nc-sara. Mara Chin Loy `21, who studied human biology and Italian at Stanford, found the zero-L class invaluable. « I wasn`t very familiar with the law school process, » she recalls. But when she arrived on campus, she felt well prepared for her first semester.
« I was able to fully focus on learning the material in my class instead of spending a few weeks figuring out what was going on, » said Loy. Zero-L was created to ensure that all new law students, regardless of their background and previous fields of study, begin by acquiring the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in law school. Zero-L is designed to provide students from all backgrounds with the tools they need to feel more confident and prepared as they begin law school. Available in an online self-study format, law schools can get students to focus on the most relevant modules for their first year of law school. If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Soban, Associate Dean of Strategic Initiatives, at [email protected]. In response, HLS partnered with Harvard University`s Office of the Vice Provost for Advancement of Learning (VPAL) in 2018 to launch a new online course called Zero-L, which aims to ensure that all incoming students, regardless of background and previous fields of study, begin with the foundational knowledge that will enable them to succeed in law school. (The name Zero-L is a traditional set of terms for law students, second and third year – 1Ls, 2Ls and 3Ls). A few years ago, administrators at Harvard Law School (HLS) found that the profile of new law students was very different than it was a decade ago. Students who come to HLS now reflect many different backgrounds and lived experiences, with many others having studied in a STEM field in college, spent four or more years in the workforce, or coming to HLS from abroad. The self-paced course is now offered to participating law schools starting July 1, 2020 to offer their new law students, and is expected to be completed in 12 to 14 hours. Students can review Zero-L course material throughout their first year.
The four partner universities that used Zero-L last year have already agreed to participate again this year. Students will be able to access the course on July 1, 2020 and will have unlimited access throughout their first year of law school. Joining an online program with Harvard Law School Executive Education gives you access to the same faculty expertise, unparalleled content, and opportunities to connect with colleagues around the world as our on-campus programs, but with the added flexibility of a virtual classroom. From principals of senior law firms to legal professionals to high school students interested in law, Harvard Law School believes in the importance of legal education and the different ways it intersects with and influences our daily lives. Our programs offer the opportunity to easily explore how law shapes the world, or to prepare and excel for a career in law. Zero-L`s self-paced content is universal and flexible. Law schools can identify the modules that are most useful to their students and encourage them to focus on those specific areas, such as the best approach to reading a case or an overview of the history of American constitutional law. HLS can also advise schools on which modules to assign to students who will be admitted later in the summer and who may therefore have less time to complete the course. While the school originally planned to make the full version of Zero-L available to other law schools this summer for a fee, HLS will instead offer it for free to all interested U.S. companies this year.