Analysis of Part-Time and Full-Time ABA Law School Program Trends

Transcription

1 Analysis of Part-Time and Full-Time ABA Law School Program Trends Richard Strouss-Rooney Kim Dustman Ann Gallagher October 2017

2 The trends presented in this report are based on an analysis of applicant and matriculant data for full-time, part-time day, and part-time evening law programs. The data are for the academic years 2006 through 2015, including applicants and matriculants to all academic terms. This is a continuation of a series of studies looking at full-time and part-time law school programs. Previous studies have analyzed academic years and General Trends From 2006 to 2015, the number of law schools and part-time law programs grew (Table 1). At the same time, there were dramatic decreases in the number of applicants and matriculants to full-time programs, with a 40% decrease in applicants and a 20% decrease in matriculants (Figure 1). Part-time programs followed a similar trend, with a 54% decrease in applicants and a 35% decrease in matriculants (Figure 2). TABLE 1 Number of ABA law schools, part-time evening, and part-time day programs ABA Law Schools Part-Time Day Part-Time Evening

3 94% 92% 90% 88% 86% 84% 82% 80% Full-Time Applicants Full-Time Matriculants FIGURE 1. Percentage of applicants and matriculants to full-time programs 14% 12% 10% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% Part-Time Day Applicants Part-Time Day Matriculants Part-Time Evening Applicants Part-Time Evening Matriculants FIGURE 2. Percentage of part-time day and part-time evening applicants and matriculants Proportionally, applicants to full-time programs and part-time evening programs were fairly stable during this study period. In contrast, the percentage of applicants and matriculants to part-time day programs declined in 2009 while matriculation rates to full-time programs increased that same year. Note that for applicant counts, unless stated otherwise, each applicant may be part of the count for multiple programs if they applied to a combination of program types. For example, an applicant who applied to both a full-time program and a part-time evening program would be included in counts for both of these program types. As such, percentages of applicants may sum to greater than 100%, and sums of counts will be higher than the number of unique applicants. This does not apply to counts of matriculants. For the total counts of applicants and matriculants by year, see Table A-1 in the Appendix. 2

4 Academic Credentials Figures 3 and 4 display average high LSAT scores for applicants and matriculants across program types. Applicants and matriculants to full-time programs consistently had higher average high LSAT scores than those to part-time programs. For full-time applicants, average high LSAT scores dropped slightly from 154 to 153 between 2006 and 2015 and scores for full-time matriculants dropped from 158 to 156. Score drops for applicants to the two part-time programs were similar, with average high scores of 149 and 150, respectively, for day and evening programs in 2006 dropping to 146 and 147, respectively, by 2015 despite the jump in part-time day program scores in 2010 and Full-time Part-time Day Part-time Evening FIGURE 3. Average high LSAT scores of applicants to full-time and part-time programs Scores for matriculants to part-time evening programs increased from 153 in 2006 to 154 in 2010, but dropped to 151 by Scores for matriculants to part-time day programs showed a similar but more pronounced pattern, going from 150 in 2006 to 154 in 2010, and then dropping to 147 by Full-time Part-time Day Part-time Evening FIGURE 4. Average high LSAT scores of matriculants to full-time and part-time programs 3

5 Figures 5 and 6 display median undergraduate GPA for applicants and matriculants. Between 2006 and 2015, median GPAs for applicants and matriculants to full-time programs were fairly stable and consistently higher than median GPAs for applicants and matriculants to part-time programs. Within that same time period, median GPAs of part-time applicants and matriculants also fell, with GPAs in part-time day programs falling more sharply F PD PE FIGURE 5. Applicants median undergraduate GPA F PD PE FIGURE 6. Matriculants median undergraduate GPA 4

