Juris Doctor

Admissions

The College of Law has a “rolling admissions” policy.

In addition to academic qualifications, factors in an applicant’s background that align with the mission of the institution and that may enrich the educational experience of all students at the college, are considered during the admission process. Such factors include but are not limited to socioeconomic factors, extracurricular activities, work experience, career objectives, adversities overcome, and advanced study or degrees in other disciplines.

Accuracy of Information on Students’ Applications

Students applying for the J.D. program are only eligible to start the program in the Fall semester. Admission will be based on the student’s academic and other background qualifications, including an evaluation of the following:

1.     a recent LSAT/LSDAS report with documentation of Law School Admission Test (LSAT) score and undergraduate transcript;

2.     specified letters of recommendation; and

3.     a personal statement by the applicant showing reasons why the applicant should be admitted to the study of law at Georgia State.

Transfer Students

A student who wishes to transfer from an ABA-approved law school will be considered only after completion of the first year of law study at another ABA-approved law school. A transfer applicant’s academic performance and class rank at his or her current school are important factors in the evaluation process. Transfer students must possess credentials comparable to those of the College of Law class to which they seek admission.

A student who has been excluded from another law school and is ineligible for readmission at such school will not be admitted to the College of Law. Each prospective transfer student must provide a letter from the dean, or designee thereof, of the current or previously attended law school stating that the student is in good standing and eligible to return to that law school. The letter shall also include the student’s class ranking, if available.

Upon admission, the transfer applicant’s transcript will be reviewed by the associate dean for academic affairs. At that time, confirmation of transfer credits will be provided. No credit for advanced standing will be allowed for courses completed at law schools that are not accredited by the American Bar Association. No credit for advanced standing will be allowed for any law school course from another accredited law school for which a grade lower than a C or its equivalent has been given. Only under exceptional circumstances may more than 32 credits be approved for transfer to Georgia State University for a J.D. degree.

To receive the J.D. degree from Georgia State University, a transfer student who is admitted to the

College of Law must:

1.     satisfy all Georgia State University College of Law degree requirements; and

2.     earn within the College of Law at least 58 semester hours of the total 90 semester hours required for graduation.

Guest Students

J.D. students in good standing at ABA-accredited law schools may be admitted as guest students to earn credit for transfer back to their degree-granting institution. Guest students must meet the admission standards of the class they seek to enter. Guest students may attend the College of Law for no more than 32 semester hours, not to exceed three semesters (including the summer semester). Second-year students who meet the above criteria may be admitted as guest students, but only under exceptional circumstances.

Special Student Status

affairs in consultation with the instructor of the course(s). Any such non-J.D. students subsequently admitted to the College of Law may not be allowed to count toward their home institution’s degree program any credits earned while in special student status at the College of Law.

Attorneys who are admitted to the practice of law in Georgia or any other state or country, and remain in good standing therein, may be admitted as special students, but in that capacity may only audit courses at the college with the permission of the associate dean for academic affairs and of the instructor of that course(s). Attorneys subsequently admitted as students in a law degree program at the College of Law may not count toward their College of Law degree any course credit equivalents attributed to them while in special student status.

English Proficiency of International Applicants for College of Law Programs

All College of Law classes are taught in English. Proficiency in reading, writing, and speaking English is essential and critical to a College of Law student’s success. Applicants are presumed proficient in English if they: (1) are from a country where English is an official language; or (2) earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university in which instruction is in English.

All College of Law applicants whose native language is not English are required to demonstrate English proficiency by scoring a minimum of 100 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or a

minimum of 7.5 on the academic version of the International Language Testing System (IELTS). No other test or certificate-based methods of demonstrating English proficiency will be considered. A video teleconference or in-person interview of the applicant may be required to assess spoken English proficiency.

International applicants for the J.D. program should understand that the College of Law does not employ special grading standards for such students.

Orientation

All accepted students are required to attend Orientation preceding the beginning of regular fall semester classes. Other mandatory orientation meetings for first-year or upper-level students may be scheduled as necessary.

Curriculum

Regardless of the ABA limitations above, due to exceptional circumstances during the COVID 19 Pandemic, the ABA granted the College of Law a one-time exemption for any “distance education courses” students took from the spring of 2020 through the spring of 2022. Furthermore, remote participation in a non-distance education course by a student with an academic accommodation provided under law (such as the Americans with Disabilities Act) or under other exceptional circumstances (e.g., temporary absence due to pregnancy or other medical condition) shall not cause the course to count towards the ABA’s distance education credit limit.

