Institutional Learning Outcomes

The Southern University Law Center (SULC) uses formative and summative assessments for designated courses as an internal measure of its adherence to the Institutional Learning Outcomes. SULC faculty remains dedicated to consistently evaluating its assessment process to maximize the value given to students during their matriculation through law school.

SULC’s institutional learning outcomes describe the abilities, skills, and knowledge that students will acquire at SULC. The four institutional student learning outcomes below describe the competencies that every student will have after the successful completion of their education at SULC. 

Issue Spotting: Students should properly identify the issue presented in a legal problem and any sub-issues that are dispositive for the overall question being asked. Further, the issue should be clearly stated in a way that appropriately links it to the specific facts of the question.

Analysis: Students should thoroughly apply specific facts and make reasonable inferences from facts to legal elements, factors, sub-issues, and policy. Proper analysis requires the ability to identify legal issues in a fact pattern, to apply and distinguish cases, to identify the salient features of an appropriate precedent case, to identify legally significant similarities between the precedent case and a fact pattern and explain why the similarities are important, and to identify legally significant differences between the precedent case and a fact pattern. The ability to apply rules to facts is important. Students must be able to correctly articulate a rule implicated by the issue, to identify legally significant facts in the fact pattern, and to explain why the facts are significant by connecting the facts to the requirement(s) of the rule.

Quality of Writing: The writing should consistently follow the format requested in the call of the question. The overall essay should show a sense of proportion and balance that signifies a substantial understanding of the relative importance of the various issues discussed.

Dispositive issues must be treated thoroughly; relevant issues must be given some attention and irrelevant issues should not be discussed. Sentences should be consistently well-crafted in a highly readable style. Traditional, moderately formal rules of English grammar should be consistently followed. 

Doctrinal Knowledge: Dispositive portions of the relevant rule should be stated fully or should be rephrased in a legally equivalent way. Non-dispositive portions of the rule(s) (or relevant but non-dispositive rules) should be stated as succinctly as possible. Irrelevant rules should not be mentioned at all. Rules relied upon should be stated in a way that specifically applies to the facts of the exam question.