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(Revised through December 29, 2022)

Table of Contents

The College of Law may also report the following Score Codes on students’ official transcripts: 

Code	Meaning
S	Satisfactory Work
U	Unsatisfactory Work
I	Incomplete
AF	Administrative Failure
AU	Administrative Unsatisfactory
AD	Administrative Disenrollment (no credit)
WD	Withdrawal from Course by Permission of the College of Law
W	Withdrawn from the College or University

 

B.    Grade Point Average

A LL.M’s student’s grade point average is determined as follows:

1. the total number of grade points earned by the student, as calculated by multiplying
   1. (a) the number of credits for each class for which a grade is assigned on the student’s transcript with (b) the number of points associated with that grade;
2. divided by the number of graded credits reported on the student’s transcript.

The result is rounded to the nearest hundredth. Score Codes do not count as graded credits toward the computation of GPA, except that each AF score is included as a grade with zero points in the computation of GPA.

C.    Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) Graded Courses

For ungraded courses, instructors or supervisors will award either an “S” for satisfactory performance or a “U” for unsatisfactory performance. Such courses will count towards the 24 overall credit hours requirement for earning the LL.M. degree, but not towards the 18 graded credit hours requirement.   

D.    Incomplete Grades 

With the prior approval of the Associate Dean for Business Law Programs, an instructor may assign an interim score code of Incomplete (I) in exceptional circumstances when a student who has completed a substantial portion of the course and who is otherwise passing is unable to complete a well-defined portion of the course for reasons beyond the student’s control.

All incomplete coursework must be completed by the end of the next academic semester (including the summer semester).

An Incomplete grade not otherwise changed will become an F or U based on grading schema for the course.

E.    Grade Appeal System

i.    Grounds for a Grade Appeal

The grade appeals system affords an opportunity for a student to appeal a final grade considered inequitably awarded because it involved a gross violation of the instructor's own specified standards. The system is not a basis for appeal of the instructor's grading standards, nor does it cover situations in which the judgment of the instructor is questioned as to a borderline grade decision.

ii.    Procedure for a Grade Appeal

To appeal a final grade that the student believes was inequitably awarded on the basis of the instructor’s own specified grading standards, a student must:

Step 1:

Contact the instructor to discuss the grade and attempt to resolve any differences. A student unable to resolve the student’s differences with the instructor, or a student not in residence for the succeeding term, must file a written appeal with the Dean or the Dean’s designee within sixty (60) calendar days following the assignment of the disputed grade. The student may file the written appeal before finally determining that differences with the instructor cannot be resolved. The appeal should contain the facts and circumstances on which the student's claim is based. The student must furnish a copy of the appeal to the instructor.

Step 2:

A student who is still dissatisfied may then request an appearance before a board composed of three students appointed by the Dean or the Dean’s designee (hereinafter the “student board”). This student board acts as a screening body only. It determines only whether the appeal satisfies the standard described above by a preponderance of the evidence. The decision shall be determined by majority vote, with any abstention counting as a vote that the appeal lacks merit. In its discretion, the student board is empowered to solicit evidence and testimony from the appealing student and any other person or entity. A negative decision by the student board will end the appeal. A favorable decision will be referred to a Step 3 committee.

Step 3:

A committee of three faculty members and two students appointed by the Dean or the Dean’s designee (hereinafter “the committee”) will review a favorable decision reached by the student board. The students appointed to the committee shall not include any student who served on the Step 2 student board. The committee shall conduct a de novo review of the appeal and conclude whether the appeal satisfies the standard described above by a preponderance of the evidence. In its discretion, the committee is empowered to solicit evidence and testimony from the appealing student and any other person or entity. A majority decision by the committee is final. 

iii.    Administration

Students appointed to the student board and the committee will be appointed from nominees selected by the SBA President or the President's designee.

The Dean or the Dean’s designee will appoint a chairperson of both the student board and the committee. The Dean's office will furnish notice to the appealing student and to the instructor of the appointment of a grade appeal board or committee.

The chairperson will select a meeting time and place and furnish notice to both the appealing student and the instructor. Both parties have the right to appear at any step and be heard and to submit any materials for consideration of the student board and/or committee that they deem appropriate. A student board or committee may determine its own procedures, except as otherwise prescribed herein. Copies of material(s) furnished to a student board or committee by the appealing student, the instructor, or any party or individual should, whenever practical, be furnished to the other party. The Dean's office will provide staff assistance as needed to the Step 2 student board and Step 3 committee.

At the conclusion of each step, the student board or committee shall furnish a written report of its decision to the Dean and to the parties.