Non College of Law Courses

With prior approval of the associate dean for academic affairs, a law student in good standing and not pursuing a dual degree may, after successfully completing all courses in the first-year, full-time equivalent curriculum, apply up to six (6) credit hours of Georgia State University graduate-level, non- law course credit to his or her record at the College of Law. So long as the student earns at least a B (or Satisfactory, if graded on an S/U basis) in the course(s), the credit shall be counted toward the hours required for the J.D. degree. The Non-Law Course Request Application is on the law school registrar’s website.

Such credit will be reported on the student’s transcript but will not be considered in computing his or her College of Law grade point average. Courses taken pursuant to this policy will be counted as S/U courses for the purpose of College of Law limits on such courses. In no event may a student receive credit under this rule for any non-law school course taken prior to the student’s enrollment in the College of Law, nor may any student use such a course to satisfy the College of Law’s upper-level writing requirement.

For a course to be approved under this rule, the associate dean must find that such course: (i) meets the academic standards of the College of Law; (ii) is a graduate-level course; (iii) does not substantially duplicate material covered in any course(s) previously taken by the student, in law school or elsewhere; and (iv) would likely advance the student’s legal or other relevant professional training or career goals. The associate dean of academic affairs may require that the student first obtain the permission of the course instructor and/or provide the associate dean with a copy of the course syllabus in support of the request for approval.

Full- and Part-Time Student Status of J.D. Students

General Rules for Both Full-Time and Part-Time J.D. Programs

Employment while in the JD Program

During the first year of law school, full-time students are expected to devote substantially all of their working hours to the study of law and are therefore strongly advised not to undertake employment during the first two academic semesters, especially any employment that exceeds 10 hours per week. Students who need to work more hours are encouraged to change to the part-time program.

During the second and third years of law school, full-time students may maintain part-time employment but are strongly advised not to exceed 20 hours per week. Full-time students who are enrolled in a clinic or externship course may not work more than 20 hours per week in that semester without prior approval from the clinic or externship director. Students who need to work more hours are encouraged to change to the part-time program.

Summer Term

The College of Law offers a summer term. To qualify for financial aid during the summer semester, full- and part-time students must register for at least four credit hours. No student may enroll in more than seven hours of summer course work without the permission of the associate dean for academic affairs. No student may take more than 9 law credit hours during the summer semester.

Transfers Between J.D. Programs

The following policies apply to College of Law students seeking to transfer between the full and part- time divisions. Following the successful completion of two semesters (excluding summer semesters) and all first-year required courses at the College of Law, full-time J.D. students who wish to transfer from the full-time division to the part-time division must submit a written request and obtain the permission of the associate dean for academic affairs. Following the completion of four semesters (excluding summer semesters), and all full-time, first-year equivalent courses at the College of Law, part-time J.D. students who wish to transfer from the part-time division to the full-time division must submit a written request and obtain the permission of the associate dean for academic affairs. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required at the time of the request to be considered for a change in divisions. A student may change divisions only once during the student’s enrollment at the College of Law except as otherwise determined in the discretion of the associate dean for academic affairs.

Curriculum

The curriculum of the College of Law is the same for all students enrolled as candidates for the J.D. degree. In general, the same course offerings will be available whether a student is enrolled in the full- or part-time divisions, but not necessarily during the same semester. The curriculum is made up of 43 hours of required courses and a minimum of 47 hours of elective courses.

Required Courses

First-Year Required Courses

Students Entering Fall of 2023 or thereafter-1L Courses Totaling 32 Credits

For those students entering the College of Law in Fall 2023 and thereafter, the following first-year courses are required for graduation: Contracts (4 credits); Civil Procedure: The Federal Rules (3 credits); Civil Procedure: Federalism and Constitutional Issues (3 credits); Torts (4 credits); Property (4 credits); Criminal Law (3 credits); Lawyering Foundations I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Research Methods in Law (1 credit); Legislation and Regulation (3 credits); and Profession of Law (1 credit).

Students Entering Fall of 2022-1L Courses Totaling 32 Credits

For those students who entered the College of Law in Fall 2022, the following first-year courses are required for graduation: Contracts (4 credits); Civil Procedure I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Torts (4 credits); Property (4 credits); Criminal Law (3 credits); Lawyering Foundations I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Research Methods in Law (1 credit); Legislation and Regulation (3 credits); and First-Year Professional Development/Academic Success Program (1 credit).

Students Entering Fall of 2021-1L Courses Totaling 31 Credits

For those students who entered the College of Law in Fall 2021, the following first-year courses are required for graduation: Contracts (4 credits); Civil Procedure I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Torts (4 credits); Property (4 credits); Criminal Law (3 credits); Lawyering Foundations I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Research Methods in Law (1 credit); Legislation and Regulation (3 credits); and First-Year Professional Development/Academic Success Program (0 credits).

