ASU Law welcomes Jennifer Albright as inaugural JD Online student services director

ASU Law is proud to welcome Jennifer Albright as the inaugural student services director for the new part-time and online Juris Doctor. A proud Sun Devil alum, Albright (LLM, '14) brings more than two decades of experience in legal education, spanning both traditional classroom and online environments. With a deep understanding of the rigor and challenges of law school, she is uniquely positioned to guide and support students in this mission-driven initiative, which aims to expand access to legal education and address attorney shortages in rural and underserved communities.

We sat down with Albright for a quick Q&A to discuss her new role leading ASU Law’s part-time and online JD. Get to know more about her background, vision and what inspires her work with students.

You’ve dedicated over 20 years to legal education. What first inspired you to pursue a career in this field?

I love learning. I have always been “that person” who loved the learning aspects of school. When I was thinking about what’s next in my last year of undergrad, I decided I wanted to be a professor. I have the ”gift of gab,” as my family would say and I was interested in the law. I had inherent research and writing skills and was known to argue and debate everything. That made legal education the right path for me.

Having worked in both traditional and online environments, what lessons have you learned that you’ll bring into your role with JD Online?

Having deep experience with both, specifically both modes of teaching legal topics, I have developed the ability to identify what a particular student may need to make the experience online better, for them to adjust from their prior traditional classroom education experiences to the online environment and to provide them the guidance and support for them to be the most successful.

How will you build a strong sense of community and belonging for students who may never set foot on campus full-time?

Each decision being made about the program is mindful of creating a sense of belonging - to ASU Law, to classmates, to the courses as well as how to maximize student engagement. When it comes to academic success, building the same opportunities for student study groups, connecting with peers that have similar schedules and study practices and providing connections to on-campus students through peer mentoring are some of the ways we will build community among the online students and across the different modalities.

The entire law school, from faculty to student groups, to journals, to lunch and learn offerings are working to create opportunities and access for the online students, which will allow for relationship building across the modalities and foster not only engagement but a sense of belonging to the law school community.

What do you see as the biggest opportunities — and challenges — in creating student support for an online JD program?

The biggest opportunity I see is that the types of support are not so different among online and residential students; it is the method of delivering that support that differs. But we live in a world now where we can get support virtually and the advancement of emerging technologies will allow us to provide the same personal levels of support as the on-campus students receive.

I also believe the manner we deliver student support for the online students will allow us to improve our already robust support for on-campus students, as well as our students in the L.A. and D.C. programs. Therefore, this is really an opportunity to contribute to the ongoing elevation of ASU Law’s student support programming overall.

I think there are two interrelated challenges. One is that I cannot just go find a student on campus to ensure they are following up with something or they know we are that vested in their success that we will literally go to them or that they will not be able to just pop-in to the office before or after a class to see if I am available. The other challenge flows from the first, how to create opportunities for easy access to student support staff and services across many time zones and in light of the varying schedules of online learners.

Fortunately, these are really just challenges of best methods of adapting availability and access to myself and the law school’s student success services. With the technologies we have today, I can set up open Zoom rooms for students to pop into and schedule those around what we know about the students' time online and around the once-weekly synchronous class sessions. I also have the flexibility to set my schedule to best align with when students are available and to align to some degree with the various time zones students will be in.  In this way, executive leadership has recognized the flexibility and adaptability needed to ensure the online students have the same level of support as on-campus students.

What kinds of resources or touchpoints will you prioritize to ensure online students feel as supported as their on-campus peers?

I will be meeting with each of the online students in a one-on-one early on, just as we do with our campus peers. I will also maintain the Welcome and Orientation Canvas site throughout the first three terms, if not beyond, to ensure there is one central place students have as a resource as they gain familiarity with our services. We are also going to provide students with information and best practices for not just being a successful online learner, but how to be a successful online JD student. The intensity of law school courses will not be lessened by the mode of delivery, so ensuring our students have the ability to plan their “class time” and reading and study time schedules in light of their other obligations such as work, family, and other personal needs, will be a key component of ensuring they feel supported.

This program is designed to expand access to legal education and meet critical needs in rural and underserved communities. How does that mission resonate with you personally?

I have been a life-long civil servant. I also grew up in a smaller midwestern town that was surrounded by a sea of rural America that made my hometown where those living in surrounding areas went to “go to the city.” So I am familiar with the resources that are not available in most areas.

I am versed in how our rural areas are losing services at an increasingly rapid rate. I see it every time I return to my hometown. I experience the impacts through what I see my family deal with. Having taught for many years online, I also have seen first hand how programming like this allows more people to reach their educational and career goals in a manner that is within their means and without significant disruptions to the their connections to family and local community which in turn allows them to remain in those communities and serve provide essential legal services to them once they become admitted to the Bar.

I come to ASU Law from a decade with Arizona’s highest court. In my experience with the Court, I was part of many strategic initiatives that were aimed at increasing access to legal help in legal deserts, as well as for those otherwise struggling to afford legal help. As such, the mission of this program is something I not only believe in but that I have invested much time in and have much experience with. I believe that ensuring people have access to legal help for their civil (and criminal) legal needs is essential to our democratic system.  

If you could share one piece of advice with the incoming JD Online students, what would it be?

Treat your educational experience like a job. Develop a schedule and ensure your support system and family are aware of it and engage them in the development of it so they have a sense of agency in it. This will allow them to have a deeper understanding and respect for when you are doing coursework, studying or preparing for exams.

Also, be deliberate in identifying the spaces you will read for class, study and complete coursework. Be sure to have a quiet place without distractions. If your home is where that is, adopt the tool of being in “astronaut mode” - meaning your family or roommates might see you, but cannot speak to you or interact with you during certain times of day, even if you are moving about within the common living areas. 

And finally, do not wait to ask for support or assistance. ASU Law has an incredibly robust student success program and robust student support accessible regardless of where you are. Developing the habit of seeking out resources and support is just as much about developing an essential skill you will use as a lawyer as it is about successfully completing your JD.

That is more than one piece of advice, but I think this is a recipe for success. 

Written by Andrea Estrada