Main Menu
Departments
- Prospective Students
- Current Students
- Quinney Law Library
- Professional Development
- Faculty & Administration
- Staff & Administrators
- Alumni & Friends
- Academic Programs
- Wallace Stegner Center
- Criminal Justice Center
- Pro Bono Initiative
- Technology Help Desk
Essentials
Web E-mail
Old Web E-mailPopular
Academic Policies and Procedures
[back to handbook]
1. Registration
a. Procedures
b. Hold Policy
c. Failure to Register
2. Regular Add-Drop Period
3. Retroactive Petition for Exception to Policy
4. Credit for Non-Law School Work
5. Transfer Students
6. Visiting Students
7. Leaves of Absence
8. Limit on Student Work Hours
9. Proof of Immunization
10. Class Attendance
11. Religious Observances and Excused Absences
12. E-Mail Communication
1. Registration
a. Procedures
Current registration procedures, policies and deadlines will be included in the registration materials provided by the Registration Office for each semester. It is the student's responsibility to consult the most current materials and comply with all registration, add-drop and tuition payment procedures and deadlines. If a student is registered for any given class and does not officially drop the class during the regular add-drop period, he or she is responsible for full tuition payment and assessed fees associated with the class regardless of failure to attend the class or pay tuition. If a student drops or withdraws from a class or from school after the add-drop period, he or she is responsible for paying applicable tuition and fees for the course(s).
Students may drop law courses without penalty or permission during the add-drop period. After this point, a student may withdraw from a course(s) without permission, but a “W” will be recorded on the permanent academic record, and applicable tuition and fees will be assessed. The deadline for withdrawing from law courses coincides with the deadline to withdraw from term-length classes as determined by the University Registrar.
Extra class sessions that exceed the per unit allocation system (except for make-up sessions) require notice to the Registrar and students before registration so that schedules can be arranged and, at least with respect to upper level courses, students can choose not to take courses with extra class hours.
Before an admitted student registers, or within a reasonable time thereafter, the law school shall have on file the student's official transcript showing receipt of a bachelor’s degree and all academic work undertaken. "Official transcript" means a transcript certified by the issuing school to the admitting school or delivered to the admitting school in a sealed envelope with seal intact. A copy supplied the Law School Data Assembly Service is not an official transcript, even though it is adequate for preliminary determination of admission.
b. Hold Policy
The University of Utah or the S.J. Quinney College of Law may impose a hold on a student's record for a variety of reasons. These reasons are often the result of the student's failure to comply with a mandatory law school or University requirement and may include, but are not limited to:
- Log into Campus Information Systems and click on “View Holds” under the heading “Student Records”. Students should check for holds before any registration period.
c. Failure to Register
Failure to register for and complete courses during any regular semester without prior approval from the Dean of Student Affairs will be deemed to be a voluntary withdrawal of the student from the law school, and any future enrollment in law courses will require approval from the Readmission Committee.
2. Regular Add-Drop Period
A student may add or drop classes without permission only during the regular add-drop period. After the add-drop period has run, a student may add classes only with the permission of the class professor and the Dean's Office. If a student adds classes after this period, he or she is subject to late add fees. In deciding whether to permit a late add or drop, the class professor and the Dean's Office may consider the need to encourage early planning, factors relating to the class, and their own convenience as well as factors relating to the individual student.
3. Retroactive Petition for Exception to Policy
Retroactive petitions are used for withdrawals and for adds and drops that happen after registration deadlines or after the classes for the semester are over. Retroactive petition forms can be obtained from the Registrar's office.
The petition must be completed by the student stating the reasons for his or her request. If the College of Law approves the petition, the Registrar or dean of students will attach a memorandum verifying and supporting the petition on behalf of the student and submit it to the University. A copy of the petition will be maintained by the Registrar in the student's file.
After the petition is either approved or denied by the University, the student must submit a copy of the letter of approval or denial to the College of Law Registrar.
4. Credit for Non-Law School Work
There is a 6 semester credit hour maximum for non-law school courses taken for law school transfer credit. Students must take all non-law school courses for a grade and receive a "B" or better in the course to receive law school transfer credit hours for such course(s).
Students officially admitted and enrolled in the University joint J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A., or J.D./M.P.P. programs are deemed to have prior approval to take M.B.A., M.P.A., or M.P.P. courses previously established as part of the joint program. In all other situations, individualized approval in accordance with this policy is required prior to enrollment in the course.
Written petitions for approval should be submitted to the Dean's office and should indicate the institution and department offering the course, evidence that the course is a graduate level course, the instructor's credentials if the course includes a substantive legal component, course description and syllabus, course requirements and the reasons why the course is relevant to the student's legal education and career plans.