Students Entering Fall of 2020-1L Courses Totaling 30 Credits

For those students who entered the College of Law in Fall 2020, the following first-year courses are required for graduation: Contracts I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Civil Procedure I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Torts (4 credits); Property (4 credits); Criminal Law (3 credits); Lawyering Foundations I (3 credits) and II (3 credits); Research Methods in Law (1 credit); and First-Year Professional Development/Academic Success Program (0 credits).

Required Upper-Level Courses

The following upper-level courses totaling sixteen (16) credit hours are required for graduation with a J.D. degree from the College of Law: Constitutional Law I (3 credits); Evidence (4 credits); Professional Responsibility or equivalent (3 credits); and a minimum of six (6) credits of experiential courses comprised of Lawyering Advocacy (3 credits) and one three-credit experiential course elective (3 credits).

The Professional Responsibility requirement may be met by taking Professional Responsibility, The Client Relationship, Transition to Practice, or any other course designated as meeting the Professional Responsibility requirement.

In addition to the required Lawyering Advocacy experiential course noted above, experiential courses include but are not limited to HeLP Legal Services Clinic, Philip C. Cook Low Income Taxpayer Clinic, Capital Defender Clinic, Olmstead Disability Rights Clinic, Mediation Clinic, Immigration Clinic, Externships, Advanced Evidence, Entertainment Law, Licensing of Intellectual Property, Expert Testimony Using Technology, Health Care Transactions Practicum, Alternative Dispute Resolution, The Reflective Lawyer, Interviewing and Counseling, Legal Process Engineering, Street Law, Fundamentals of Law Practice, Criminal Law: Reform and Fieldwork, and Military Law & Veterans Clinic.

Students in the J.D. program also must complete an upper-level writing requirement. The upper-level writing requirement may not be satisfied in a course that the student counts toward the minimum experiential credit requirement. See below for more information.

Juror Requirement for Lawyering: Advocacy

All students enrolled in Lawyering a required course in the first-year curriculum, are required to serve as jurors in the upper-level Lawyering Advocacy trials held in spring.  This requirement applies to both part-time and full-time students enrolled in Lawyering Foundations: II.

Students complete jury duty sign-ups online by following the instructions set forth in the Jury Duty Announcement that will be sent out by the Director of Advocacy. Additional details are provided at 1L orientation, and sign-ups will be conducted in March. Note that many trials occur on weekends in mid- April.

Failure to complete this requirement will result in an incomplete grade (I) in Lawyering: Foundations II. An incomplete grade in Lawyering: Foundations II leaves a student unranked at the end of the first year and ineligible to try out for law review. The student will only receive the earned grade for Lawyering: Foundations II after rankings are issued.

If a student who fails to serve as a juror does not fulfill the obligation by the spring semester in which they take Lawyering: Advocacy, the student will earn an F in Lawyering: Advocacy and will be required to

retake the course.

Upper-Level Legal Writing Requirement

Each candidate, as a requirement for the J.D., must satisfactorily complete one substantial legal writing assignment during their upper-level period of study. Qualifying assignments will require at least 20 double-spaced pages of analytical writing and may consist of a single writing or be comprised of a series of shorter writings on related topics, written in a professional style, requiring substantial research and creative analytical thinking, and developed and revised based on faculty input and comments. Examples of such projects include research papers that reflect thorough primary and secondary research and original analysis and legal briefs and memoranda prepared in the course of a clinic that require substantial legal research to complete. Qualifying assignments must be supervised by a College of Law faculty member and written solely by the student seeking upper-level writing credit. Such assignments

should be of a quality and complexity designed to develop and demonstrate the writing skills expected of entry-level legal practitioners.  The Writing Requirement Form is on the law school registrar’s website.

To satisfy this requirement, the student must earn a grade of at least C+ on the qualifying assignments through one of the following options:

• Legal Writing Course: Students may complete the upper-level writing requirement in any two- or three-credit law course, including clinics, which qualify as a legal writing course. To qualify as a legal writing course, at least 50% of the course grade must be based on one or more graded writing assignments. Generally, courses that qualify as legal writing courses will be so designated, in advance, by the associate dean for  academic affairs.

• Independent Research Study: Students may complete the upper-level writing requirement in a two credit Independent Research Study course. Students must obtain advance approval of the faculty member who is supervising the Independent Research Study and the associate dean for academic affairs by completing and submitting the required form prior to registration.

• Law Review: Students may complete the upper-level writing requirement through preparing and submitting a Law Review note, in accordance with Law Review rules and procedures, including faculty supervision.