6 Age As Figure 7 shows, applicants to full-time programs were the youngest of all applicants, with a median age of 24 for all years. Applicants to both part-time program types were older, with the median age increasing between 2006 and Full-time Part-time Day Part-time Evening FIGURE 7. Median age of applicants by program Figure 8 shows that the median age of matriculants to full-time programs was slightly lower than the median age of applicants (23). For part-time programs, matriculant medians were exactly the same as applicant medians for all years Full-time Part-time Day Part-time Evening FIGURE 8. Median age of matriculants by program 5

7 Sex Figure 9 displays the percentage of applicants by sex and program type. In 2006, there were slightly more male applicants to all three program types than female applicants. With some fluctuations, the percentage of female applicants gradually increased, reaching proportional parity with male applicants to full-time programs by 2015 and comprising a majority of applicants to part-time day and evening programs F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE Male Female FIGURE 9. Percentage of applicants by program type and sex 6

8 As Figure 10 shows, matriculants followed a similar pattern. In 2006, the majority of matriculants to all programs were male. The percentage of female matriculants fluctuated but gradually increased such that in 2015, the percentage of those in full-time programs were within one point of parity, and female matriculants were the majority of those in part-time day and evening programs F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE F PD PE Male Female FIGURE 10. Percentage of matriculants by program type and sex Race/Ethnicity Although the study period ranged from 2006 to 2015, race/ethnicity analyses were limited to the period between 2011 and 2015 due to changes in how this information was collected, which would invalidate comparisons to prior years. Prior to 2011, candidates were able to select only one race/ethnicity. Starting in 2011, candidates have been allowed to identify themselves as having any number of races/ethnicities; this practice is termed maximum reporting. Consequently, percentages may sum to greater than 100%. As Figures show, while White/Caucasian applicants make up the majority of applicants to all types of programs, they constitute a greater percentage of full-time applicants. In contrast, Black/African American applicants make up a greater percentage of applicants to part-time programs. With the exception of Asian applicants, the percentage of applicants in all race/ethnicity categories increased from 2011 to The largest increase was among Black/African American applicants to part-time programs. Among Asian applicants, there was a decrease in the percentage applying to part-time programs while the percentage applying to full-time programs remained fairly steady. It is likely that some of the increases could be attributed to the change from single-category reporting to maximum reporting, as there has been a small but steady increase in the number of applicants reporting multiple categories since the change was instituted in Maximum reporting also accounts for the fact that, in more recent years, percentages sum to greater than 100%. Race/ethnicity categories with less than 1% representation were excluded from the graphs but may be found in Tables A-9 and A-10. 7

9 60.5% 64.6% 64.6% 63.1% 62.9% 2.9% 3.1% 2.9% 3.0% 2.7% 9.4% 10.3% 11.0% 11.5% 12.2% 12.6% 13.6% 14.0% 14.5% 14.6% 10.0% 10.2% 10.5% 11.2% 10.7% 1.9% 2.0% 2.2% 2.2% 2.3% American Indian / Alaska Native Black / African American Puerto Rican Asian Hispanic / Latino White / Caucasian FIGURE 11. Percentage of applicants to full-time programs by race/ethnicity 52.6% 51.3% 51.1% 49.1% 54.6% 2.0% 10.1% 2.3% 12.4% 2.7% 2.7% 13.7% 12.4% 2.9% 12.6% 19.2% 24.1% 26.0% 27.6% 29.4% 10.8% 10.9% 10.1% 9.5% 9.7% 1.7% 2.1% 2.3% 2.2% 2.6% American Indian / Alaska Native Black / African American Puerto Rican Asian Hispanic / Latino White / Caucasian FIGURE 12. Percentage of applicants to part-time day programs by race/ethnicity 8

