Additional Registration InformationUPPER LEVEL ELECTIVE CLOSED COURSESThere is NO Wait-List for all upper level electives, with the exception of Advanced Legal Writing, Advanced Legal Research, Advanced Business Law, Trial Advocacy, Introduction to the Deal, and Fundamental Lawyering Skills courses. Closed courses will reopen for registration on my.fordham.edu as seats become available. Once the open seats are filled, the course will close again, unless additional seats open up. This process will continue until the add/drop period closes on the Friday of the first week of the semester classes at 6:00 p.m. If you are interested in registering for a closed course, it is recommended that you check its status regularly, especially during the first week of classes. In our experience, many seats open up near the end of the process. Some courses have seats held for LL.M. and evening students. If a course appears open to registration but a message appears "closed by restriction", it is due to the held seats. Held seats will be released one month prior to the start of the upcoming semester. At that time, any of the held seats that remain open will be made available for registration by all students. CLOSED ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING, ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH, ADVANCED BUSINESS LAW, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEAL, TRIAL ADVOCACY, & FUNDAMENTAL LAWYERING SKILLS COURSES If an ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING, ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH, ADVANCED BUSINESS LAW, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEAL, TRIAL ADVOCACY, OR FUNDAMENTAL LAWYERING SKILLS course becomes closed, you may place your name on a wait list. Wait lists can be accessed from the Registrar’s web page. The wait lists are managed by the Registrar’s Office only and any other list such as one kept by the professor will not be used. Do not approach a professor to attempt to get into a wait-listed class. The faculty cannot override the wait list process. Selection from a wait list will be based on class priority, but within each class will be done randomly, NOT “first come, first serve”. The selection process will be ongoing until one month prior to the start of the upcoming semester. As spots become available, the Registrar’s office will notify students by Fordham email only if they have been selected for a seat. At the end of the waitlist, students will be responsible for checking the status of these courses and registering themselves for any available seats. Class priority for closed courses is as follows: TO PLACE YOUR NAME ON A WAIT LIST: If a wait-list class is closed at its cap, you will have the option to submit your request to be placed on a waitlist on my.Fordham.edu. You will be notified via email if a seat opens to offer you a seat in a wait-list class. We suggest you periodically check your email accounts throughout the summer for offers. WAITLIST SEAT OFFERS If a spot becomes available, you will be notified by e-mail, using your Fordham email address only. You will have 24 hours from the time of notification to inform the Registrar’s Office that you will take the spot by emailing waitlist@law.fordham.edu. To verify if you have been added to a course, use my.fordham.edu to view your class schedule. TERMINATION OF THE WAIT LIST FOR ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING, ADVANCED LEGAL RESEARCH, INTRODUCTION TO THE DEAL & TRIAL ADVOCACY & FUNDAMENTAL LAWYERING SKILLS COURSES On the Friday, of the first week of semester classes, the Wait List procedure will TERMINATE. After that date, as seats become available in closed Advanced Legal Writing, Advanced Legal Research, Advanced Business Law, Introduction to the Deal, Trial Advocacy & Fundamental Lawyering Skills courses, the courses will reopen for registration on BANNER as they do for all other courses. ADVANCED LEGAL WRITING CLASSES
Rules for dropping Advanced Legal Writing courses: 1. Students may not drop an Advanced Legal Writing course after 2 weeks prior to the start of the semester except with the permission of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Such a request must be made no later than 24 hours after the first class meeting.
