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Attendance and Residence Requirements
Time Allowed for Completing Degree Requirements
Rules of the American Bar Association, the New York State Court of Appeals, other state high courts, and the Law School itself all require regular classroom attendance. Students are advised that excessive absenteeism can result without warning in: 1) grade lowering, 2) denial of permission to complete course work and/or sit for the exam, or 3) receipt of a grade of WD (withdrawn) or FAB (failed for absence). Missing more than one-fifth of classes is presumptively excessive. Any student who finds himself or herself at risk of missing more than one-fifth of classes for any course should immediately speak with the instructor and/or Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. Please note that these rules supersede the policy that a student may drop a course up until the last day of the class without receiving a WD on his or her transcript.
Faculty members may establish a higher standard of regular attendance than that described above, and may also take this higher standard of attendance, class participation, and the quality of class performance into account in determining the student’s grade as long as the faculty member has, during the first week of class, announced an intention to do so or has included that intention in the syllabus or other class materials distributed in the first week of class.
The student’s obligation to be in regular attendance derives from both faculty rule and the rule of state bar examiners. As a prerequisite to a student’s admission to the bar, the Dean must certify to state boards of law examiners that the student has been in regular attendance. The Law School must be the student’s principal commitment during each semester. Extensive employment is disfavored because of its tendency to interfere with the student’s academic life at the Law School. In no event may a full-time student devote more than 20 hours in any week to such employment during the semester.
Students must complete the requirements within five years of their initial registration at and through the Law School unless extended or modified by the Vice Dean or vote of the Executive Committee consistent with ABA and Court rules. This requirement is a prerequisite to receipt of the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree. Certification of attendance and graduation is a prerequisite for admission to the bar examination.
Students will not be registered for courses with overlapping times. This is against the attendance policies of the ABA and the Court of Appeals.