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School of Law
policies-and-procedures

Policies and Procedures

 

The School of Law's policies and procedures are designed to ensure fairness and consistency with our students. The law school community can find comprehensive information on any policy and procedure by accessing the School of Law's Student Handbook.

Below are just a few of the many topics covered in the Student Handbook. 

 Class attendance is a primary obligation of every student. The right to continued enrollment in the course and to take the examination is conditional upon a record of attendance that is satisfactory to the professor. A student who exceeds the maximum allowable absences may be compelled to withdraw from the course, or may be barred from sitting for the final exam. If you would like to request an Excused Absence, fill out this form for the Office of Student Affairs.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guarantee equal access to programs and services to those with disabilities. In order to be a qualified individual subject to the protections of these Acts, a person must demonstrate that he or she has a disability that substantially limits a major life activity (e.g., seeing, hearing, walking, breathing, performing manual tasks, learning, caring for oneself, and working) and, as such, requires a reasonable accommodation in order to have equal access.  This section of the Law School’s catalog explains a student’s rights and responsibilities in seeking to receive accommodations from the Law School because of a disability.  The process and procedures outlined here apply to seeking Law School classroom accommodations, exam accommodations, and accommodations related to accessing the University’s facilities.

For more information about reasonable accommodations, please see the section Reasonable Accommodations due to Qualifying Disability in our Student Handbook

Registration dates are set forth in the School of Law Academic Calendar. Registration is administered by the Office of Academic Affairs. Information regarding registration can be found under Semester Information

Repeat and Replace Policy 

Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in any required course, with the exception of Law in Context, Scholarly Writing Requirement, and Experiential Learning courses. In Law in Context and for any electives, a student must earn a D-; in Scholarly Writing and Experiential Learning, a student must earn a C.  

Students must retake a required course until they earn the minimum required grade. The grades for multiple attempts of the same course shall be averaged for GPA purposes, and the student shall only receive credit for taking the course once. The credits for the first attempt will appear on the transcript until the second attempt is completed and graded. A repeated course must be taken the next semester as it is offered in a student’s division. A student may take the course in another division if seats are available after cross-division registration begins. A student may not repeat courses except as provided in this rule. 

Required courses that are repeated will be recorded as follows: 

  • The original course and the original grade will remain on the student transcript.
  • The grade for the second attempt of the course is the average of both the first and second grade. A transcript note indicates what the actual second grade is and that the first and second grades are averaged.
  • Credit hours for the course may only be earned on one attempt.

Royal Shannonhouse Scholarships 

Students achieving high academic performance after the first year may be eligible for induction into the Royal Shannonhouse Honor Society. The minimum GPA for eligibility is 3.15 cum GPA at the time of review. Inductees are eligible to receive scholarships up to $30,000. Full time day students are reviewed after two semesters. Part time day and evening students are reviewed after three semesters. Induction is contingent on continuing the second year at University of Baltimore.  

 

Honors and Awards

Awards given at the annual awards ceremony include a clinical excellence award and Dean's Citations. The J.D. degree is granted cum laude to those who complete the requirements with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.25, magna cum laude to those whose average is at least 3.50, and summa cum laude to those whose average is at least 3.75. GPA’s are not rounded. Students in the top 10 percent of the graduating class are inducted into the Heuisler Honor Society. Transfer students who have earned a cumulative average of at least 3.25 or higher (considering grades earned at both the transferring school and the University of Baltimore School of Law) are eligible to graduate with honors.

GPA Requirements 

Full-time first students who have a GPA of 1.50 or below after the end of the first semester will be academically dismissed. 

Part-time students who have a GPA below 1.50 after the completion of their second semester will be academically dismissed. 

All students (both full and part-time) will be dismissed if the GPA falls to 1.0 or below at any time. 

 

Academic Probation 

Any student who has a GPA below 2.00 and is not subject to immediate academic dismissal as described above, will be placed on academic probation. Students on academic probation must regularly meet with the Director of Academic Success. Students on academic probation must successfully complete a series of assignments and or workshops addressing legal study skills and exam taking skills. Students who fail to comply with counseling and workshop requirements or other conditions established by the Director of Academic Success will have a registration hold placed on their account. 

 

Mandatory Success Course and Counseling 

Students who fall below 2.80 after their second semester will be required to take LAW 615, Rules & reasoning in their 3 rd semester. Part time (day/evening) students below 2.80 after their third semester must take LAW 615, Rules and Reasoning in their 4th semester. 

Students who have a GPA below 2.25 will be subject to success counseling with the Director of Academic Success. 

Students should review the Student Handbook for further information about GPA requirements, academic dismissal and appeals of academic dismissals. 

 

There are several different mechanisms for evaluating a student's work, including examinations, classroom participation, papers, and performance in a clinical or simulation course.  For all of these, students have the right to a grade that is based on their actual course performance as compared to an articulated standard applied to all those taking the course.  Grading, however, is not and cannot be an exact science.  The rights under this policy, therefore, are limited to ensuring that students receive the faculty member's good faith evaluation of their work.  Moreover, in order for the protection of anonymous grading to be meaningful, students do not have the right to negotiate with a faculty member for a higher grade once an examination has been graded.  For more information about the grade appeal process, please see the Grade Appeal Rules and Procedures

Students can obtain forms for exam deferrals, appealing a grade, receiving a letter of good standing, and requesting an official recognition of a concentration by logging in to MyUBalt.

University-wide policies may be found here. 

Please keep in mind that all academic, student and financial policies and regulations, as well as individual programs, courses, and standards are subject to change at any time during the year. Students are advised by way of this notice that such changes may affect their program requirements, degree status, tuition, fees and financial aid, and any other aspect of their enrollment at the University of Baltimore. The University notifies students of such changes through the University of Baltimore email system.

This website is not, therefore, to be considered a contract between the student and the University. Each student at the University of Baltimore is personally responsible for his or her academic progress, and all are urged to read carefully this document and all University academic publications and correspondence, and to consult regularly with appropriate University personnel for additional information.