IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law
Policies & Procedures
Campus Policies
Attendance
Regular and punctual class attendance, class preparation, and participation are expected of all students. The professor will usually advise students early in the semester of the attendance and punctuality requirements and will usually issue a warning if a student is having excessive absences or is excessively late in attending class. The professor will also advise students early in the semester if attendance, tardiness or class participation affects the student's grade in the course. The general law school attendance policy provides that a student who is absent from more than 10 percent of classes or class meetings in any course may be dropped from the course at the discretion of the instructor. A student who is dropped for non-attendance in one of the required Basic Level Courses (I.C.1.) will receive a grade of F unless a grade of W is authorized upon petition to the law school's Student Affairs Committee.
Dean's List
Students who are enrolled in at least 8 hours of graded course work during a fall or spring semester, and who earn a grade point average of at least 3.5 in at least 8 hours of graded course work, are placed on the Dean's List, which acknowledges their superior academic performance. The Dean’s List is not posted for summer classes.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting accommodations because of a disability must meet with the Office of Adaptive Educational Services (AES) to request the accommodation. Reasonable accommodations will be made available for students who are registered with the IUPUI Office of Adaptive Educational Services.
Academic Probation
Statement of Policy: In accordance with the American Bar Association Standard 303, Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law has sound academic standards, including clearly defined standards for good standing and graduation. The law school shall monitor students’ academic progress and achievement from the beginning of and periodically throughout their studies. Furthermore, the law school shall not continue the enrollment of a student whose inability to do satisfactory work is sufficiently manifest that the student’s continuation in school would inculcate false hopes, constitute economic exploitation, or detrimentally affect the education of other students. Students whose cumulative GPA at the end of their first two semesters or any subsequent session is less than 2.30 but more than 2.00 shall be placed on academic probation. "Standards for Academic Probation and Dismissal," available at this web link https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/students/_docs/handbook/AcademicProbationDismissalPolicy.pdf.
Academic Dismissal
A student on academic probation who does not fulfill the conditions set by the Academic Probation Subcommittee may, after written notice and reasonable opportunity to respond, be dismissed, required to withdraw, or required to take a leave of absence, at the discretion of the Academic Probation Subcommittee. A student on academic probation who fails to maintain session GPAs of 2.30 or does not raise cumulative GPA to at least 2.30 in the session within which the student reaches 20 credit hours on academic probation shall be dismissed. The Assistant Dean shall give written notice of dismissal to the student. A student who achieves a 2.30 cumulative GPA at the end of the probation period has successfully completed academic probation.
Grade Replacement
Incomplete Grade Process
Post Auto W
Residency Requirement for Degree Purposes (Criteria for Approving the Transfer of Credit Hours from a JD Program)
Prior to registration, a student admitted with advanced standing must consult with the law school’s Assistant Dean for Student Affairs regarding credits to be transferred. Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law accepts transfer credits earned at an ABA-approved law school or a non-ABA-approved law school pursuant to ABA standard 505. The number of credits transferred depends on the quality of the student’s academic record and the relationship of the coursework to the program at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. A maximum of 30 hours of course credit may be transferred. Within the transfer credit maximum, no more than 6 of the 30 credits may be earned from non- Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law foreign study abroad programs. (See Section J-(4) of the Student Handbook “Limits on Credits Earned in Programs Abroad” for more details.). Grades from transferred course credit will not be used to compute the student’s cumulative grade point average at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Only courses in which the student received a grade of “C” or above are eligible for transfer. Courses taken on a pass/fail basis generally will not transfer. However, if the applicant can show that the pass/fail course is equivalent to a “C” or above, credit will be considered. If credit is not given and the courses are required for graduation, the courses must be re-taken at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. The student must maintain a grade point average of at least 2.3 or be subject to academic probation or dismissal. For more information on the Academic Probation and Dismissal Policy, visit: https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/students/_docs/handbook/AcademicProbationDismissalPolicy.pdf
Once an official transcript has been evaluated by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, the courses which have been accepted for transfer along with the number of hours for each are listed on an Audit Sheet for Transfer of Credit Courses. Note that only credits, not grades, transfer. The maximum number which may transfer to this school is 30 credit hours. If a student has deficiency of more than one (1) credit hour in a required course, that deficiency is noted on the audit sheet along with courses which may be taken to satisfy that requirement. Unless otherwise noted, any deficiency of more than one (1) credit hour may be satisfied by taking any course(s) listed on the audit sheet as satisfying that deficiency, so long as the credit hours for the course(s) equal or exceed the credit hours of deficiency. Only in extraordinary circumstance will the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs waive more than a one (1) credit deficiency. This waiver shall not reduce the total credit hours required for graduation.