Such petitions will be approved by the Dean's office after it is determined that the course is a graduate level course, that the course is sufficiently rigorous, that the course is in accordance with ABA standards governing law school credit, and that the course is relevant to the student's legal education and career planning goals. Approval will not be given for courses in which the content substantially duplicates the content of a law school course(s) that is available to the student or that the student has taken or is taking. Students may appeal an administrative decision denying approval to the Curriculum Committee. Such appeal must be in writing and filed with the chair of the Curriculum Committee.
The grade a student receives in a non-law school course will not be computed in the student's law school GPA.
5. Transfer Students
6. Visiting Students
For S.J. Quinney College of Law ("the College of Law") students who visit at another law school, credits will be transferred subject to the following limitations:
7. Leaves of Absence
In appropriate circumstances, a student may petition the Dean of Student Affairs for a leave of absence from the law school for up to one year. Certain medical problems, family emergencies and responsibilities, economic hardships, and psychological considerations may constitute such appropriate circumstances. A student seeking a leave of absence shall complete a Petition for Leave of Absence and must meet with the Dean of Student Affairs to discuss the grounds for seeking the leave. The student may also be required to provide documentation substantiating his or her particular circumstances.
8. Limit on Student Work Hours
As a full-time law student, a student may not work more than twenty (20) hours per week during the academic year, including during any summer session in which a student is enrolled on a full-time basis.
9. Proof of Immunization
The University requires proof of immunizations for all new or transfer students born after 1956 and enrolling after fall 1993 due to the resurgence of measles, mumps, and rubella infections on college campuses. Questions regarding compliance requirements may be directed to the Student Immunization Office, Student Health Service, University Wasatch Clinics, Level 1, 555 Foothill Blvd., Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, 585-6009.
10. Class Attendance
Regular class attendance is required. An instructor may exclude a student from a course for lack of satisfactory attendance or nonperformance of assigned course work. If excluded, the student shall receive no grade or credit for the course. Attendance may be deemed unsatisfactory by the course instructor if a student is absent from 20% or more of the class or seminar sessions scheduled for the semester, including absences necessitated by illness or unavoidable conflicting curricular activities. The instructor may, provided notice is given to the students, require a higher attendance standard for any class or seminar.
If announced by the instructor at the outset that participation would be required as an integral part of the work involved, an instructor might also take attendance into account in the grade given in the particular course or seminar.
Each instructor will choose whether to implement a formal system for monitoring attendance, whether class requirements entail a certain level of attendance, and whether academic sanctions, including grade reduction or involuntary withdrawal from the class, are appropriate to his or her attendance expectations for that class. Faculty should make reasonable accommodation for absences necessitated by illness or unavoidable conflicting curricular activities such as travel for moot court competition or clinical program work when rescheduling would compromise obligations to a client. When an instructor determines that academic sanctions are an appropriate means of enforcing attendance expectations for a class, the instructor shall inform students in writing during the first week of the semester of those expectations and of the procedure he or she has adopted for monitoring attendance.
If an instructor determines that a student has failed to attend 20% of the total class hours required for the semester of some higher stated attendance obligation, the instructor shall send written notice to the non-attending student to seek an explanation for his or her noncompliance with the attendance requirements. After such notice and absent a satisfactory explanation for non-attendance, the instructor shall take any of the following steps: (1) advise the student regarding compliance with the attendance requirements; (2) impose a grade sanction for non-attendance if contemplated in the announcement regarding attendance distributed to students; or (3) notify the student that he or she is being involuntarily withdrawn from the course or seminar, if contemplated in the announcements regarding attendance distributed to students.
An instructor invoking an academic sanction for non-attendance shall provide the Registrar and the Dean of Student Affairs with copies of the course attendance requirements and copies of all written notices regarding attendance given to students. The instructor shall notify the Registrar and the Dean of Student Affairs in writing of the exclusion of a student from a course for lack of satisfactory attendance or nonperformance of assigned course work. The Registrar shall provide the affected student(s) with written notice of involuntary withdrawal from a course.
Nothing in this section shall preclude the office of the Dean from enforcing class attendance requirements or imposing appropriate sanctions if (1) an instructor chooses to delegate responsibility for attendance policy enforcement to the office of the Dean or (2) an instructor fails to enforce class attendance requirements.
11. Religious Observances and Excused Absences
Students absent from class to participate in officially sanctioned University activities (e.g., band, debate, student government, intercollegiate athletics) or religious obligations, or with instructor's approval, shall be permitted to make up both assignments and examinations. The University expects its departments and programs that take students away from class meetings to schedule such events in a way that will minimize hindrance of the student's orderly completion of course requirements. Such units must provide a written statement to that student describing the activity and stating as precisely as possible the dates of the required absence. The involved students must deliver this documentation to their instructors, preferably before the absence but in no event later than one week after the absence.