• Note: Moot Court briefs and materials prepared for Moot Court, Mock Trial, student competitions and other such purposes do not satisfy this requirement. Writing assignments prepared for Lawyering: Advocacy also do not satisfy this requirement. In addition, a student may not fulfill the writing requirement using coursework from a course being used by that student to satisfy the experiential learning requirement.

Upon completion and grading of the writing requirement, students are required to submit the Writing Requirement Form to the law registrar. This form should specify in which course, Law Review, or Independent Research Study for which the writing was completed. The supervising faculty member should list the grade earned on the writing assignment (whether paper, series of papers, or project) - not the grade on the course or clinic overall, if different - and certify by their signature that the student’s completed assignment meets the Writing Requirement as outlined above.

Elective Courses

Depending upon the date of enrollment as noted above, a student must choose a minimum of forty-two (42) to forty-four (44) hours of electives to complete the J.D. course of study. Electives should be carefully chosen with the consultation of a faculty adviser. Each student will be assigned a faculty adviser in the student’s first year. Elective courses are fully described in the Course Descriptions section.

Prerequisites

Many courses in the curriculum are open only to students who have satisfactorily completed specific, prerequisite courses. For instance, students seeking to enroll in a simulation course, a law clinic, or a field placement must have successfully completed or are in the last semester of completing all first-year or first-year equivalent for part-time students required courses. Accordingly, full-time students are eligible to apply for clinics and field placements in the spring of their 1L year while part-time students are eligible to apply in the spring of their 2L year.

It is important that students consider prerequisites in planning the sequence of their course work. Prerequisites can be waived only with the permission of the instructor and, in some cases, the associate dean for academic affairs.

Students may determine how recently a course has been offered by checking PAWS. For a list of courses currently offered, recently offered, or likely to be offered soon, please see First-Year Required Courses; Second-Year Required Courses; and Elective Courses in the online course catalog and below. In light of student demand, faculty expertise and interest, and the need to prepare graduates for practice, the college may cancel or adjust course times as needed. If that happens, students will be notified as soon as reasonably possible.

The faculty reserves the right to change the nature of any course offering in any fashion that it judges proper at any time, including the right to establish new required courses and to change current required courses to electives.

Per the ABA standards, an individual course cannot fulfill both the experiential course requirement and the upper-level legal writing requirement.

Certificates

Within the J.D. degree, students can pursue a certificate, reflecting a concentration of study, in seven different areas:

• Advocacy Certificate
• Entertainment, Sports & Media Law Certificate
• Environment & Land Use Law Certificate
• Health Law Certificate
• Intellectual Property Law Certificate
• Legal Analytics & Innovation Certificate
• Public Interest Law & Policy Certificate

Each of the certificate programs:

1. Provides integrated legal learning by reinforcing basic legal concepts through the specific area of study and while also developing core legal competencies that enable students to transfer knowledge and skills to other areas of law.
2. Affords focused faculty advisement and curriculum guidance by assignment to an adviser with knowledge of the content area.
3. Offers opportunities for interdisciplinary study and collaboration.
4. Confers a positive marker of basic knowledge of the field to pursue such work in the job market.

Grades: Except as expressly provided otherwise below, a minimum GPA of 3.00 is required for all courses taken in satisfaction of the embedded certificate requirements.

Dual Degrees

The College of Law offers several options for students to earn degrees that complement their legal education. To pursue a dual degree, students must be accepted by both colleges and satisfy the curriculum requirements for both programs. Credit hours earned in one degree program may be used to satisfy some of the elective course requirements of the other degree program, enabling students to earn both degrees in a shorter time than would be possible pursuing both degrees separately. Regardless, law students must complete at least seventy-eight (78) credit hours within the College of Law to earn the J.D. degree unless otherwise expressly provided by the specific terms and conditions of a dual degree described in this bulletin. Interested applicants should contact the appropriate colleges for application procedures and materials.

• Law and Business Administration and Health Administration, J.D./M.B.A./M.H.A.  

• Law and Business Administration, J.D./M.B.A. 

• Law and City and Regional Planning, J.D./M.C.R.P. (with Georgia Institute of Technology) 

• Law and Data Science and Analytics, J.D./M.S. 

• Law and Health Administration, J.D./M.S.H.A. 

• Law and Professional Accountancy, J.D./M.P.A. 

• Law and Public Administration, J.D./M.P.A 

• Law and Public Health (Health Management and Policy Concentration), J.D./M.P.H. 

• Law and Public Health, J.D./M.P.H.  

• Law, Bachelor/J.D. 

Final Exams

The time period for final examinations each semester is set forth in the College of Law’s academic calendar, which is available prior to the start of each semester. The College of Law does not follow the university’s academic calendar with respect to final examinations. The course-by-course schedule for final examinations during the final exam period will be published as soon as practical after the beginning of each semester. Regardless, students should not plan to be away from campus for any reason until after the last day of the final exam period as published in the College of Law’s academic calendar.

