There shall be anonymous grading of all examinations (in-class, take- home, or self-scheduled examinations.) Anonymous grading is not required for evaluations such as grades for papers and student performances where knowledge of the student is inevitable and desirable.
The grading system is comprised of the following grades: A+ (4.3), A (4.), A- (3.7), B+ (3.3), B (3.0), B- (2.7), C+ (2.3), C (2.0), C- (1.7), D (1.0), F (0).
LL.M. students must be graded using the same standards the law school uses in grading course work of students enrolled in the J.D. degree program.
There is no required median for LL.M. students enrolled in LL.M. only classes.
LL.M. students enrolled in the same courses as JD students will have grades assigned and distributed among the JD grades. However, the required median and required grading distribution for JD students will only apply to the JD students enrolled in the course and will not be affected by the LL.M. students enrolled.
LL.M. students may be awarded a Faculty or Dean’s award without affecting the award requirement for JD students enrolled in the course.
Any requests for exceptions to any of the requirements in Section VII. shall be made directly to the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. There is a strong presumption against such requests being granted.
Participation points may be awarded by instructors, but they must be handled in a manner that does not compromise anonymous grading.
Upper-Level Year-Long Courses:
The instructor must designate whether students enrolled in his or her year-long upper-level course will receive a grade at the endof each semester or will receive one final grade for the entire course at the end of a year. The designation shall be posted in the course catalogue and in the course syllabus.
In year-long courses with one final grade, students shall receive a grade of “In Progress” (“IP”) for the fall semester. The fall In-Progress grade will be replaced by the grade awarded in the spring semester for the entire course. IP grades shall comply with the required median and grade distribution listed in VII. D, except that IP grades need not conformto the required distribution for the grade of A+.
Faculty may issue letters for year-long courses after grades post to transcripts indicating the student’s level of performance at the mid-course point. The instructor will notify the Law School Registrar of the intent to issue letters on or before grades are posted; the letters will be generated by the Law School Registrar or the faculty member. In-progress letters will be available until final grades for the course are posted to transcripts at the endof the academic year.
LL.M. students may take up to 3 self-selected units of Law School upper-level courses on a Credit/No-Credit (i.e., satisfactory [S]/unsatisfactory [U]) basis. Students must register to take a course Credit/No-Credit by the end of the second week of classes in a semester. Changes after that may be approved in writing for good cause by the Assistant Dean for Student Services.
In order to receive credit for a course taken Credit/No Credit, a student must obtain a minimum grade of C- (1.7).
An instructor may designate that his or her course is not available on a Credit/No-Credit basis. This means that students may not elect to take such a course for Credit/No-Credit.
An instructor may designate a course as being entirely a Credit/No- Credit course. All students in such a course will receive Credit/No-Credit rather than grades. These units will not be counted as a portion of the 3 self-selected Credit/No-Credit units available to students.
A student must take a course on a CR/NC basis if:
a) The instructor is a non-full time member of the university’s faculty; and
b) The instructor currently employs or has made an offer of employment to the student; and
c) The student is enrolled in a non-anonymously graded course. A non-anonymously graded course is one in which 60% or more of the grade is based on non- anonymously graded assignments.
d) These units will not count toward the maximum 3 self- selected CR/NC units a student may take.
The instructor must assign a letter grade to all J.D. and LL.M. students and count all J.D. students’ scores toward the median, regardless of whether any students are taking the class Credit/No-Credit. For those students who opted for Credit/No-Credit, the Law School Registrar will enter the appropriate notation on the transcript.
Grades of Incomplete shall count toward class size for the purposes of required median and grade distribution. A student who receives a grade of Incomplete is not eligible to receive a Faculty Award or Dean’s Award for the course.
Except as otherwise provided in this Rule, all grades other than Incomplete are final when filed by an instructor. No change of grade may be made on the basis of reassessment of the quality of a student’s work. The only grounds for a change of grade are clerical error, procedural error, application of non- academic criteria, or improper academic procedures, as explained below.
It is the responsibility of each student to monitor her/his academic records after each grading cycle. If a student believes that a final grade should be changed due to a clerical or procedural error, the student shall notify the instructor in writing within 60 days after the grade is issued, stating the reasons for the requested change. The Registrar is authorized to change the grade upon written request of the instructor, provided a clerical or procedural error is the reason for the change. Changes based on a clerical or procedural error will not be made more than one year after the grade is issued.
If a student believes that a grade should be changed based on a grievance covered byAppendix 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.
A student’s grade point average will be based only on courses taken at the University of California, Irvine School of Law. In other words, courses taken at other law schools or in other parts of the University of California, Irvine (with the exception of courses (a) taught by University faculty with a joint appointment in the Law School and (b) listed in the Law School catalogue), shall not be included in a student’s grade point average at the School of Law.
Classes that LL.M. students take at UCI outside of the School of Law will be listed on the student’s transcript, but will not be included in the LL.M. student’s law school grade point averageat the School of Law. An upper-division course originating in another school or department of the University shall be included in the LL.M. student’s law school grade point average at the School of Law only if (a) the course is taught byUniversity faculty with a joint appointment in the Law School and (b) the course is listed in the Law School catalogue.
If a student receives an F or a No Credit in a required course at the School of Law, the student must retake the course the next time it is offered and receive a grade higher than an F or a No Credit in order for the requirement to be satisfied. Both the original failing grade or No Credit and the grade or Credit/No Credit in the re- taken course will appear on the transcript. Each grade will be calculated separately into the cumulative GPA.
If a student receives an F in any course other than a required course at the School of Law, the student may retake the course. Both the original failing grade and the grade in the re-taken course will appear on the transcript. Each grade will be calculated separately into the cumulative GPA.
For Standard-Term Courses
Professors must submit grades no later than four weeks from the date of the last day of the exam period. Professors must remain available after submission of grades until it is verified that the grades meet the requirements of these rules (such as the required median). The Registrar may set an earlier date by which professors must provide information as to any students who will not be receiving a passing grade in a course, is a visitor from another law school, or is graduating from UCI School of Law at the end of the current term.
For Short-Session Courses:
a) Professors must submit grades no later than four weeks from the due date of the last class assessment. Professors must remain available after submission of grades until it is verified that the grades meet the requirements of these rules (such as the required median). The Registrar may set an earlier date by which professors must provide information as to any students who will not be receiving a passing grade in a course, is a visitor from another law school, or is graduating from UCI School of Law at the end of the current term.
b) Students will be notified by letter of their Short- Session Course grade after the instructor electronically submits the course grades to the Law School Registrar. The letter may be generated by either the Law School Registrar or the faculty member.
c) Grades for Short-Session Courses post to transcript at the same time all Spring Standard-Term grades postto transcript.
Information about grade distributions will be made available to students on-line for all law school classes with enrollments of 10 or more students. Distributions for courses offered solely for Credit/No Credit will not be listed.
Grade distributions will be available on-line for three years after the course is taught.
It is a violation of the Law School Honor Code to copy, download, or distribute the grade distribution information in any way (see Appendix 2.A.).
Student evaluations of all courses taught will be available to the students, except for those of entry-level faculty in their first year of law teaching.
Student evaluations will be available on-line for three years after the course is taught for all full-time faculty, and for lecturers and adjuncts who teach each academic year.
It is a violation of the Law School Honor Code to copy, download, or distribute the evaluation material in any way (see Appendix 2.A.).
All LL.M. and Grad Tax students are expected to comply with UCI Law’s laptop policy.