In the case of a successful appeal at the Step 3 committee stage, the grade may be changed by the joint agreement of the student and the instructor, except that if the newly agreed upon grade will cause the grades for the class to deviate from the curve or the profile, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs must approve the agreement. In case of their failure to agree in the context of a successful appeal, the appealing student may elect to keep his or her grade or to have the grade changed to Satisfactory (S). Hours of S resulting from a grade appeal are credited towards the hours required for graduation, but not towards the graded hours required, even if the course was initially a graded course.

 

3.    Course Withdrawal

A student who in a term is enrolled in more than one course may (after the end of the drop/add period for that term) for good cause and with the approval of the Associate Dean for Business Law Programs be permitted to withdraw from one or more courses, provided that the student remains enrolled in at least one course during that semester.

 

4.    Withdrawal From College/University

A student may voluntarily withdraw from the College of Law and the University at any time in accordance with the following procedures:

To withdraw from the College, a student must notify the Dean or the Dean’s designee of the student’s intention to withdraw and may, if the student so desires, discuss the reasons for the student’s withdrawal.

To withdraw from the University, a student must comply with all University requirements for withdrawal.

A student who withdraws from the College and the University without complying with all applicable University requirements may receive a final grade of Administrative Failure (AF) or Administrative Unsatisfactory (AU) in all courses for which the student is enrolled at the time.

A student who does not enroll in at least one course for two consecutive semesters (including the summer semester) will have to reapply for admissions.

 

5.    Retention and Dismissal Policies

Pursuant to Section 13 - Retention and Dismissal Policies – of the College of Bylaws, academic dismissal from the online LL.M. program is governed by this Section.

A.    Academic Dismissal

i.    Criteria

An LL.M. student will be administratively dismissed from the College of Law automatically and without further notice if:

(a) the student fails, at any point after the completion of six (6) credit hours in the LL.M. Program, to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.25 or better;

or

(b) the student receives a total of 9 or more credit hours of F or AF, provided that none of the grades are awarded in the student’s final semester of the LL.M. Program in one or more courses that are not needed to meet the student’s graduation requirements.

ii.    Notification

An academically dismissed student will be sent notification of the student’s dismissal by the Dean or the Dean’s designee promptly upon determination, but the failure promptly to notify the student or the student’s failure to receive the notification will not affect the dismissal.

iii.    Effective Date

The College of Law has no probationary period for academically dismissed students, and a student’s academic dismissal is effective immediately upon the student’s notification of the dismissal. An academic dismissal relates back to the end of the semester in which the student was academically dismissed, and an academically dismissed student has no right to complete a semester in which the student is enrolled at the time of the student’s notification of the dismissal.

iv.    No Right to Return

An academically dismissed student has no right to return to the College of Law and must apply for readmission if the student wishes to return.

B.    Readmission

An LL.M. student (i) who has been academically dismissed from the College of Law; (ii) who voluntarily withdrew in good standing from the College of Law and University; or (iii) who while in good standing failed for two or more consecutive semesters (including the summer semester) to enroll in classes in the LL.M. program, must apply for readmission to the College of Law as follows:

v.    Readmission of an Academically Dismissed Student is Not a Matter of Right

Readmission of an academically dismissed LL.M. student is not a matter of right. The discretionary authority to readmit or not to readmit is delegated by the faculty of the College of Law to the Associate Dean of Business Law Programs.

vi.    Procedure

An academically dismissed LL.M. student should seek readmission through the regular LL.M. admissions process.

vii.    Conditions Imposed on Readmission

The LL.M. program may impose reasonable conditions on the readmission of academically dismissed LL.M. students. Without limitation, these conditions may deal with alterations of the definition of academic dismissal as it is to apply to the readmitted student; with whether or not the student will be permitted to enroll in S/U courses and, if so, under what circumstances; with any required remedial work (including the retaking of previous courses) that might be warranted in the case; and with the academic cumulative grade point average that must be maintained.

viii.    Only One Readmission.

A second academic dismissal of a student is final.

 

6.    Academic Support

LL.M. students shall be placed in the academic support program if their GPA is below 2.5 at the end of any semester.

Academic support is not a form of probation, and a student subject to oversight is considered in good standing.

The Dean for Business Law Programs or designee shall set the rules and format of the Academic Support program.

 

7.    Student Conduct Code

The College of Law’s Student Conduct Code in this section governs the academic conduct of students at the Florida State University College of Law. All other conduct of students at the College of Law is governed by the Florida State University’s Student Conduct Code, which is promulgated by the University’s Department of Student Conduct and Community Standards and is available at https://sccs.fsu.edu/conduct-codes/student-conduct-codes.

