Seattle University School of Law is taking a comprehensive, faculty-driven approach to preparing students for the NextGen Uniform Bar Examination (NextGen UBE), ensuring graduates are ready for the evolving demands of licensure and legal practice.
As bar examiners transition to the NextGen UBE, Seattle U Law has proactively aligned its curriculum, faculty development, and academic support programs with the new exam’s content, skills, and assessment formats.
Faculty Engagement and Curriculum Alignment
Central to the law school’s efforts has been deep collaboration with faculty. The law school shared the NextGen UBE content scope outline with faculty and surveyed professors to assess how extensively bar-tested topics are covered across the curriculum. Small group meetings with professors teaching bar-tested subjects allowed faculty to explore the NextGen UBE’s content scope and question formats in detail.
Faculty have also participated in targeted training on how to design and incorporate NextGen UBE-style questions into their courses. These sessions focused on helping professors assess student learning using the exam’s updated formats, including multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks.
Recognizing the importance of experiential learning, clinic and externship faculty received specialized training on how to help students develop the foundational lawyering skills tested on the NextGen UBE.
Strategic Partnerships and National Contributions
Seattle U Law has partnered with Helix Bar Review by AccessLex to provide faculty and students access to a robust suite of NextGen UBE-aligned resources. These materials — including NextGen-style multiple-choice questions, integrated question sets, and performance tasks — are being used in classrooms to reinforce legal knowledge and applied skills.
In addition, Professor Paul Holland, associate dean for Experiential Learning, and Professor Jeff Minneti, assistant dean for Academic Excellence and Bar Success, authored a set of Evidence modules for AccessLex designed to help students cultivate foundational knowledge and skills assessed on the NextGen UBE. Holland incorporated the modules into his summer 2025 course, and AccessLex plans to publish the materials to a nationwide audience in 2026, extending Seattle U Law’s impact beyond its campus.
A Multi-Year, Skills-Focused Bar Preparation Model
From a curricular perspective, Seattle U Law has embedded NextGen UBE preparation throughout the law school experience. Professors teaching first-year and upper-level bar-tested courses utilize a suite of resources designed to help them cover bar-tested topics in their courses and assess students’ learning with NextGen UBE question formats.
- Course-Integrated Support: Professors teaching first-year and upper-level bar-tested courses use curated resources to ensure coverage of bar-tested topics and to assess learning using NextGen UBE question formats.
- 1L Bar Skills Course: All first-year students complete a mandatory, for-credit course that introduces them to the NextGen UBE question formats early in their legal education.
- 2L Bar Preparation Course: A for-credit course is mandatory for full-time students with cumulative 1L GPAs under 3.0 and optional for others. The course teaches and assesses the skills and knowledge required for success on NextGen UBE performance tasks.
- 3L Bar Preparation Courses: These for-credit courses are mandatory for students with cumulative 1L GPAs under 3.0 and optional for others. They focus on teaching and assessing NextGen UBE skills while providing students with a head start on reviewing tested subjects.
Preparing Graduates for Licensure and Practice
Through intentional faculty development, strategic partnerships, and a scaffolded, multi-year bar preparation curriculum, Seattle U Law is positioning its graduates for success on the NextGen UBE and beyond. These efforts reflect the School of Law’s ongoing commitment to innovation, equity, and preparing students to enter the legal profession with confidence and competence.