12. E-Mail Communication
E-mail is the official means of communication at the College of Law. Every student should have an e-mail account and should check it at least once a day. Students are deemed to have received notice if the information has been e-mailed.
1. Registration
a. Procedures
b. Hold Policy
c. Failure to Register
2. Regular Add-Drop Period
3. Retroactive Petition for Exception to Policy
4. Credit for Non-Law School Work
5. Transfer Students
6. Visiting Students
7. Leaves of Absence
8. Limit on Student Work Hours
9. Proof of Immunization
10. Class Attendance
11. Religious Observances and Excused Absences
12. E-Mail Communication
1. Registration
a. Procedures
Current registration procedures, policies and deadlines will be included in the registration materials provided by the Registration Office for each semester. It is the student's responsibility to consult the most current materials and comply with all registration, add-drop and tuition payment procedures and deadlines. If a student is registered for any given class and does not officially drop the class during the regular add-drop period, he or she is responsible for full tuition payment and assessed fees associated with the class regardless of failure to attend the class or pay tuition. If a student drops or withdraws from a class or from school after the add-drop period, he or she is responsible for paying applicable tuition and fees for the course(s).
Students may drop law courses without penalty or permission during the add-drop period. After this point, a student may withdraw from a course(s) without permission, but a “W” will be recorded on the permanent academic record, and applicable tuition and fees will be assessed. The deadline for withdrawing from law courses coincides with the deadline to withdraw from term-length classes as determined by the University Registrar.
Extra class sessions that exceed the per unit allocation system (except for make-up sessions) require notice to the Registrar and students before registration so that schedules can be arranged and, at least with respect to upper level courses, students can choose not to take courses with extra class hours.
College Council - April 16, 1986; March 19, 1997
Before an admitted student registers, or within a reasonable time thereafter, the law school shall have on file the student's official transcript showing receipt of a bachelor’s degree and all academic work undertaken. "Official transcript" means a transcript certified by the issuing school to the admitting school or delivered to the admitting school in a sealed envelope with seal intact. A copy supplied the Law School Data Assembly Service is not an official transcript, even though it is adequate for preliminary determination of admission.
Standard 502-1—ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools
b. Hold Policy
The University of Utah or the S.J. Quinney College of Law may impose a hold on a student's record for a variety of reasons. These reasons are often the result of the student's failure to comply with a mandatory law school or University requirement and may include, but are not limited to:
- Failure to have official transcripts from previous education on file with either the University or law school
- Failure to pay tuition
- Outstanding income accounting bills
- Failure to attend mandatory orientation meetings
- Lack of immunization records
- Library or parking fines
- Inability to add/register for classes
- Inability to have scholarship or financial aid monies disbursed
- Loss of priority for classes
- Inability to receive bar certification letters and letters of good standing
- Issuance of grades, transcript, diploma, loan deferments
- Log into Campus Information Systems and click on “View Holds” under the heading “Student Records”. Students should check for holds before any registration period.
c. Failure to Register
Failure to register for and complete courses during any regular semester without prior approval from the Dean of Student Affairs will be deemed to be a voluntary withdrawal of the student from the law school, and any future enrollment in law courses will require approval from the Readmission Committee.
2. Regular Add-Drop Period
A student may add or drop classes without permission only during the regular add-drop period. After the add-drop period has run, a student may add classes only with the permission of the class professor and the Dean's Office. If a student adds classes after this period, he or she is subject to late add fees. In deciding whether to permit a late add or drop, the class professor and the Dean's Office may consider the need to encourage early planning, factors relating to the class, and their own convenience as well as factors relating to the individual student.
College Council - April 17, 1979
3. Retroactive Petition for Exception to Policy
Retroactive petitions are used for withdrawals and for adds and drops that happen after registration deadlines or after the classes for the semester are over. Retroactive petition forms can be obtained from the Registrar's office.
The petition must be completed by the student stating the reasons for his or her request. If the College of Law approves the petition, the Registrar or dean of students will attach a memorandum verifying and supporting the petition on behalf of the student and submit it to the University. A copy of the petition will be maintained by the Registrar in the student's file.
After the petition is either approved or denied by the University, the student must submit a copy of the letter of approval or denial to the College of Law Registrar.
4. Credit for Non-Law School Work
There is a 6 semester credit hour maximum for non-law school courses taken for law school transfer credit. Students must take all non-law school courses for a grade and receive a "B" or better in the course to receive law school transfer credit hours for such course(s).