Like bar exams, and except as noted below, law school exams are not rescheduled or deferred for any reason other than unforeseeable, unavoidable circumstances. Law school exams will not be rescheduled or deferred for personal, non-emergency reasons including, but not limited to, work inconvenience, weddings, vacations, etc.

Examinations are rescheduled in only two circumstances:

1. When a student has two or more examinations scheduled to begin during a 24-hour period. The start times of the exam are the time considered for conflicts (e.g., a 6 p.m. exam followed by a 1 p.m. exam the next day presents a conflict; a 6 p.m. exam followed by another 6 p.m. exam the next day does not); and
2. When verifiable extraordinary, unavoidable, and unforeseen circumstances (e.g., serious health problems of a student or an immediate family member) intervene. Personal travel, work schedules, family or community events are not grounds for rescheduling a final exam.

Overlapping deadlines for papers or projects do not present a justification for rescheduling examinations. Take-home examinations for multiple days are not considered in determining the existence of conflicts. Failure to take an exam (or approved make-up exam) at the scheduled time, without the prior approval of the associate dean for academic affairs, constitutes failure to complete the work in the course. The attending student will receive an F, unless the student experienced an unpredictable and unavoidable emergency, which, in the judgment of the associate dean for academic affairs, justifies the failure to appear in a timely manner. In such an event, the associate dean for academic affairs may require the student to produce documentation verifying the existence of such an emergency.

Students who wish to request a rescheduling of an exam must submit a written request to the College of Law Registrar’s Office using the form published on the Law Registrar’s website. Whenever circumstances permit an exam to be rescheduled (for example, 24-hour conflicts), requests should be submitted no later than two weeks after the exam schedule is released, but in no event earlier than two weeks prior to the beginning of the final examination period. If the request is predicated on an emergency, arising immediately prior to or during the examination period, students should still submit the above referenced form.  If that is impractical, student should contact the associate dean for academic affairs. Students should never seek permission from a faculty member to reschedule an exam. If an exam is rescheduled, communication with a faculty member can compromise anonymity. Rescheduled examinations may be moved to a date earlier than the originally scheduled date.

Depending upon the course and the discretion of the instructor, in-class examinations may be administered by proctors, rather than the instructors of the courses being examined, to preserve student anonymity. Proctors start each in-class exam and ensure that all examinations are properly administered and end on time. Proctors are instructed to contact the registrar or other appropriate personnel to resolve any problems with an examination. They are also provided with each instructor’s contact information and may contact them in the event of a substantive problem with the examination. Students must take examinations in the room assigned and may not bring any materials into the room other than those specifically permitted by the instructor, the exam instructions, or as approved through the academic accommodations process.  If a student is permitted to reschedule a proctored exam, the rescheduled exam will also be proctored unless otherwise noted.

Depending upon the course and the discretion of the instructor, examinations may be graded anonymously by the use of individually assigned exam numbers. Students may access their examination numbers via the Law Registrar’s website, or they may obtain their numbers in person after presenting a valid photo ID to the registrar. The College of Law’s final exam website also contains instructions for students to retrieve assigned exam numbers. To preserve anonymity, students may not disclose their anonymous exam numbers. Anonymous grading of midterm exams, seminar papers, or projects which require consultation between a student and a faculty member may not be possible. All matters involving the taking of examinations are governed by the College of Law’s Honor Code.

Failure to Complete an Examination

A student who receives an examination is expected to finish it during the period for which it is scheduled. Students who do not complete examinations will be graded on the material submitted during the scheduled examination time period unless an exception based on exigent circumstances is granted by the associate dean for academic affairs. Such exceptions will be extremely rare and will be granted only if the student has notified the proctor of the examination of the inability to complete the exam and can establish the reason for such inability to the satisfaction of the associate dean of academic affairs.

Laptop Option for Final Examinations

Generally, and subject to the discretion of the instructor, College of Law final examinations are administered via each student’s laptop computer. In this regard, each student is responsible for ensuring that the student’s computer is in good working order. In addition, the use of a designated software program that inhibits the accessing of another part of the hard-drive or the internet during the examination may be required. The required software will be provided to students during these sessions by the College of Law. If a student does not install the designated software properly and timely, or if the student’s computer will not function properly with said software installed, alternate arrangements will be made possibly requiring the student to handwrite his or her examination.

The College of Law staff or faculty may assist in the installation of software; however, it is the primary responsibility of the student to ensure that their computer and the requisite software are both functioning at the time of the exam.