A.    Definitions and Violations

This Code prohibits:

i.    Securing or Providing an Unfair Advantage

Securing an unfair advantage includes, but is not limited to, failing to follow instructions provided by a professor or the College in relation to enrollment in courses, a class assignment, or an examination. It also includes cheating. Cheating includes, but is not limited to, receiving or giving unauthorized aid or assistance in the completion of an examination or of any other work used in evaluating a student's performance, using unauthorized materials, and exceeding a stated time limit.

ii.    Plagiarism

Plagiarism is representing the work of another as the student's own. Students are expected to know and employ accepted conventions of citations and attribution. Failure to indicate quoted or paraphrased sources constitutes plagiarism. More specific definitions of plagiarism for particular courses or in particular contexts may be supplied by a course instructor, editor, or faculty employer of a student. A student should request clarification in case of doubt. Any student charged under this section may prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the misrepresentation of work resulted from mistake or inadvertence as a complete defense.

iii.    Library Offenses

Library offenses are sequestering, hiding, or mutilating library materials or using library materials in a manner that violates official library rules on manner of length of use.

iv.    Disruption

Disruption is disturbance of or interference with the scholarly pursuit of the College. It includes, but is not limited to, interference with the conduct of an examination, defiance of rulings or instructions issued by an instructor or proctor in the course of an examination, and defacing or destroying class notes, drafts, or any other scholarly or administrative work product of faculty, other students, or other users of College facilities.

v.    Fraud

Fraud is material falsification of documents or any other form of deceit or misrepresentation committed in regard to the administrative or academic processes of the College of Law.

vi.    Other Serious Misconduct

Other serious misconduct involves intentional and serious offenses involving acts for which criminal or other punitive sanctions are provided by federal, state, or local law, or ordinance, that directly relate to a student’s fitness to continue as a student at the College.

B.    Procedures

i.    Initiation of Code Violation Investigation

Students, faculty, and staff of the College are expected to inform the Dean of any facts constituting cause to believe a code violation has been committed or will be committed. Failure to report such information, however, is not a violation of this code.

Information reported under this section may be communicated in confidence to the Dean as long as the mode of communication is not subject to open-records laws. The Dean will not disclose such reports until the Dean determines that probable cause of a code violation exists, unless required by law to do so.

ii.    Investigation

The Dean shall appoint a faculty member to serve as investigator upon determining that the reported facts constitute probable cause to believe a violation of this code has occurred. The investigator should not be either an accuser or anticipated witness in the matter.

The investigator shall notify the accused of the allegations, the investigation, and the accuser.

The investigator may interview persons believed to have knowledge of the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violation, as the investigator deems appropriate, to determine whether to proceed to a hearing on the matter.

The investigator may review all documents and materials that the investigator deems appropriate to determine whether to proceed to a hearing on the matter.

The investigator may interview the accused if considered appropriate and if the accused agrees, provided that the accused may terminate the interview at any time.

iii.    Report of Findings and Recommendations

A recommendation to proceed to a hearing shall be supported by a finding, based on a preponderance of the evidence, that the accused engaged in the Code violation alleged. Such recommendation to proceed shall be stated in a complaint. If the investigator concludes by a preponderance of the evidence that no such Code violation occurred, the investigator shall recommend that the matter be terminated. In either case, a recommendation shall be supported by documentation as to the findings.

iv.    Dean's Review of Recommendation

The Dean shall review the investigator's findings and recommendations. The Dean may accept or reject recommendations in whole or in part, and may adopt or revise a proposed complaint. The Dean may also initiate a complaint although the investigator has recommended a termination of proceedings, but the Dean must provide a statement of reasons and documentation explaining the decision to proceed.

v.    Proceedings after Dean's Review

After review, the Dean shall advise the accused in writing of a decision to terminate proceedings or to proceed to a hearing based on a complaint. A decision to terminate is final and concludes the matter. A decision to proceed shall be accompanied by copies of the complaint, the investigator's findings and recommendations, and the documentation supporting them. The accused shall also be provided with a copy of this Code.

Unless the accused admits guilt in writing within fifteen (15) school days after receiving notice of a decision to proceed to a hearing, the Dean shall appoint a panel to hear the case. The accused, upon admission of guilt, may also demand a hearing for the sole purpose of presenting matters in mitigation.

Every hearing panel shall consist of three permanent faculty members and two students, all of the College of Law. The chair shall be designated by the Dean from among the three appointed faculty members.