Graduation Requirements
Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) Degree Requirements
To be eligible for the J.D. degree, students must meet all of the following requirements within 84 months of matriculation.
Complete 90 credit hours of course work, which must include the following required courses.
*Courses must be completed in the first year by full-time students and in the first two years by part-time students.
**Legal Research is required for students who have not completed LCA III prior to the fall 2010 semester and all students matriculating during or after the fall 2010 semester. For all JD students entering law school Fall 2016 and after, the course is to be completed in the fall and spring semesters of the first year for full-time and part-time students.
Students matriculating beginning in 2017 must also complete at least eight of the following nine courses. Each of these courses covers topics on the Indiana Bar Examination.
- Administrative Law (DN 647) 3
- Closely Held Business Organizations (DN 645) 3
- Criminal Procedure: Investigations (DN 702) 3
- Employment Law (DN 672) 3
- Family Law (DN 610) 3
- Income Tax (DN 648) 4
- Indiana Constitutional Law (formerly State Constitutional Law) 2
- Secured Transactions (DN 618) 2-3
- Trusts and Estates (DN 722) 3-4
Students who have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or greater after completing 30 credits of law school may omit two or more of the italicized courses above.
Students pursuing joint degrees may omit two or more of the italicized courses, with the written approval of their law school program advisors. Students that represent to the Office of Student Affairs that they do not intend to sit for the Indiana Bar Examination may omit State Constitutional Law, and would thus be required to take seven out of the eight remaining courses above. All students, however, are reminded that successful practice of law and legal problem-solving require an attorney to have knowledge of a variety of areas of the law and other disciplines, regardless of the nature of the attorney’s practice. In addition, preparation for a career in law should acknowledge that the practice will continually require a lawyer to respond to novel problems, emerging social and cultural issues, and new developments in the law itself. To prepare graduates to meet these challenges, the law school highly recommends that every J.D. student take the upper division courses listed above.
Doctor of Juridical Science (S.J.D.) Degree Requirements
SJD candidates who have successfully defended and submitted their final dissertation shall be entitled to participate at the next subsequent commencement proceedings of the Law School and take part in a hooding ceremony at that event. Successful graduates will receive their diplomas as soon as practicable after the commencement proceedings.
Master of Laws (LL.M.) Degree Requirements
All students admitted to the LL.M. Program must complete 24 credit hours with the minimum GPA for their LL.M. track (see 3.3 above). All students enrolled in the LL.M. Program who have not completed a J.D. or LL.M. degree at an ABA-accredited law school must complete the following courses: Introduction to the American Legal System (2 cr.), Contract Law for LL.M. Students (2 cr.) or Tort Law for LL.M. Students (2 cr.), LL.M. Legal Writing and Analysis I (1 cr.), and Legal Research for LL.M. Students (1 cr.), for a total of 4 required credits.
Master of Jurisprudence (M.J.) Degree Requirements
“Credit hour” means law school work for which one hour of credit toward graduation is assigned and includes work that is graded on a Satisfactory/Fail (S/F) basis. Satisfactory (S) credit hours count toward the thirty credit hours required for graduation, but credit hours of F do not.
Additional Resources
Please refer to http://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/students/student-handbook/ for additional Robert H. McKinney School of Law student policies.
Last updated: June, 2019