Grading

Final grades in each course of the College of Law will be in letter form, on an A+ to F scale with grade point values (used to calculate grade point averages and class ranks) as delineated below:

Note: There are no pluses or minuses in the D range.

Other marks may be used in appropriate circumstances, such as:

A grade of D or better is required to receive any credit in the course. A grade of F is a failing grade. A failing grade cannot be converted to a higher grade by repeating the course. Students may only repeat required courses in which they have received an F or a U.

Required courses must all be passed with at least a D (1.00), except the upper-level legal writing requirement, which must be met with at least a C+ (2.30); and Research Methods in Law and Lawyering: Advocacy, both of which must be met with a Satisfactory (S) grade.

A student who receives an F or Unsatisfactory in a required course must repeat the course in the next semester in which it is offered. If the next offering of the course is in the summer semester, the student may delay repeating the course until the next succeeding offering, with the permission of the associate dean for academic affairs. The college will attempt to assign the student to an instructor other than the one from whom the student initially took the course, but the student must repeat the course in accordance with the above policy, even if assigning a different professor is not feasible.

A student may only repeat the course for credit at the College of Law. In no event may a student repeat a required course more than once. If a student receives an F or Unsatisfactory grade the second time they take a required course, the student shall be automatically dismissed from the College of Law, regardless of the student’s cumulative grade average. A student who fails and repeats a required course will receive a separate grade for that course that shall be included in the computation of the student’s overall grade average. The prior grade in the course will not be expunged from the student’s record and also will be included in the computation of that student’s overall grade average.

Course Grading

All required courses, except Lawyering: Advocacy (LAW 6030), must have a class mean (i.e., average) between 2.90 and 3.10 exclusive of failing grades. For non-seminar elective courses with 20 or more students, the faculty strongly recommends that the class mean fall between 3.00 and 3.20. For non- seminar elective courses with fewer than 20 students, the faculty strongly recommends a maximum class mean of 3.50. Courses that are specifically listed as seminars are exempt from the grading standards. In determining class means, instructors disregard grades of students in the course who are not pursuing their J.D. (such as LL.M. students).

Incomplete (I):

The grade of “I” (Incomplete) may be given to a student who for nonacademic reasons beyond their control is unable to meet the full requirements of a course. In order to quality for an “I,” a student must:

1. have completed most of the major assignments of the course (generally all but one) and
2. be passing the course (aside from the assignments not completed) in the judgment of the instructor.

A student may request an “I” when a student has a nonacademic reason for not completing one or more of the assignments for a course (including examinations).  It is the student’s responsibility to inform the instructor in person or in writing of the reason. The grade of “I” is awarded at the discretion of the instructor and is not the prerogative of the student. Conditions to be met for removing an “I” are established by the instructor.

Deadlines for Removal of “I”

The period of time for removing an “I” is established by the instructor, subject only to the maximum time limits set by the university. The university requires that the grade of “I” be removed by the end of the second academic term after the “I” is assigned (whether or not the student was enrolled during these two terms.) The Office of the Registrar will assign a grade of “F” at the end of the second academic term unless the Office of the Registrar receives a final grade (for S/U grading, a U will be assigned). No student may graduate with an incomplete grade.

Grade Changes

No final grade submitted to the College of Law Registrar may be changed, except for a grade change to correct a clerical or computational error (mathematical), or pursuant to a grade appeal decided in the student’s favor in accordance with the standards for “Appeal of Course Grade” below.

Course Grade Appeal Process:

A grade appeal is available only for review of claims that the grade was based on arbitrary or capricious grounds. There shall be no appeal to challenge the merits of a faculty member’s evaluation of the student’s performance.

The process of appealing a course grade is as follows:

1.     A student must first review the situation with the instructor who assigned the grade. This review must take place within 30 calendar days of the date the grades are posted.

2.     If the question is not resolved with the instructor, the student may appeal in writing to the associate dean for academic affairs, who shall appoint an ad hoc three-person faculty committee to hear the appeal. The student’s written appeal must be received by the associate dean for academic affairs no later than 14 calendar days after the date of review with the instructor. The appeal must describe how the instructor’s grading is alleged to have violated the standards set forth in the policy above. A copy of the appeal will be provided to the faculty member whose grade is appealed.

3.     The faculty appeal committee may decide the matter solely upon consideration of the facts alleged in the student’s written appeal or may consider other relevant information. The decision of the faculty appeal committee will be conveyed to the student and the faculty member whose grade is the subject of appeal in writing no later than 14 calendar days after the conclusion of its deliberations.

