Mock Arbitration as Experiential Legal Education for Construction Management Students

Construction management (CM) students preparing for a career in the US construction industry require knowledge of legal concepts and construction contract law. The American Council for Construction Education (ACCE), which provides accreditation for CM undergraduate programs in the US, requires student learning outcomes regarding contract law, ethics, and legal responsibilities. This study examines the use of an experiential legal education strategy, mock arbitration, within the Department of Construction Management curriculum at Colorado State University. Students in the CON 367—Construction Contracts/Project Administration course used historical construction claim documents to participate in mock arbitration legal simulations while representing the owner or contractor or acting as an arbitration panel member. The purpose of this study is to provide information on the experiential learning opportunity and report assessment results. A survey was administered to CON 367 students (n=96) to assess the impact preparing for and participating in the mock arbitration had on student legal knowledge (e.g., construction disputes, claim documents, the alternative dispute resolution process). Results indicate the mock arbitration contributed the most to student understanding of the importance of documentation in the claims process (mean 9.3 on a 0–10 Likert scale). Additionally, increases in student legal knowledge vary significantly based on student representation (e.g., owner, contractor, or arbitration panel) during the mock arbitration.