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Pass/Fail Policy
In May 2002, the faculty adopted a new pass/fail policy. The policy
is intended to encourage
students to be adventurous in their course selection and to not be
deterred from taking a course out of concern about their GPAs. The
details of the policy were developed by the Academic Standards Committee
which includes both faculty and student members. That committee considered
a range of issues, including possible impact on placement of students'
taking courses Pass/Fail and how to create incentives for students
to continue to work hard even in courses they are taking pass/fail.
In order to accommodate a range of concerns, the new policy has some
complexities. The basic rules are listed below:
- Upperclass JD students are eligible to use the Pass/Fail option for upperclass electives and cross-listed Law Center graduate courses that are available for Pass/Fail. The option is not available to first-year JD students or LLM students.
- The option is available for a maximum of 6 credits. Courses
taken on a mandatory Pass/Fail basis on the main campus for credit
towards the JD degree would count toward the six credit maximum.
Click here to see exceptions to this rule.
- The option can only be exercised in one course a semester. Click here to see exceptions to this rule.
- The option is contingent in the following
manner. A student,
during the first two weeks of the semester, will have to designate the class as one in which the option is being exercised online through the Pass/Fail Option Selection (click here). By the end of the sixth week of the semester,
the student will indicate to the
Registrar's Office the target grade the student hopes
to receive in the course (the
timing of this target grade selection gives the student
the opportunity to take into
account grades received in the prior semester).
- Faculty are not informed of who is taking their course on a Pass/Fail basis. If
the student earns the targeted
grade or above, the actual grade will appear on the
student's transcript. If the student earns
a grade below the target but at least a grade of C, the student's
transcript will reflect a pass. If the student earns a grade of C- or lower, the
actual grade will appear on the
transcript. In short, the actual grade appears on
a student's transcript if it is the
student's target grade or above or if it is a C- or lower.
- Whether a student receives a pass or the grade, the academic credits associated with the selected course will count toward the 6-credit Pass/Fail limit. If a student withdraws from a course taken on a Pass/Fail basis, the academic credits associated with the course will count toward the 6-credit limit.
- The following courses are not eligible for the Pass/Fail option since a major goal is to encourage students
to take courses they might not otherwise take: (1) all required courses: first-year courses, including the first year elective; any course that meets the Professional Responsibility requirement; and Writing Requirement seminars and Supervised Research projects; (2) clinics, except for Street Law: Community; (3) Law Center graduate courses which are not cross-listed; and (4) courses where the faculty member has elected not to make a course available for the Pass/Fail option. Students pursuing the JD/LLM joint degree may not take courses counting toward this degree on a Pass/Fail basis.
- The presumption will be that all upperclass courses
(except required courses) will be
available to be taken Pass/Fail but faculty members
have the right to exclude their
courses.
A list of courses that cannot be taken Pass/Fail is listed in the course schedule and on the lists available to the left.
Pass/Fail Exceptions:
- A student may take one of the following Pass/Fail courses in addition to another Pass/Fail course in the same semester. The credits for both courses will count against the limit of six credits that can be taken Pass/Fail:
- Animal Protection Litigation (2 credits)
- Cosmetic Safety Regulation: Lawyering in the Public Interest (1 credit)
- Dietary Supplements Regulation (1 credit)
- Externship (2 credits)
- Human Rights Advocacy Seminar: U.S. Resettlement Policy and the Iraqi Refugee Crisis (1 credit)
- Human Rights Fact-Finding Seminar: Access to Essential Medicines in the Dominican Republic (2 credits)
- Introduction to Scholarly Editing (1 credit)
- Introduction to Scholarly Note Writing (1 credit)
- U.S. Voting Rights: A Practical Perspective (2 credits)
- Wrongful Convictions (2 credits)
- The following courses may be taken Pass/Fail in addition to another course in the same semester that the student is also taking Pass/Fail, but credits for the courses below will not count against the limit of six credits that can be taken Pass/Fail:
- Drafting a Migrants' Bill of Rights (2 credits)
- Ethics & Professional Identity (1 credit)
- International Law Perspectives (1 credit)
- Law Fellow Seminars (4 credits)
- Sacred Violence: Torture, Terror and Sovereignty (1 credit)
- USLD Teaching Assistant Seminar (2 credits)
- Week One courses (1 credit)
Career Services
One issue you will want to consider before you elect to take a class
Pass/Fail is whether
prospective employers will be concerned about your taking a course
Pass/Fail. Before making its recommendation, the Academic Standards
Committee consulted with Gihan Fernando, Assistant Dean for Career
Services. Mr. Fernando concluded there would probably not be much
impact on large firm hiring, although students should be aware that
some might view negatively a Pass/Fail grade in a core course. Similarly,
government agencies and boutique law firms would be concerned if a
student had a Pass/Fail grade in a course relevant to the primary
focus of the firm or agency's work. Finally, Mr. Fernando thought
that there might be some impact on judges who are grade conscious
and who hire clerks in their 3L/4E year. Before you have to make any
decision on whether to take a course Pass/Fail, you will have an opportunity
to consult with Career Services so that you can make a thoughtful,
informed decision.
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