Academic Support Services Policy

  1. Academics
  2. Registration Services
  3. Resources and Procedures
  4. Academic Support Services Policy

This policy is designed to provide academic and other types of assistance to students whose performance suggests that they might benefit from such services and who might be hesitant otherwise to ask for help. The faculty believes that promptly providing students in academic difficulty with clear information about the seriousness of their status and the availability of assistance will help them address their problems expeditiously.

This policy will apply to students in the following categories:

  1. First Year Students
    A first year student must meet with Student Services to discuss the availability of support services at the Law School when, at the completion of the first or second semester, the student has:

    1. a GPA below 2.8; or
    2. received one or more Cs or two or more Bs within one semester; or
    3. at the completion of the first year, has one or more unauthorized incompletes.

  2. Upper Level Students
    A student must meet with Student Services to discuss the availability of support services at the Law School if the student has:

    1. a cumulative grade point average below 2.9 at the end of the fourth semester; or
    2. two or more unauthorized incompletes at the completion of the third, fourth, or fifth semester.

  3. All Students Who Receive a Grade of F Students who receive any failing grades (F) during any semester at the Law School must meet with Student Services to discuss the availability of support services at the Law School  and  also continue to be governed by Rule 3.2 (Academic Standing).

  1. The Office of Student Services will send a notice (the “Notice”) to students in category A, B, or C above to inform them that their academic performance makes them subject to this section of the Rules for the J.D. Degree (the “Rules”). Student Services will send the Notice at the earliest feasible time after a student’s transcript contains the requisite information. The Office of Student Services will send the Notice by email to the email address listed on LawNet.  The Notice will include a copy of this policy and the name and contact information for the person in the Office of Student Services whom the student must contact.
  2. The Notice will inform students subject to this policy that they must meet with a member of the Office of Student Services to discuss the availability of Academic Support Services.
  3. A student to whom the Notice is sent must contact the Office of Student Services promptly.  The student must respond within one week of the emailing date of the Notice.  The response to the Notice must result in the student’s setting up an appointment with the Office of Student Services.
  4. A student’s failure either to respond to the Notice within the required time period or to attend the mandatory appointment with Student Services will result in the following:
    1. Students who fail to respond to a Notice sent during the summer or between the fall and spring semesters or to attend the meeting required by that Notice will not be eligible to register at the Law School for the up-coming semester (e.g., failure to respond to a summer Notice will result in the student’s being ineligible to register for the fall semester.
    2. Students who fail to respond to a Notice sent during the fall or spring semesters or to attend the meeting required by that Notice will not be eligible to preregister at the Law School during the semester that the Notice was sent (e.g., failure to respond to a fall Notice will result in an inability to preregister for spring classes during the fall preregistration period).
    3. Registration and preregistration abilities may be reinstated by the Dean of Students, in her or his discretion, even if a student’s response to the Notice is untimely. 
  5. Students subject to this policy may continue their course of study only if they attend the requisite meeting with the Office of Students Services.
  6. Should the dean of students decline to reinstate a student’s ability to preregister or register because of failure to respond to the Notice in a timely manner, the student may appeal to the Rules Committee for permission to register. The Rules Committee will handle all such appeals on an expedited basis.
  7. The fact that a student is in category A or B, above, or is participating in Mandatory Academic Support Services will not be noted on a student’s official transcript.