Seniors at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law rated their educational experience significantly better than peer school students rated their law schools in the Law School Survey of Student Engagement.

The LSSE is an assessment based on student surveys of law schools by the Center for Postsecondary Research at Indiana University. All U.S. law schools can take part, and the American Association of Law Schools encourages participation.

Cumberland peers include law schools with enrollments of 500 to 900 students and those at private, religious-affiliated universities.

In overall educational experience, 59.2 percent of Cumberland’s third-year students rated their school as "Excellent." By comparison, only 26.2 percent of students at other schools in the same size category and 35.3 percent of those at the same type law school rated their schools as "Excellent."

The LSSE surveyed students in the following areas: academic and intellectual experience, mental activities, writing, enriching educational experiences, student satisfaction, time usage, law school environment, quality of relationships and education and personal growth.

In another study based on student surveys, The Princeton Review recently rated Cumberland high in two important categories in its Best 117 Law Schools guide. Cumberland ranked fourth in quality of teaching and 10th in quality of life at the law school.

"It is clear from these results that our faculty and staff are doing an outstanding job of educating the outstanding men and women who have chosen Cumberland for their legal education," said Judge John L. Carroll, Cumberland dean.