2024-2025 Student Handbook

year. Upper-class students in the Day Division are strongly encouraged to limit employment and volunteer work to no more than 20 hours per week during the academic year. Additional limitations on outside commitments, including employment, may be set for students subject to action under Rule II.C. (Academic Standing Requirements). 1 . Credit Hour Requirements: The academic year consists of two semesters, the first or fall semester, commencing in August and the second or spring semester, commencing in January. The Day Division course of study requires six semesters of class work. Completion of a total of 84 credit hours is required in order to earn the Juris Doctor degree. 2 . Credit Hour Policy: The study of law, as well as its practice, requires diligent preparation, engaged attention, and thoughtful reflection. In order to prepare students thoroughly for legal practice, the Law School adheres to the federal and ABA definitions of a credit hour. Standard 310(a) of the American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools requires that: “A law school shall adopt, publish, and adhere to written policies and procedures for determining the credit hours that it awards for coursework.” ABA Standard 310(b) provides: (1) not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per week for fifteen weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or (2) at least an equivalent amount of work as required in subparagraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including simulation, field placement, clinical, co curricular, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. A "credit hour" is an amount of work that reasonably approximates:

The Law School adheres to ABA Standard 310 concerning credit hours. The following policies and procedures are intended to comply with Standard 310.

(a) Credit for Classroom Instruction

The number of credit hours awarded for a course is a representation of the amount of work that the course requires. A credit hour signifies a certain minimum amount of classroom or instructional time, plus time for out-of-classroom student work expected in the course, such as class preparation, homework assignments, papers, projects, exam study, and examinations. In general, the definition of credit hour calls for two hours of out-of-classroom work to be required for every hour of classroom instruction.

The specific number of weekly classroom and out-of-classroom hours required to satisfy the definition of a credit hour depends on the length of the relevant academic term, as set forth below.

(i) Fall and spring terms

The Law School’s fall and spring terms each consist of a thirteen-week session and a two-week examination period. Fall and spring term courses must adhere to the following minimum requirements, except as otherwise provided in subparagraphs (c)-(f) below. In courses with a final examination scheduled during the examination period, students will ordinarily be required to: meet for 55 minutes per credit each week for thirteen weeks; sit for a final examination during examination period of at least one hour per credit, but not to exceed three total hours in duration; and spend, on average, at least 2 hours and 10 minutes per credit each week on out-of-class work for thirteen weeks plus the week of the final examination.

Table 1 illustrates the application of these minimum requirements to fall and spring courses ranging from 1-4 credits.

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