Please review the policy for adding and dropping any advanced writing classes. Once open seats are filled, the courses will close again, unless additional seats open up. After two weeks prior to the start of the semester, students will be responsible for checking the status of courses and registering themselves for any available seats in Advanced Legal Writing courses. If you are interested in registering for a closed course, it is recommended that you check its status regularly, especially during the first week of classes. In our experience, many seats open up near the end of the process. RESIDENCY RULES No student in the day division may take fewer than 12 hours or more than 16 hours per semester without special permission. No student in the evening division may take fewer than 8 hours per semester, or more than 12 hours per semester, without permission. In each case, permission may be granted by the Dean or the Dean’s delegate (in this instance, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs). To graduate, students must receive residency credit for 6 full-time semesters or 8 part-time semesters or the equivalent. To receive residency credit, full-time students must pass at least 10 hours of courses per semester; part-time students must pass at least 8 hours of courses per semester. Additional credit earned in one academic semester or summer session will not permit a student to take fewer than the minimum credit hours per semester thereafter. Full-time students must schedule classes principally between the hours of 9:00am and 6:00pm. Classes for first year students meet over five days per calendar week. A student MUST schedule in at least one of the upper-class semesters on four days per week to satisfy the Court’s requirement regarding class scheduling for a full-time program, with the remaining upper-class semesters scheduled with classes at least three days per week. Under no circumstances should any Full-time or Part-time student be taking classes less than three days per calendar week. For residency purposes scheduled classes do not include journal and moot court activities (even where academic credit is given), independent studies, field placements in clinics and externships. However, regularly scheduled meetings with clinic faculty which are communicated to the registrar by the end of the add/drop period shall satisfy the residency requirement. If you have any questions about these rules, please stop by the Office of the Registrar. EMPLOYMENT A student may not engage in employment for more than 20 hours per week in any semester in which the student is enrolled in more than 12 class hours. Full time students must sign a statement to this effect every time they register. Students who violate this regulation are subject to disciplinary action. UPPER-CLASS JD WRITING REQUIREMENT As a prerequisite to graduation, each student must complete a program of supervised analytic writing subsequent to the first year curriculum. Unless the Associate Dean otherwise approves, a student must complete this requirement no later than the end of the first semester of the student's graduation year. To satisfy the upper-class writing requirement, the student must complete a significant research and writing project under faculty supervision. The student must present a topic proposal for faculty approval, submit an outline and rough draft for faculty comment, and submit a final paper that (1) demonstrates significant research and original analysis; and (2) is well organized, carefully presented and clearly written. The final paper must be at least 25 double-spaced typewritten pages including footnotes or, at the discretion of the supervising faculty member, another single work of equivalent magnitude in an electronic medium. A student may complete the research and writing project in connection with: (1) a course or seminar that has a paper requirement or paper option and is offered by a member of the full-time faculty or by an adjunct professor who has been approved to supervise writing projects for that academic year; or (2) an "independent study" with a member of the full-time faculty. A student enrolled in a two credit seminar may, with the faculty member's permission, receive one independent credit (in addition to the two credits for the seminar) for submitting a paper that the faculty member certifies has (a) satisfied the writing requirement and (b) involved substantially more work than was required to satisfy the course. Registration: (A student must file with the Registrar, within two weeks of the start of semester classes, a Notice of Intent to Satisfy the Upper-Class Writing Requirement to satisfy the writing requirement. Complete and submit this online form via: law.fordham.edu/registrar
Submission of course or seminar paper that fails to satisfy the JD writing requirement: Preparation of paper for publication in a student-edited journal: At the discretion of the faculty member supervising the course, seminar, or independent study, a student may satisfy the writing requirement by preparing a paper intended for publication in a student law journal and may receive student editorial input concurrently with faculty supervision, provided that all elements of the upper-class writing requirement are satisfied. LL.M. WRITING REQUIREMENT All candidates for the LL.M. degree who began the program prior to August 2009 or who began the program during or after August 2009 who wish to be considered for honors must complete a writing requirement. All writing for this requirement will be faculty supervised, meaning students must present a topic proposal for faculty approval and submit an outline and rough draft for faculty comment. The completed work must demonstrate significant research and original analysis and be well-organized, carefully presented, and clearly written. The writing requirement can be satisfied either by: 1. Successfully completing one master’s thesis 2. Successfully completing one project either in connection with (a) a course or seminar that has a paper requirement or paper option and that is listed in the schedule of classes as satisfying the writing requirement or (b) an “independent study” with a full-time faculty member. The project must satisfy the Law School’s independent study or seminar requirements and the final paper must be 25 double-spaced typewritten pages including footnotes or, at the discretion of the supervising faculty member, another single work of equivalent magnitude in an electronic medium. Registration -
For writing credit to be granted, the supervising faculty member must certify to the Registrar that the student (1) presented a topic proposal and received comments from the faculty member on interim work including an outline and rough draft; and (2) submitted a final paper that, in the faculty member’s independent judgment meets the standards of the writing requirement. Upon certification by the supervising faculty member, the Registrar shall record on the student’s transcript that the writing requirement has been satisfied. FACULTY MAY SUPERVISE ONLY 25 PAPERS IN TOTAL FOR THE WRITING REQUIREMENT IN A SINGLE SEMESTER.
