Forty-five students in the inaugural class of Syracuse University College of Law’s JDinteractive (JDi) program graduated last week. JDi, a fully ABA-accredited program, was the first online program to combine live online class sessions with self-paced class sessions.
Syracuse Law designed JDi to make its JD program available to students for whom attending a residential program was not practical. The program combines real-time, online class sessions with self-paced instruction, on-campus courses and externship opportunities. Students were active in extracurricular activities and pro bono work, with 12 graduates serving on the Syracuse Law Review or other journals.
“These students are the embodiment of the goal at the core of JDi: to expand access to legal education and the legal profession,” said Shannon Gardner, associate dean for online education.
The JDi graduates are a diverse group:
- They hail from 25 different states, including Hawaii and Alaska, and have taken classes while living in multiple countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Japan.
- Eleven are members of the military or military-affiliated, including high-ranking, retired veterans and spouses of active-duty military personnel based in Germany and New Mexico.
- 30% are students of color.
- Their median age is 35.
Outside of their pursuits as law students, the Class of 2022 JDi graduates are global industry executives at prominent companies, such as Apple, John Deere and Lockheed Martin. They are national and local government employees, leaders at higher education institutions, public school teachers and administrators, bankers, insurance executives, paralegals, real estate agents, entrepreneurs and accountants. They are parents of one to nine children and caregivers to aging parents. Several already held advanced degrees.
“Designing JDi required us to rethink how we deliver education and gave us the opportunity to take the best of what we do in our residential program and translate it into the online space,” said Nina Kohn, faculty director of online education, who led the design and launch of JDi. “The College of Law could not be prouder of these students for their achievements here. Their success shows that — with careful planning and an insistence on always putting student learning first — we can deliver a high-quality legal education to students no matter where they may be located.”