10 53.0% 55.6% 53.6% 52.6% 50.1% 2.8% 12.2% 2.3% 4.7% 4.3% 13.3% 14.4% 14.1% 4.8% 15.5% 19.3% 21.1% 22.2% 23.2% 24.4% 9.7% 9.5% 8.9% 9.3% 8.9% 1.6% 1.8% 1.8% 2.2% 2.5% American Indian / Alaska Native Black / African American Puerto Rican Asian Hispanic / Latino White / Caucasian FIGURE 13. Percentage of applicants to part-time evening programs by race/ethnicity Applicants to More than One Type of Program A small percentage of all applicants to ABA law schools apply to more than one type of program (full-time, part-time day, part-time evening). As Figure 14 shows, fewer than 20% of applicants apply to multiple program types, and the percentage of the overall applicant population has declined in more recent years to fewer than 10%. 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% FIGURE 14. Percentage of applicants applying to more than one type of program 9

11 Figure 15 displays the percentage of all matriculants who were accepted to multiple program types by the program type in which they ultimately matriculated. 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0% Matriculated PT Matriculated FT FIGURE 15. Percentage of all matriculants who were accepted to full-time and part-time (both day and evening) programs 10

12 Appendix TABLE A-1 Number of applicants and matriculants to full-time and part-time programs Applicants F PD PE ,418 10,615 11, ,714 10,503 10, ,653 11,077 11, ,643 6,536 10, ,296 6,838 11, ,554 6,063 9, ,425 4,695 7, ,193 3,686 7, ,731 3,401 6, ,890 3,647 6,794 Matriculants F PD PE ,885 2,362 2, ,347 2,580 2, ,215 2,719 2, ,210 1,183 2, ,456 1,016 2, ,642 1,175 2, ,719 1,069 2, , , , , ,302 1,128 2,327 Note. Applicants were included in counts for all program types to which they applied. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 11

13 TABLE A-2 Number of applicants and matriculants by program and program combination Applicants F F & PD PD F & PE PE PD & PE F, PD, & PE Total ,493 5,656 2,422 5,082 3, ,187 92, ,857 5,282 2,827 4,468 3, ,107 87, ,489 5,771 2,675 5,116 3, ,277 86, ,593 2,339 1,613 4,612 3, ,099 89, ,024 2,619 1,063 4,166 3, ,487 90, ,676 2,195 1,054 3,494 3, ,189 81, ,314 1, ,872 2, ,713 70, ,184 1, ,691 3, ,265 62, , ,497 2, ,049 58, , ,146 2,266 2, ,006 56,558 Matriculants F PD PE Total ,885 2,362 2,939 47, ,347 2,580 2,963 47, ,215 2,719 2,655 47, ,210 1,183 2,610 50, ,456 1,016 2,443 50, ,642 1,175 2,207 47, ,719 1,069 2,026 42, , ,373 39, , ,383 37, ,302 1,128 2,327 36,757 Note. This table contains counts of distinct, individual applicants by applications to all program combinations; no applicant is counted in more than one group. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 12

14 TABLE A-3 Percentage of applicants and matriculants to full-time and part-time programs Applicants F PD PE % 11% 12% % 12% 12% % 13% 13% % 7% 12% % 8% 12% % 7% 12% % 7% 11% % 6% 12% % 6% 12% % 6% 12% Matriculants F PD PE % 5% 6% % 5% 6% % 6% 6% % 2% 5% % 2% 5% % 2% 5% % 2% 5% % 2% 6% % 2% 6% % 3% 6% Note. Applicants were included in counts for all program types to which they applied. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 13

15 TABLE A-4 Average high LSAT scores of applicants and matriculants by program Applicants F PD PE All Matriculants F PD PE All Note. Applicant high LSAT scores were included in analyses for all program types to which they applied. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 14

16 TABLE A-5 Median undergraduate GPAs of applicants and matriculants by program Applicants F PD PE All Matriculants F PD PE All

17 TABLE A-6 Median ages of applicants and matriculants Applicants F PD PE All Matriculants F PD PE All Note. Applicants were included in analyses for all program types to which they applied. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 16

