The Association for Canadian Clinical Legal Education will launch a survey in 2022. ACCLE will conduct this survey once every three years. Information about the survey is contained below.
Why are we conducting a survey?
ACCLE was asked by its membership to gather information about student clinic programs across the country. We saw value in the American Centre for the Study of Applied Legal Education and drew heavily on this survey in designing a Canadian version. The purpose of this survey is to provide better information about clinics operating across Canada. We hope it will provide information to support administrative, service and pedagogical excellence.
Who are we surveying?
This survey has two parts. The first part should be filled out by Deans, Associate Deans, or another administrator who has responsibility and knowledge of all clinics at a law school. The second party should be filled out by clinic directors. “Pop-up” or short-term clinics are included. Clinics that do not host students are excluded. Externship, internship and co-op programs are excluded.
Did you get research ethics board approval at one or more universities?
No. ACCLE is an incorporated body and is conducting this survey according to a set of ethical guidelines developed by our organization. The ethical guidelines mirror REB requirements at many universities across Canada. If researchers want access to the data it can be provided in aggregate form. In order to allow this, each respondent will have to agree to a secondary use of data collection form.
Is this survey funded?
The University of Windsor is providing the software to host the survey using its institutional license. University of Windsor data librarians helped with survey design. Administration and other ongoing costs of the survey are borne by ACCLE. The vast majority of work on this survey has been provided by volunteer members of the ACCLE board.
Frequency & Participation
This survey will be most impactful with a large volume of responses (namely, all the law schools and clinics in Canada). ACCLE aims for a 100% response rate. ACCLE also intends to repeat this survey to better understand the state of clinical legal education in Canada over time. Therefore, this survey will be conducted once every three years.
Where can I get my questions answered?
Email info@accle.ca with any questions or concerns about this survey.