4.     If the student wishes to challenge the decision of the faculty appeal committee, the student may appeal in writing directly to the dean. The written appeal must be received within 14 calendar days of the date of the writing conveying to the student the decision of the faculty appeal committee. As with the appeal to the faculty committee, the dean’s review shall be limited to the grounds for appeal stated above. The dean will render a decision in writing within 14 days of receipt of the student’s written appeal. The decision of the dean shall be final except as further appellate process may be available at the university level.

Academic Good Standing

To be in good standing, for all purposes including transfer status, a full- or part-time student must, on the basis of all course work completed, have a cumulative average of at least 2.20, which is the minimum cumulative average required for graduation.

Probation/Exclusion

When a student’s cumulative average falls below 2.20, the student shall be placed on probation and permitted a maximum of two semesters (excluding summers) in which to raise the cumulative average to the required 2.20. A student who does not raise the cumulative average to the required 2.20 by the end of two probationary semesters shall be automatically excluded from the college, without right of appeal.  As described in more detail below, a student may be automatically excluded without being on probation. Summer semesters will not be counted when calculating the number of probationary semesters permitted or used.

If any semester’s grades are not available to determine the good standing of a student at the time of registration for the following semester, the student may register for the new semester. But when the completed semester’s grades are determined and published, resulting in the student (i) no longer being in academic good standing or (ii) being excluded pursuant to the above policies, the student may complete the semester but any grades that may have been earned in the current semester may not alter the student’s standing resulting from the prior semester’s grades, and appropriate action will be taken thereon.

If the student raises the cumulative average to a 2.20 but in a later semester the cumulative average again falls below 2.20 and the student has previously been on probation for two semesters, the student will be excluded from the college. If, however, the student has previously been on probation for only one semester, the student will be permitted one additional semester to raise the cumulative average to the required 2.20.

A student will not be placed on probation before the completion of the first year (first two semesters, full- or part-time) of law school. However, a student who does not have a cumulative average of at least 2.00 at the conclusion of the student’s first year (first two semesters, full- or part-time) of law school or any year thereafter will automatically be excluded from the college.

Excluded students may not apply for admission until at least two years after exclusion. An excluded student is then eligible to apply for admission as an entering student, in competition with all other candidates for admission to the first-year class. If admitted, the previously excluded student starts anew, with no academic credit for prior coursework. Nonetheless, university policy requires that all grades earned at Georgia State University remain on a student’s transcript, both before and after the exclusion.

There is no College of Law appeals process for academic exclusions. Additionally, information about any appeal must follow the university guidelines regarding academic appeals.

Course work completed for the purposes of this requirement means courses taken at the College of Law in which the student has received a final grade of between A+ and F inclusive, including grades of S, U and WF.

Rankings

During their law school career, J.D. students may receive up to three rankings, according to the following schedule. Each spring, the College of Law will announce three rankings: a Final Ranking (of graduates); a Second Interim Ranking (roughly, of students who have completed their second year required courses and are between 33-89 credits); and a First Interim Ranking (of students who have completed the first-year required courses and have a minimum of 32 credits, if they are full-time). Part- time and full-time student may be ranked separately. If part-time students are ranked, they must have completed the required first year courses in their program and have a minimum of 22 credits. Depending on their graduation timeline, a student might receive an additional ranking.

For the Final Ranking, all students who, in the last academic year, have completed all requirements for graduation will be ranked on the basis of their overall grade point average. Transfer students will be included only in the Final Ranking.

For the Second Interim Ranking, all students who, in the last year, have received a final grade in at least one course other than first-year full-time required courses, and who have received a final grade in all first-year full-time required courses, will be ranked on the basis of their overall grade average.

Any student with an outstanding grade of Incomplete (I) in any required course will not be ranked. In addition, during the Spring 2020 semester, the faculty approved special ranking policies for those students enrolled during that specific semester. In May 2020, the College of Law Faculty decided Spring 2020 grades will be taken into account for purposes of overall cumulative GPA but will not be taken into account for any class ranking purposes in this or any subsequent semester. This decision was due to the mandatory grade mean change also implemented for Spring 2020 to deal with the initial COVID pandemic outbreak.

Note: Interim rankings may also be released after fall semesters.

Transfers/Withdrawals/Reentry and Grading in Sequential Courses

A student enrolled under an instructor in a sequential course (e.g., Lawyering Foundations I and II) is required to continue enrollment under such instructor until the sequence is completed. Transfer will be allowed to another section involving another instructor only in exceptional circumstances and subject to the prior permission of the associate dean for academic affairs and the instructors involved.

A student who withdraws during the sequence of a course will be permitted to reenter that course only in sequence with the same instructor unless the associate dean for academic affairs and the instructor, determine that material changes will be made in the course which will make it inappropriate for a previously enrolled student to reenter the course except at its beginning. A student will be permitted to withdraw only once from a sequential course.