Notice of appointment shall be given to panel members and to the accused, with the notice designating the chair. The chair shall make arrangements for meetings, the attendance of witnesses, the reproduction of necessary documents, and the recording of proceedings.

Unless the Dean directs otherwise, the investigator shall present the case against the accused. The investigator shall also present evidence of which the investigator is aware tending to exonerate the accused. However, no accuser or potential witness may present the case.

vi.    Hearings

Hearings shall be scheduled at the convenience of all participants, and upon notice to the accused. Unless the accused consents, the first hearing shall not be scheduled within ten (10) school days of the appointment of the panel.

Hearings shall not be governed by formal rules of evidence. An accused is entitled to present evidence in person, or through an attorney, or both. Paid counsel must be supplied by the accused. An accused is entitled to present witnesses and documentary evidence, to cross-examine any witnesses, and to inspect and inquire concerning any evidence. Upon request, the chair shall make every reasonable effort to secure the presence of witnesses or documentary evidence for the accused.

In exercising any of the procedural rights, an accused may address both innocence and matters in mitigation.

vii.    Panel Procedure after Hearings

After a final hearing, the panel shall meet in closed session upon call of the chair to discuss and consider the case, to determine guilt or innocence, and to consider sanctions upon determination or admission of guilt. One or more sessions may be held.

The standard of proof for the panel’s finding is clear and convincing evidence. Findings of fact shall be based exclusively on evidence of record.

A vote determining guilt and a vote as to any sanction requires the concurrence of at least four members.

The panel shall submit to the Dean a written summary of its factual findings, its findings of guilt or innocence, and its recommendations as to sanctions. The panel may also recommend terms for suspension of any sanctions. This summary should be made within five (5) school days of the final hearing. The Dean shall make available to the accused a copy of the panel's factual findings, findings of guilt or innocence, and recommendations as to any sanctions, and shall allow the accused at least ten (10) calendar days in which to submit written exceptions thereto. When a case involves more than one accused student, the panel shall specify its factual findings, its findings of guilt or innocence, and its recommendations as to each accused student.

viii.    Sanctions

A student convicted of a violation of this code is subject to one or more of these sanctions:

• expulsion from the College of Law;
• suspension from the College of Law for a specified period of time;
• loss of privileges to participate in any non-required course, program, or activity of the College of Law;
• replacement, repair, or restitution for damaged, destroyed, or stolen property;
• written reprimand to be included in the student's permanent record;
• oral reprimand;
• disclosure by the Dean to the College of Law;
• reduction in course grade;
• any other sanction deemed appropriate by the Dean or the Dean’s designee.

ix.    Imposition of Sanctions

A panel finding of innocence as to any charge terminates the proceedings, upon delivery of the within report to the Dean. A panel recommendation that no sanctions be imposed upon finding of guilt as to any charge terminates the procedure as to sanctions.

The Dean shall review all findings as to guilt and mitigating matters, and all recommendations to impose sanctions. Rejection by the Dean of a finding of guilt terminates the proceedings. If the Dean endorses the finding of guilt, the Dean shall consider the panel’s recommendations as to sanctions and determine which, if any, sanctions to impose.

Upon being informed of sanctions proposed by the Dean, the student may request a faculty review provided five faculty members join in the request. If faculty review is requested, the faculty by majority vote may reduce or suspend the proposed sanctions in whole or in part. Faculty review must be requested in writing within five (5) school days after a student is informed of proposed sanctions. The Dean shall impose those sanctions not reduced or suspended as a result of the faculty review.

x.    Informal Resolution by the Dean

Notwithstanding the above procedures, the Dean may settle any instance of an alleged code violation at any time, with the assent of the accused student.

xi.    Action Taken by Dean's Designee

Whenever this code specifies that any action is to be taken by the Dean it may be performed by the Dean’s designee, except that only the Dean or an Acting Dean designated by the University may perform the duties related to the imposition of sanctions that are specified above at Section 9(B)(ix).

xii.    Timeliness

All actions prescribed or authorized by this code shall be accomplished as expeditiously as possible, except where the code provides otherwise or where prejudice to an accused or convicted student would result.

 

8.    Admission Requirements

For rules, policies and procedures pertaining to applications for admission to the LL.M. program, as well as the standards by which such applications will be considered, please refer to the Admissions Rules at Pt. II, § 6 of the FSU College of Law Bylaws.

 

9. Amendment Process

The College of Law faculty may amend these rules by majority vote. The Curriculum Committee may amend these rules (except this section) by unanimous vote and notice to the faculty.