INDEPENDENT STUDY Students who have completed their first year of law school may earn up to two credits per semester for independent academic work under the supervision of a member of the full-time faculty or an adjunct professor who has been approved to supervise writing projects during the academic year. Such projects are arranged by consultation between the student and the particular member of the faculty. The norm for two credits for independent study shall be the completion of a significant research and writing project in accordance with the upper-class writing requirement. With the approval of the Associate Dean, a student may undertake a three credit independent study which must involve a more substantial project than would be undertaken to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement. A copy of the completed paper must be submitted to Associate Dean Diller at the end of the semester. A student enrolled in a two credit seminar may, with the faculty member's permission, receive one independent credit (in addition to the two credits for the seminar) for submitting a paper that the faculty member certifies has (a) satisfied the writing requirement and (b) involved substantially more work than was required to satisfy the course. NOTE: For further information about independent study, see the memorandum from Associate Dean Sheila Foster. ELECTIVE COURSES PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIREMENT In addition to completing the upper level writing requirement and professional skills requirement, prior to graduation all students are required to take Corporations and a course satisfying the Professional Responsibility requirement. Evening students are also required to take Civil Procedure and Constitutional Law by the end of their second year. Students may complete the remainder of their coursework through the School's elective offerings. In accordance with the New York State Court of Appeals Rule 520.3(c)(1)(I), a maximum of 20 upper class credit hours in “clinical and like” courses will be credited toward graduation requirements. Only credit for fieldwork in live-client clinic courses and one of the two credits for externships count against the twenty hours. Students may elect up to two clinical externships courses per year, one each semester, subject to a maximum of three such courses, with the approval of Professor Beth Schwartz, during the course of studies at the Law School. Evening students may, if they can so arrange their schedules, take any course which is offered in the day division. Evening students will be given preference in courses offered in the evening division. Most classes are now offering the option of laptop exams and Internet access take-home exams, at the discretion of the professor. PAPERS Required papers in a course or seminar must be submitted no later than the last day of classes for the semester. In individual cases of hardship, the deadline may be extended by the professor, but in no event may a paper be submitted later than the last day of examinations for that semester without written approval prior to that date by the Dean or the Dean's delegate [in this instance, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs]. Failure to meet the deadline for submission of a paper will constitute failure of the course or seminar by the student. Failed elective paper courses: A student may pass a paper course which he or she failed by later writing a paper that receives a passing grade. Such papers may be submitted when the instructor requires, but in any event no later than the end of classes in the following semester. The student’s transcript will reflect both the initial failing grade and the grade on the resubmitted paper. The average of the two grades will be used in computing the student’s grade point average. REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOCTOR OF LAW (J.D.) DEGREE ATTENDANCE REGULATIONS Students are advised that a professor may take into account classroom attendance in determining the course grade. In addition, if a professor determines that a student's absences are excessive, the professor may, after consultation with the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, deny the student permission to sit for the final examination or give a failing grade. Special conditions, including withdrawal from all courses for excessive absences from two or more courses, may be imposed in other cases that the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs regard as serious.
Fordham University School of Law students may transfer from one division to another by making a formal application to the Registrar. Transferring divisions will alter the anticipated graduation date. Transferring to the day division after first year evening all credits earned through summer courses at Fordham: Fordham Law evening division students who intend to transfer to the day division immediately following the first year must submit an Application to Transfer Divisions form (PDF) in the Registrar's Office no later than May 1. Application forms are available in the Registrar's Office or may be downloaded our list of downloadable forms. In order to transfer to the day division, students must fulfill residency requirements by enrolling in Constitutional Law or Civil Procedure and in an elective course in the Summer Session. A clinical externship (except Clinical Externship: Out Of Town) counts as an elective. Whichever of Constitutional Law or Civil Procedure is not taken during the Summer Session must be successfully completed during the student's second academic year of law school. Tuition. Fordham students enrolled in summer courses at Fordham for the purpose of obtaining residence credit in order to transfer from the part time to the full time program prior to second year shall pay residency tuition that will equal the difference between the full time program tuition and the parttime program tuition for the academic year ending the June prior to attendance at the summer school in which they earn residence credit. This residency fee will be charged in lieu of summer tuition or externship administrative fees. TRANSFERRING TO THE DAY DIVISION — OTHER SITUATIONS Fordham Law evening division students who intend to transfer to the day division must submit an Application to Transfer Divisions form (PDF) in the Registrar's Office no later than August 1st for the fall semester or December 1st for the spring semester. Application forms are available in the Registrar's Office or may be downloaded from our list of downloadable forms.
Students who graduate in fewer than six semesters as a day student or fewer than eight semesters as an evening student and who have not paid tuition for the equivalent of six semesters as a day student or eight semesters as an evening student shall be required to do so prior to graduation. The tuition payment for any missing semester or part thereof shall be computed on the basis of the tuition payable in the year of graduation. The residency tuition payment for the missing semester or part thereof shall be reduced by an offset equal to the cost of credits earned at Fordham in order to obtain the necessary residence credit to graduate early. With respect to credits earned elsewhere in order to obtain residence credit, the amount of the tuition payment shall also be reduced by treating those credits as if they had been earned at Fordham in the year of graduation.