18 TABLE A-7 Percentage of applicants by program and sex F PD PE 2006 Male 53% 53% 52% Female 47% 46% 47% 2007 Male 52% 52% 51% Female 48% 48% 49% 2008 Male 52% 51% 51% Female 48% 49% 49% 2009 Male 53% 52% 52% Female 47% 48% 48% 2010 Male 54% 52% 53% Female 46% 48% 47% 2011 Male 53% 50% 53% Female 47% 50% 47% 2012 Male 52% 50% 50% Female 48% 50% 49% 2013 Male 52% 46% 49% Female 48% 53% 51% 2014 Male 51% 47% 48% Female 49% 52% 51% 2015 Male 50% 45% 46% Female 50% 55% 53% Note. Applicants were included in analyses for all program types to which they applied. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening. 17

19 TABLE A-8 Percentage of matriculants by program and sex F PD PE 2006 Male 54% 52% 53% Female 46% 48% 47% 2007 Male 53% 53% 52% Female 47% 47% 48% 2008 Male 53% 51% 52% Female 47% 49% 48% 2009 Male 53% 53% 52% Female 47% 47% 47% 2010 Male 54% 48% 56% Female 46% 51% 44% 2011 Male 53% 52% 53% Female 47% 48% 47% 2012 Male 52% 51% 52% Female 48% 49% 48% 2013 Male 52% 44% 50% Female 48% 56% 50% 2014 Male 51% 46% 50% Female 49% 54% 50% 2015 Male 50% 44% 48% Female 49% 56% 51% 18

20 TABLE A-9 Percentage of applicants to each program type by race/ethnicity: American Indian/ Alaska Native Asian Australian Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander Black/ African American Canadian Aboriginal Hispanic/ Latino Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander Puerto Rican White/ Caucasian NI 2011 F 1.9% 10.0% 0.0% 12.6% 0.0% 9.4% 0.4% 2.7% 60.5% 8.9% PD 1.7% 10.8% 0.0% 19.2% 0.0% 10.1% 0.4% 2.0% 54.6% 7.8% PE 1.6% 9.7% 0.0% 19.3% 0.0% 12.2% 0.4% 2.8% 53.0% 7.0% 2012 F 2.0% 10.2% 0.0% 13.6% 0.0% 10.3% 0.4% 2.9% 64.6% 3.2% PD 2.1% 10.9% 0.0% 24.1% 0.0% 12.4% 0.5% 2.3% 52.6% 2.8% PE 1.8% 9.5% 0.0% 21.1% 0.1% 13.3% 0.4% 2.3% 55.6% 2.8% 2013 F 2.2% 10.5% 0.0% 14.0% 0.1% 11.0% 0.5% 3.1% 64.6% 2.1% PD 2.3% 10.1% 0.0% 26.0% 0.1% 13.7% 0.5% 2.7% 51.3% 2.1% PE 1.8% 8.9% 0.0% 22.2% 0.1% 14.4% 0.5% 4.7% 53.6% 1.9% 2014 F 2.2% 11.2% 0.0% 14.5% 0.1% 11.5% 0.5% 2.9% 63.1% 3.0% PD 2.2% 9.5% 0.0% 27.6% 0.1% 12.4% 0.6% 2.7% 51.1% 2.8% PE 2.2% 9.3% 0.1% 23.2% 0.1% 14.1% 0.6% 4.3% 52.6% 3.1% 2015 F 2.3% 10.7% 0.0% 14.6% 0.1% 12.2% 0.5% 3.0% 62.9% 2.7% PD 2.6% 9.7% 0.0% 29.4% 0.0% 12.6% 0.7% 2.9% 49.1% 2.7% PE 2.5% 8.9% 0.0% 24.4% 0.1% 15.5% 0.7% 4.8% 50.1% 2.8% Note. Applicants were included in analyses for all program types to which they applied. Race/ethnicity data collected using maximum reporting, allowing candidates to indicate multiple categories. Applicants were included in analyses for all races/ethnicities that they indicated. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening; NI = not indicated. 19