Students officially admitted and enrolled in the University joint J.D./M.B.A., J.D./M.P.A., or J.D./M.P.P. programs are deemed to have prior approval to take M.B.A., M.P.A., or M.P.P. courses previously established as part of the joint program. In all other situations, individualized approval in accordance with this policy is required prior to enrollment in the course.
Written petitions for approval should be submitted to the Dean's office and should indicate the institution and department offering the course, evidence that the course is a graduate level course, the instructor's credentials if the course includes a substantive legal component, course description and syllabus, course requirements and the reasons why the course is relevant to the student's legal education and career plans.
Such petitions will be approved by the Dean's office after it is determined that the course is a graduate level course, that the course is sufficiently rigorous, that the course is in accordance with ABA standards governing law school credit, and that the course is relevant to the student's legal education and career planning goals. Approval will not be given for courses in which the content substantially duplicates the content of a law school course(s) that is available to the student or that the student has taken or is taking. Students may appeal an administrative decision denying approval to the Curriculum Committee. Such appeal must be in writing and filed with the chair of the Curriculum Committee.
The grade a student receives in a non-law school course will not be computed in the student's law school GPA.
College Council - February 21, 1990; November 18, 2004
5. Transfer Students
For students who transfer to the S.J. Quinney College of Law (“the College of Law”) after successful completion of the first year at another law school (“initial institution”), credits will be transferred subject to the following limitations:
- Credits may only be transferred from law schools or programs that are provisionally accredited or fully accredited by the American Bar Association.
- The maximum number of transfer credits, including any law school credits earned at other institutions during the summer following the first year, shall not exceed the maximum number of required credits earned by the first year class at the College of Law for the preceding academic year.
- For individual courses, students will be awarded the same number of credits as were awarded for that course at the initial institution (even where a different number of credits are awarded for the same course at the College of Law).
- Grades earned for transfer credits will not be included in the student’s GPA calculation at the College of Law.
- Transfer credits that were graded at the initial institution will not be included in the maximum number of ungraded credits a student may count toward graduation (18).
- No transfer credits may be awarded for any course in which the student earned a grade lower than a C.
- Transfer students shall be required to take any first-year course not completed at their initial institution as soon as practicable following their admission to the College of Law, and may not graduate until they complete all such courses. The associate dean for academic affairs shall have the discretion to determine whether any course completed at the student’s initial institution is equivalent to any course required for graduation at the College of Law, and if not, to determine what additional courses will be required prior to graduation to account for any deficiency.
College Council- January 29, 2009
6. Visiting Students
For S.J. Quinney College of Law ("the College of Law") students who visit at another law school, credits will be transferred subject to the following limitations:
- Visiting credits will only be accepted from law schools or programs that are provisionally accredited or fully accredited by the American Bar Association.
- Absent extenuating circumstances and approval by the dean of students, the maximum number of visiting credits shall not exceed one third of the number of credits required for graduation at the College of Law.
- For individual courses, students will be awarded the full number of credits as awarded at the visited institution.
- Grades earned for visiting credits will not be included in the student's GPA calculation at the College of Law.
- Visiting credits that were graded at the visited institution will not be included in the maximum number of ungraded credits a student may count toward graduation (18).
- No visiting credits may be awarded for any course in which the student earned a grade lower than a C.
- Prior permission from the dean of students is required before a College of Law student may visit at another institution and all courses taken at the visited institution must be approved by the dean of students.
College Council - March 5,2009
7. Leaves of Absence
In appropriate circumstances, a student may petition the Dean of Student Affairs for a leave of absence from the law school for up to one year. Certain medical problems, family emergencies and responsibilities, economic hardships, and psychological considerations may constitute such appropriate circumstances. A student seeking a leave of absence shall complete a Petition for Leave of Absence and must meet with the Dean of Student Affairs to discuss the grounds for seeking the leave. The student may also be required to provide documentation substantiating his or her particular circumstances.
College Council - April 27, 2000
8. Limit on Student Work Hours
As a full-time law student, a student may not work more than twenty (20) hours per week during the academic year, including during any summer session in which a student is enrolled on a full-time basis.
Standard 304(f) - ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools
9. Proof of Immunization
The University requires proof of immunizations for all new or transfer students born after 1956 and enrolling after fall 1993 due to the resurgence of measles, mumps, and rubella infections on college campuses. Questions regarding compliance requirements may be directed to the Student Immunization Office, Student Health Service, University Wasatch Clinics, Level 1, 555 Foothill Blvd., Salt Lake City, Utah 84112, 585-6009.