RULES GOVERNING EXAMINATIONS, GRADES AND HONORS Rule 2. Written examinations are essential parts of examination courses and are held after the end of classes at the end of every semester in all subjects completed therein, except courses where grades are determined entirely by papers or clinical work. Mid semester examinations or mid year examinations in full year courses may be scheduled at the discretion of the professor. Classroom work, in so far as practical and at the discretion of the professor, may also be considered in determining final grades. Examinations for both divisions are usually held on weekdays during the regular examination period. Please note: examinations given on weekdays in evening division courses generally begin at 5:30p.m. Rule 3. Examinations for all classes will begin promptly at the hour announced in the examination schedule posted prior to the examination period of each semester. No student will be permitted to enter the examination room after the first hour has passed nor will any student be permitted to conclude the exam and leave the room during the first hour of the examination, unless the student is accompanied by a proctor. Rule 4. Students must present themselves for examination at the scheduled time except in courses where the student's grades will be determined entirely by papers or clinical work, unless permission to be excused is granted as provided in these rules. Omission to do so will constitute failure of such examination by the student. Rule 5. The Dean or the Dean's delegate may grant permission to be excused from a regularly scheduled examination. The Registrar is the individual delegated to grant permission to students to be excused from a regularly scheduled exam due to exam conflicts or religious observance. For all other reasons allowed by this Rule, the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs is the individual delegated to grant permission to students to be excused from a regularly scheduled exam. Examination Conflict Form: http://law.fordham.edu/documents/reg examconf.pdf
Requests for permission to be excused from a regularly scheduled exam may be granted for extraordinary causes. The following are reasons that will be considered in granting relief:
Requests for an exam deferral must be in writing and requires satisfactory documentation of the reasons. Students should be prepared to provide complete documentation, which is subject to verification and approval. If your file shows that you have previously deferred one or more examinations for reasons other than exam conflicts, another deferral examination will be granted in only the most extraordinary circumstances. Rule 6. Any student with an absolute examination conflict may elect to take the two conflicting exams on the same day if, before the end of the seventh week of class, he or she properly notifies the Registrar of his or her election to do so. These examinations will be scheduled so that there is a short interval between the end of the first examination and the beginning of the second examination. Those who have properly notified the Registrar that they, for religious reasons, cannot take examinations when scheduled will be required to take these examinations earlier on the day scheduled or on the previous day, in so far as practical. Any student who did not take an examination during the examination period and who is eligible to take it during the make up period is required to make up the examination on a scheduled date during the examination make up period. The make up examination period will be determined after the end of the regularly scheduled examination period. Rule 7. Any student who misses an examination and did not comply with Rule 5 above must apply in writing to the Faculty Re examination Committee for permission to make up the examination. The petition must be in writing and must be filed with the Registrar. The times and conditions of the make up examination, if allowed, will be within the absolute discretion of the committee. If the omitted examination was given in the spring semester or in summer school, the application to make up the examination must be made within 10 days of the conclusion of that examination period; if the omitted examination was given in the fall semester, the application must be made prior to the third day of class of the spring semester. Rule 8. A student who, although eligible to take a make up examination, fails to do so will be deemed to have failed the examination. A student may apply in writing to the Faculty Re examination Committee for removal of the failure and for permission to make up the examination during the next regularly scheduled examination period during which an examination in that subject is given. The application must be filed with the Registrar and must be made within 10 days of the missed make up examination. The Committee will grant the application only upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances. If the Committee grants the application the student will be allowed to continue conditionally in the school, subject to achieving a true weighted average of at least a 1.9 for the academic year in which the omitted examination was regularly scheduled. Rule 9. Except for pass/fail courses, the standing of students will be indicated by the following letter grades. For the purposes of calculating weighted averages, numerical equivalents will be used for the letter grades as follows: A+ 4.3
