Academic Support Community
As one of the country’s finest stand-alone law schools dedicated to providing students with a legal education that fosters leadership, service, and professional distinction, UC Hastings offers students access to a broad variety of programs and services to complement and support their education.
The Academic Support Program (ASP)
Acknowledging that students have different learning styles and backgrounds which may affect their learning and performance in law school, the Academic Support Program deploys a variety of personalized strategies to assist students in developing the unique set of skills they need to succeed in law school and on the bar exam. Ranging from one-on-one sessions with legal education consultants, to group workshops and laboratory sessions with second and third-year students, to a comprehensive Bar Preparation course for third-year students, these programs help students improve in every aspect of their legal education—from critical thinking, analytical thinking, and time management, to note taking, test taking, and effective legal writing.
The Disability Resource Program (DRP)
As part of our institutional commitment to ensuring that all qualified students may fully benefit from an exceptional legal education, UC Hastings offers a variety of accommodations, services, and resources to assist students who have professionally-verified disabilities. Crafted on an individual basis, these services range from providing students with note-takers and access to enlarged prints of legal materials, to providing special accommodation or extra time for students during exams.
Legal Education OpportunityProgram (LEOP)
Pioneered by UC Hastings in 1969, the Legal Education Opportunity Program recognizes that the traditional academic criteria used to determine admissions are not sufficient indicators of academic potential for students from significantly adverse backgrounds. Twenty percent of each year’s entering class at Hastings is brought in through the LEOP admissions process. Once enrolled, students in the program are provided with a range of academic support, including skills-based workshops, weekly small group sessions, and individual tutoring and academic counseling, for the duration of their education at Hastings.