I.    Academic Rules, Policies, and Procedures Bylaws

(Revised 9/7/2021)

Section 1     Degrees Awarded by the College of Law

The College currently confers the following degrees upon qualifying students:  the Juis Doctor (J.D.) degree, the Juris Masters (J.M.) degree, and several specialized Masters in Law (LL.M.) degrees. 

Section 2     Curriculum Committee

2.1   The Dean of the College shall appoint, at regular intervals, a group of at least five tenured or tenure-track faculty members to serve as a Curriculum Committee. The Dean shall appoint the Chair.  A majority of the Committee’s voting members shall constitute a quorum. The Dean may also appoint one or more members to the committee in an ex officio capacity.  Such members shall be included within the committee’s internal deliberations, but they shall not vote on any matters that require the Committee’s approval.

2.2   The Committee shall comply with all rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Education, the University, and the College. In addition, the Committee shall observe all Standards and Interpretations for Approval of Law Schools of the American Bar Association, as well as the Bylaws and Executive Committee Regulations of the Association of American Law Schools.

Section 3     Curricular Rules, Policies, and Procedures

3.1   The Curriculum Committee must approve any new course or change in the number of academic credits offered by a course, before students can receive credit for completing it.  

3.2    In addition, this Committee may promulgate binding rules, policies, and procedures governing the following matters:

• The requirements that students must fulfill in order to receive the degrees listed above.
• Course attendance requirements for enrolled students
• Limitations on outside employment by currently enrolled students
• Grading policies, including rules governing the appeal of grades, the determination and reporting of class rank, and the criteria for inclusion in the Dean’s List
• Examination policies, including requirements for blind grading of exams
• Rules governing the awarding of course credit for Directed Individual Study under the supervision of a faculty member
• Clinical education offerings 
• Co-curricular programs, and the conditions under which course credit may be awarded for participation in such programs
• Study abroad programs
• Courses taken outside the College of Law, and the conditions under which students taking such classes may be awarded credit towards their graduation requirements
• Registration for courses and withdrawal from courses
• Withdrawal from the College and readmission to the College
• Academic oversight of struggling students, dismissal of chronically underperforming students, and the conditions under which students dismissed for underperformance may be readmitted to the College
• Specialized Certificate Programs, including the requirements that J.D. students must satisfy to earn such certificates at the time of their graduation
• Joint Degree programs
• Rules designating who may qualify as a “Special Student,” with the ability to take College of Law courses despite not being enrolled as a candidate for one of the degrees listed above
• A Student Conduct Code, which shall define various forms of sanctionable academic dishonesty and misconduct, as well as the procedures required for determining whether such misconduct has occurred and for determining the appropriate sanction
• A Credit Hour Policy, designating the manner in which the Curriculum Committee shall determine the number of credit hours that shall be allocated towards each course offered at the College
• Any procedures or policies needed to permit the Curriculum Committee to engage in an ongoing evaluation of the College’s program of legal education, including an evaluation of learning outcomes among the student population and the assessment methods used by faculty members, as needed to improve the curriculum and ensure compliance with the American Bar Association Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools
• Procedures and policies designed to ensure compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and state requirements regarding applicants and students with disabilities in the administration of courses and the awarding of degrees

3.3    Curricular rules, policies and procedures may be added or amended by one of two procedures.  First, the Curriculum Committee may add, modify, or rescind them by unanimous consent of all voting members, with notice to the College of Law faculty.  Second, the voting members of the College of Law faculty may amend them by majority vote.  

Section 13     Retention and Dismissal Policies

13.1     Policies relating to retention and dismissal for the J.D. program can be found in the FSU College of Law’s Academic Rules, Policies, and Procedures for the Juris Doctor program.

13.2     Policies relating to retention and dismissal for the LLM and JM degree programs can be found within each program’s posted rules, policies, and procedures.