VI. Grades

The Law School’s IT department created an online grading module for entering and submitting grades (see also Appendix 8). Faculty can grade each course using this module in one of two ways: the calculated grading method or the manual grading method.

The calculated grading method allows faculty to enter each grading component for the course (e.g. participation, paper, midterm, and final). The instructor must specify the weight of each course component. Course components can be anonymous or non-anonymous. After all components are entered, the system calculates the overall score for a student based on the weight of each component. An anonymous roster of scores appears and the faculty member assigns final grades.

The manual grading method presents a non-anonymous roster for assigning final grades. For this grading method, we assume the instructor completed all grading outside of the online system and is simply entering the final letter grades.

For either method (calculated or manual), the grading distribution requirements are provided for the course based on the enrollment and type of course. The system will not allow you to submit and finalize your grades until you meet the grading distribution requirement. If you are unable to meet the grading distribution requirements (for example, two students receive the exact same score and you have already distributed the maximum number of A grades), you must request a grading exception from the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

All grades will post to student records at the same time and once posted are available immediately for student viewing.

If you have insufficient information to assign an A–F grade, enter a grade of “I” (Incomplete). The student must meet with you to discuss a new deadline, and both of you must sign an Incomplete Agreement Form. It is the student’s responsibility to get the form signed and submitted to the Assistant Dean for Student Services for approval. Students who do not satisfactorily complete the course work within the time limits stated in Academic Rules, Section V.B, will receive no credit for the course and the “I” will be converted to the letter grade of “F,” which will be recorded on the student transcript.

Some year-long courses do not post grades at the end of the first semester. Instead, students receive a mid-year grade of "IP" (in progress). At the end of the second semester, the grade for the whole year replaces the "IP" grade. See Academic Rule VII.

Students can take up to 8 self-selected units of Law School upper-level courses on a credit/no-credit basis. Credit/no-credit grading options are at the instructor’s discretion and must be elected and enrolled in by the end of the second week of classes in any semester.

In mixed credit/no credit and graded classes, in order to maintain anonymity, instructors will not know which students are taking the class for credit only. All students will be assigned a final grade and those students enrolled credit/no credit will receive Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory based on that grade. In order to receive credit for a law course taken credit/no-credit, a law student must obtain a minimum grade of C- (1.7).

UCI Law encourages interdisciplinary study and welcomes non-law graduate students in law classes. Graduate students enrolled in law courses are excluded from the law grading curve. Faculty can grade graduate students at the level they feel is warranted. Please be aware that graduate students do not receive unit credit for any course with a final grade lower than a “B.”

Grades submitted to the Registrar by the professor are permanent and final. Changes are permitted for the following reasons only:

• To correct mathematical or clerical errors.

• To replace an Incomplete (I) with a grade.

• To replace a fall In Progress (IP) grade after completion of the year-long class.

Grade changes cannot be made based on re-examination, completion of additional work, or re-evaluation of existing work.

Students must notify the instructor in writing within 60 days after the grade is issued, stating the reason for the requested change. Changes based on clerical or procedural error will not be made more than one year after the grade is issued.

To request a grade change, faculty must complete a paper-based Academic Record Change Request form. The Law School Registrar’s Office or your Faculty Assistant can provide a copy of the form.

If a student believes that a grade should be changed based on a grievance covered by Appendix II of the Manual of the Irvine Division of the Academic Senate (Grade Appeals) (https://senate.uci.edu/uci-academic-senate-manual/part-iii-appendices/#appendixII), the student should first attempt to resolve the matter informally with the instructor. The Manual provides: “Grounds for grievance are application of non-academic criteria and/or improper academic procedures that unfairly affect a student’s grade.” Either the student or the instructor may ask the Dean or the Dean’s designee to help facilitate informal resolution of the matter. If the matter is not resolved informally, the student may follow the formal procedures in Appendix II of the Manual.

The Faculty Award is the highest course award; the Dean’s Award is the second highest award. Awards are required for all first year courses. Faculty have discretion to make awards in upper-level courses. In the case of like scores, duplicates of either award are acceptable, for a combined total of three awards. The Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Trilby Robinson-Dorn, may request that the instructor reduce the number of duplicate awards if a disproportionate percentage of the class receives awards, or if 3 or more students tie for an award. Awards appear on the student’s transcript.

Students complete on-line course evaluations in each class taught at the Law School, usually during the last two weeks of instruction. Your Faculty Assistant will send an email to you regarding your date of preference for the evaluation and explain the process to you. Faculty receive tabulated results and a summary of comments for each of their classes after all grades post. Faculty and students can view all Law course evaluations and grade distributions online in a password-protected site.