21 TABLE A-10 Percentage of matriculants to each program type by race/ethnicity: American Indian/ Alaska Native Asian Australian Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander Black/ African American Canadian Aboriginal Hispanic/ Latino Native Hawaiian/ Other Pacific Islander Puerto Rican White/ Caucasian NI 2011 F 1.6% 9.5% 0.0% 8.1% 0.0% 8.2% 0.4% 2.5% 65.3% 10.5% PD 2.3% 9.4% 0.0% 11.6% 0.1% 8.4% 0.2% 1.9% 64.6% 8.6% PE 1.5% 8.9% 0.0% 11.6% 0.0% 10.4% 0.5% 3.0% 61.3% 8.5% 2012 F 1.7% 9.6% 0.0% 9.1% 0.1% 9.3% 0.3% 2.4% 71.2% 3.2% PD 2.0% 9.0% 0.0% 17.1% 0.0% 12.1% 0.2% 2.2% 60.9% 2.6% PE 1.7% 9.3% 0.0% 13.0% 0.1% 10.2% 0.4% 2.0% 66.5% 3.0% 2013 F 2.0% 9.8% 0.0% 9.4% 0.1% 9.9% 0.4% 2.6% 71.4% 2.0% PD 2.2% 9.5% 0.0% 18.1% 0.0% 13.3% 0.6% 2.7% 60.6% 2.0% PE 1.9% 8.9% 0.0% 13.5% 0.0% 11.0% 0.3% 4.9% 64.3% 2.2% 2014 F 2.0% 10.5% 0.0% 10.1% 0.1% 10.3% 0.4% 2.7% 69.6% 3.1% PD 2.0% 7.4% 0.0% 20.2% 0.0% 11.8% 0.3% 2.7% 60.9% 3.1% PE 1.7% 9.4% 0.0% 14.9% 0.0% 12.3% 0.3% 4.9% 61.1% 3.1% 2015 F 1.9% 10.1% 0.0% 10.0% 0.1% 10.8% 0.4% 2.9% 69.7% 2.7% PD 2.2% 8.4% 0.0% 25.6% 0.0% 11.3% 0.9% 2.8% 54.5% 2.9% PE 2.3% 8.1% 0.0% 15.8% 0.1% 13.4% 0.6% 5.7% 60.2% 2.9% Note. Race/ethnicity data collected using maximum reporting, allowing candidates to indicate multiple categories. Matriculants were included in analyses for all races/ethnicities that they indicated. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening; NI = not indicated. 20

22 Table A-11 Percentage of matriculation decisions by accepted programs types Program Matriculation Program Acceptance F & PD F & PE PD & PE F, PD, & PE 2006 F 55% 42% 26% PD 31% 26% 24% PE 45% 61% 36% DNM 14% 12% 13% 14% 2007 F 59% 45% 34% PD 30% 29% 21% PE 43% 54% 34% DNM 10% 11% 17% 11% 2008 F 62% 48% 38% PD 26% 32% 18% PE 41% 55% 32% DNM 12% 11% 13% 12% 2009 F 53% 44% 31% PD 33% 23% 19% PE 43% 61% 38% DNM 14% 13% 15% 13% 2010 F 44% 40% 32% PD 43% 29% 18% PE 45% 54% 34% DNM 13% 15% 17% 16% 2011 F 39% 45% 34% PD 48% 30% 20% PE 40% 53% 32% DNM 13% 15% 17% 14% 2012 F 42% 40% 34% PD 40% 35% 17% PE 43% 46% 32% DNM 17% 17% 20% 17% 2013 F 46% 40% 31% PD 38% 36% 17% PE 44% 49% 38% DNM 16% 16% 15% 14% 2014 F 42% 39% 34% PD 39% 29% 16% PE 45% 56% 35% DNM 19% 16% 15% 15% 2015 F 36% 43% 36% PD 46% 27% 21% PE 40% 58% 32% DNM 19% 17% 15% 11% Note. F = full-time; PD = part-time day; PE = part-time evening; DNM = did not matriculate. 21