Interruption & Resumption of Studies

After completing the first thirty-two hours of the full-time program (excluding summer courses) or the first thirty-three hours of the part-time program (excluding summer courses), a J.D. student may interrupt his or her law studies and, if in good standing, reenter in any subsequent semester. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, in exceptional circumstances the associate dean for academic affairs may grant permission for a student to interrupt the student’s studies prior to completion of the first thirty-two (for full-time students) or thirty-three (for part-time students) hours, subject to any conditions and limitations that the associate dean may determine appropriate.

A student subject to probation who withdraws during the course of the academic year may only be readmitted on probation by permission of the associate dean for academic affairs.

A student who is absent from the College of Law for two or more consecutive semesters (not including summer semesters), other than as a result of an academic suspension or with the express permission of the associate dean for academic affairs, must apply to the Admissions Committee, and meet all admissions, curricular, and graduation requirements in effect at the time accepted for reentry.  A full-time student enrolled in first-year required courses, and a part-time student enrolled in first- or second-year required courses, who withdraws during the sequence of such courses will not be permitted to resume his or her course of study except in sequence. This may result in a year’s delay in the student’s course of studies and typical graduation date. No student may take more than seven consecutive years (84 consecutive months) to complete the J.D. program.

Withdrawal from Classes

A student who wishes to withdraw from a class prior to the midpoint in the semester may do so without permission via PAWS, unless the class is a required course. Withdrawal from a required course requires the prior permission of the associate dean for academic affairs. For any withdrawals prior to the midpoint in the semester, the student will receive a W for that course provided the withdrawal occurs before the midpoint.

A student who wishes to withdraw from all classes prior to the midpoint of any semester must receive permission from the associate dean for academic affairs. When withdrawal is approved, a W will be recorded in all courses for which the student is registered. Failure to obtain prior approval may result in a WF in all courses.

A student who wishes to withdraw after the midpoint of any semester will receive a WF. A student wishing to withdraw from any or all classes after the midpoint must request permission from the associate dean for academic affairs.

Where the cause of withdrawal is a nonacademic emergency necessitating withdrawal from all classes, the student must petition the university dean of students, and follow the procedures outlined by that office. If the university dean of students determines that the circumstances warrant a finding of nonacademic hardship the student will receive a W in all courses for which the student is registered.

Resumption of Studies

Resumption of studies for those students who have previously withdrawn is governed by the following policies and the decision of the Admissions Committee.

A student who withdraws prior to the midpoint of the semester or is granted a nonacademic hardship withdrawal during the first year of full-time law study or the first two years of part-time law study may reenter the college in good standing the next succeeding fall semester as a matter of right, or a later semester or year by permission of the Admissions Committee.

Except as otherwise determined by the associate dean for academic affairs pursuant to the policies stated above under “Interruption & Resumption of Studies, a student who withdraws during the first year of full-time study or the first two years of part-time study but who is not granted a nonacademic hardship withdrawal through the university must follow the application process for new students to be re-admitted to the College of Law.

A student who withdraws from the College of Law leaving one or more IP (In Progress) outstanding in sequential courses is, on their reentry to the college, subject to whatever grading and scheduling arrangements the relevant instructors and associate dean for academic affairs deem appropriate for completion of the sequential course or courses.

All above provisions applicable to J.D. students are subject to the seven-year (84 month) J.D. program completion rule. A student admitted to the College of Law but who, before initial enrollment in courses at the college, decides to postpone legal studies must reapply for admission to any succeeding class.

Student Practice Rule

Students in the J.D. program can apply to be admitted and registered with the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions under the Georgia Student Practice Rule. The College of Law will only register those students who meet the minimum standards provided in the rules, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.30, and meet one of the two criteria below:

1.      student has completed all first-year required courses (Law 5000-level courses) and is working for credit in our clinics, Externship Program, or classes in which students represent clients with faculty supervision; or

2.      student is taking, or has already passed, Evidence, Professional Responsibility (or its equivalent) and Lawyering: Advocacy and is working on behalf of units of government and persons unable to afford legal services in a pro bono capacity in compliance with Rules 91-95 of the Georgia Supreme Court.

Furthermore, in order to work with a government prosecutorial office, a student must have completed two-thirds of their law school education (60 credits) with a 2.30 GPA.

Any registration issued in accordance with the rules and these policies may be terminated in accordance with Supreme Court Rule 94.

The College of Law will not register a student with the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions for purposes of working in private practice under the supervision of an attorney.

Registration with the Georgia Office of Bar Admissions is handled through the office of the associate dean for academic affairs or via the instructor for the course in which the student is enrolled.

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