LEGAL BRIEFS: OCU LAW at a Glance
OCU Tops State in First-Time Bar Passage Rates The July 2011 Oklahoma bar exam scores are a testament to the quality education and bar preparation efforts offered at Oklahoma City University School of Law. At 89 percent, the school boasted the highest passage rate for first-time examinees in the state. Steven Foster, director of academic achievement at OCU LAW, attributed the success of the first-time test takers to three factors: dedicated faculty, quality students and a focus on bar exam preparation. “We have really good faculty who put time into training students,” Foster said. “The students themselves were great. We had a really good class that was motivated and worked hard. We also spent time during the last semester and summer training students for the bar exam.” Statewide, 87 percent of first-time bar examinees passed the test. The most recent bar exam results are a continuation of recent successes for OCU LAW students. In July 2010, 90 percent of OCU’s first-time test takers passed the bar, meeting the state average for that test. With 86 percent of first-time examinees passing in February of 2011, OCU LAW recorded its highest passage rate on the winter exam in three years. Bar exam preparation is stressed in the last semester of law school and during the summer, Foster said. Friday or Saturday bar preparation classes include six to eight practice exams and five or six substantive lectures. Students are given hour-by-hour study schedules and mentoring. OCU LAW even offers lunch to its students during the two days of the exam. “That’s one less thing they have to worry about,” Foster said. Still, he gives most of the credit back to the caliber of student OCU LAW has attracted in recent years. “The admissions office has done a great job over the last three or four years admitting high quality students,” Foster said. “Student standards have increased each year during Dean of Admissions Bernard Jones’ tenure at OCU, and I expect our success to continue into the future.” •
May 2011 graduate, Jana Knott, takes the Oath of Attorney at the Oklahoma Bar Admission ceremony on September 22, 2011.