10. Class Attendance
Regular class attendance is required. An instructor may exclude a student from a course for lack of satisfactory attendance or nonperformance of assigned course work. If excluded, the student shall receive no grade or credit for the course. Attendance may be deemed unsatisfactory by the course instructor if a student is absent from 20% or more of the class or seminar sessions scheduled for the semester, including absences necessitated by illness or unavoidable conflicting curricular activities. The instructor may, provided notice is given to the students, require a higher attendance standard for any class or seminar.
If announced by the instructor at the outset that participation would be required as an integral part of the work involved, an instructor might also take attendance into account in the grade given in the particular course or seminar.
Each instructor will choose whether to implement a formal system for monitoring attendance, whether class requirements entail a certain level of attendance, and whether academic sanctions, including grade reduction or involuntary withdrawal from the class, are appropriate to his or her attendance expectations for that class. Faculty should make reasonable accommodation for absences necessitated by illness or unavoidable conflicting curricular activities such as travel for moot court competition or clinical program work when rescheduling would compromise obligations to a client. When an instructor determines that academic sanctions are an appropriate means of enforcing attendance expectations for a class, the instructor shall inform students in writing during the first week of the semester of those expectations and of the procedure he or she has adopted for monitoring attendance.
If an instructor determines that a student has failed to attend 20% of the total class hours required for the semester of some higher stated attendance obligation, the instructor shall send written notice to the non-attending student to seek an explanation for his or her noncompliance with the attendance requirements. After such notice and absent a satisfactory explanation for non-attendance, the instructor shall take any of the following steps: (1) advise the student regarding compliance with the attendance requirements; (2) impose a grade sanction for non-attendance if contemplated in the announcement regarding attendance distributed to students; or (3) notify the student that he or she is being involuntarily withdrawn from the course or seminar, if contemplated in the announcements regarding attendance distributed to students.
An instructor invoking an academic sanction for non-attendance shall provide the Registrar and the Dean of Student Affairs with copies of the course attendance requirements and copies of all written notices regarding attendance given to students. The instructor shall notify the Registrar and the Dean of Student Affairs in writing of the exclusion of a student from a course for lack of satisfactory attendance or nonperformance of assigned course work. The Registrar shall provide the affected student(s) with written notice of involuntary withdrawal from a course.
College Council - September 21, 1977; April 23, 1998
Standard 305(c)- ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools
Standard 305(c)- ABA Standards for Approval of Law Schools
Nothing in this section shall preclude the office of the Dean from enforcing class attendance requirements or imposing appropriate sanctions if (1) an instructor chooses to delegate responsibility for attendance policy enforcement to the office of the Dean or (2) an instructor fails to enforce class attendance requirements.
College Council - November 16, 2000
11. Religious Observances and Excused Absences
Students absent from class to participate in officially sanctioned University activities (e.g., band, debate, student government, intercollegiate athletics) or religious obligations, or with instructor's approval, shall be permitted to make up both assignments and examinations. The University expects its departments and programs that take students away from class meetings to schedule such events in a way that will minimize hindrance of the student's orderly completion of course requirements. Such units must provide a written statement to that student describing the activity and stating as precisely as possible the dates of the required absence. The involved students must deliver this documentation to their instructors, preferably before the absence but in no event later than one week after the absence.
University of Utah Policy & Procedures Manual - May 13, 1996
Faculty Regulations, Chapter VII, Instructions and Evaluation, 9-7, Section 15
Faculty Regulations, Chapter VII, Instructions and Evaluation, 9-7, Section 15
12. E-Mail Communication
E-mail is the official means of communication at the College of Law. Every student should have an e-mail account and should check it at least once a day. Students are deemed to have received notice if the information has been e-mailed.
Home | Prospective | Current | Library | Career | Faculty | Alumni | Stegner | UCJC | Access to Justice | Academic | HelpDesk
Media | Event Calendar | News | Blogs | Photos
© 2009 University of Utah · S.J.Quinney College of Law
332 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
Phone: 801-581-6833 Fax: 801-581-6897
Your IP: 38.107.191.110
Media | Event Calendar | News | Blogs | Photos
© 2009 University of Utah · S.J.Quinney College of Law
332 South 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
Phone: 801-581-6833 Fax: 801-581-6897
The S.J. Quinney College of Law is approved by the Council of the
Section of Legal Education and Admission to the Bar of the American Bar
Association. The address and telephone number for the Council are:
American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark St., 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60654. (312) 988-6738
Association. The address and telephone number for the Council are:
American Bar Association, 321 N. Clark St., 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60654. (312) 988-6738
Your IP: 38.107.191.110