Student Status

Student Status

How to maintain good standing.

Attend class

The American Bar Association requires students to attend class regularly and punctually. Many of your professors will have specific attendance requirements (e.g., a maximum of only 3 absences is permitted). Students who are identified as having missed an excessive number of classes may be withdrawn from the class or the course grade may be adjusted if attendance is a factor in determining the final grade.

If you find you must be absent from your courses for an extended period of time, contact the Associate Dean for Administration who, in turn, will contact your professors.

Conduct yourself professionally

It's your obligation to conduct yourself in a manner commensurate with the educational purposes of our school. You are required to adhere to the Code of Student Conduct as well as any Law School specific policy. Infractions can result in disciplinary action by the Law School, the University or both.

Follow the Honor Code

The Honor System at William & Mary Law School is one of the oldest in higher education. It exists to provide a living and learning environment that reflects the values of the Law School community, including those of academic integrity, personal integrity, and personal and professional responsibility. Our students do believe in and cherish this system.

Be a full-time student

 We are a full-time law program and you must successfully complete between 10 and 17 credit hours each term.

Limit work outside the study of law

We recognize that it may be necessary to have a steady or extra income while a student. However, the number of hours you may work is limited by the American Bar Association. The ABA mandates that full-time students devote "substantially all working hours to the study of law." We interpret this rule as a limit of 15 hours per week. In exceptional circumstances, the Associate Dean for Administration may grant permission to work up to but no more than 20 hours per week.

Terms and Definitions

Full-time: requirements for full-time study

To be eligible to continue, maintain a 2.0 grade point average at the end of each term following the completion of the first year of study. Achieve at least a 1.8 cumulative grade point average at the conclusion of the first year of study.

Petition to Continue

A student who is dismissed for academic deficiency also may petition the Academic Advisory Committee for reinstatement. The Committee, in its discretion, may grant such a petition for good cause shown and may impose such conditions as it deems appropriate in approving the reinstatement.

Earn

Earn means that the student is properly registered for the required number of academic credit hours and that the student has received a grade, including a failing grade. Credit hours are not counted when a student withdraws from a course prior to its completion. Academic year means the period beginning with the summer session and ending with the next succeeding spring term.

Eligible to continue

Eligible to continue in residence is determined by grade point average. A student who has not achieved a cumulative average of at least 2.0 at the end of their first term, will be placed on academic probation. Regardless of whether the student has been placed on probation, a student who earns less than a 1.8 cumulative average at the conclusion of the first year will be dismissed for academic deficiency.

In order to continue in residence a student must in the second and third years maintain a cumulative average for all work, in each semester as well as at the end of the academic year, of at least 2.0. A student who fails to qualify for a degree solely by reason of failing to maintain a 2.0 average in work undertaken during the third year may be permitted to continue in the Law School for an additional session. If, after the completion of the additional session, the student's average for that session combined with the average for the third academic year is 2.0 or higher, the student will be granted the degree. 

Completion

Completion of each class year is determined by credits earned.

First-year students = 0 - 28 credit hours earned

Second-year students = 29 - 49 credit hours earned

Third-year students = 50 -- 85 credit hours earned

Graduates have earned 86 or more credit hours

Students who fail to complete degree requirements within the stated time period may petition the Academic Advisory Committee for permission to continue. Their ruling may include specific terms and conditions for degree completion. The Dean must approve the petition and the terms or conditions imposed by the Committee.

These regulations apply to all degree candidates. Exceptions are granted only when approved in advance by first the Academic Advisory Committee and then the Dean.