The minimum grade that will be recorded in a course is "F". The grade of "D" constitutes a passing mark in a subject. To continue in good scholastic standing, however, a student must maintain a true weighted average of at least 1.90 in every academic year. In computing a true weighted average, hours in a pass/fail course that was passed will be disregarded. If such a course was failed, an "F" will be entered on the student's transcript and a 0.0 will be used in computing the student's true weighted average. For the purposes of this rule, an academic year shall begin with the summer term, provided that where a summer term is the student's final term in law school, it will be considered part of the academic year that commenced the preceding summer. LL.M. Grading System Rule 11. Failed courses aggregating in credit value more than one quarter of the credits taken by a student in any academic year will constitute a failed year irrespective of the weighted average obtained by the student. In such case, the student will not be permitted to continue in the school or to graduate. For purposes of this rule any failed course that is retaken will be treated as if it had not been retaken. The student may seek readmission pursuant to Rule 10. Rule 12. A student who fails a required course must retake that course. The student must retake the course, if feasible, during the next semester in which it is offered in the class division in which the student is registered, and must pass the examination in it. A student who fails an elective course, other than a paper course (see Article V of the Academic Regulations) may, if the course is offered again, retake that course. Transcripts will reflect both the original failure and, where applicable, the new grade. The numerical equivalent of the new grade will be averaged with the failure 0.00 for cumulative grade point average purposes. A student who, although not required to repeat the year, repeats and passes a course in which an examination was failed, or, in the case of a failed elective paper course, who submits a paper that earns a "pass," will receive credit for that course in the semester in which it was first taken. No credit for such a course will be counted toward residence credit in the semester in which the course was re taken. Rule 13. No day division student will be permitted to enter the third year class with any failed first year course outstanding against him or her; no evening division student will be permitted to enter the fourth year class with any failed first year course or failed second year required course outstanding against him or her. Rule 14. A faculty member may change a grade if an error in mathematics or computation has been made. Special Note: Incompletes (INC) or No Grades (NGR) remaining on a student's record at the completion of the semester following the course in question will be converted to "Fs".
Students are responsible for knowing and complying with the following rules governing the administration of examinations. Rule 1. Students must carry their Law School identification cards at all times during the examination period and must present them upon demand by any proctor, faculty member, or security guard. A student who has lost his or her identification card should request a temporary one from the Registrar. Rule 2. Students may not bring any unauthorized material into the examination room. Except for materials expressly authorized by the Professor, desks or tables should be clear of any materials. Candy and beverages in secure containers will be allowed on your desk. Students who wish to keep handbags near their person during an examination may do so as long as they are kept in plain view. However, no materials may be removed from the handbag. If a proctor or professor determines that a violation of this rule has occurred, the unauthorized materials will be taken from the student. The professor or proctor shall report this violation to the Registrar. Rule 3. Students shall sit in alternate seats. Rule 4. All blue books to be submitted for grading should be numbered in the following manner: 1 of 2, 2 of 2, etc. Blue books used as scrap should not be numbered. Rule 5. Students should not begin an examination until a proctor so instructs. Rule 6. Students may not converse or exchange material during an examination. Rule 7. Whenever a student leaves an examination room, he or she must sign out. If a student subsequently returns to the examination room, he or she must sign in and note the return time on the form provided by the proctor. Rule 8. Students may not leave the floor where their examination is taking place unless they have completed the examination. A student seen leaving or returning to the floor where he or she is currently taking an examination will not be readmitted to that floor without first presenting an identification card to the hall proctor. The proctor will submit a report of this incident to the Registrar. Rule 9. Any student who observes cheating shall report the incident, as soon as practicable, to a proctor or the Registrar. A student reporting the cheating shall identify the student or students involved, by name if known. Where the name of the student or students engaged in cheating is unknown, the student who has observed cheating should provide a physical description of the student or students involved and indicate the row and seat where these individuals sat during the examination. Rule 10. When a student completes an examination prior to the end of the allotted time, he or she should return all materials to the proctor assigned to the front desk and then sign out. Rule 11. At the end of the time allotted for an examination, proctors will instruct all students to stop writing. EVERY STUDENT MUST PUT HIS OR HER PEN OR PENCIL DOWN IMMEDIATELY OR STOP TYPING, CLOSE ALL BLUE BOOKS AND REMAIN SEATED UNTIL THE PROCTOR CALLS STUDENTS TO COME FORWARD, BY ROW, TO SUBMIT THEIR EXAMINATION AND SIGN OUT. Rule 12. When signing out at the end of an examination, students must:
Professors should not distribute take home examinations during class.
TAKE-HOME EXAMINATIONS: Last day to submit answers to take-home examinations is the last day of semester scheduled exams at 8:30 p.m. unless the professor has required an earlier due date. MAKE-UP EXAMINATIONS:Make-up examinations to be determined each semester prior to the final exams for the semester SPECIAL NOTE: Any Incomplete (INC) or No Grade (NGR) remaining on a student's record the semester following the end of an examination period will be converted to an "F".
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