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Office of Academic Administration and Student Affairs

Asst. Dean Stephen D. Sowle

Week of January 17, 2011
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U-Pass FAQ
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Welcome Back! Congratulations to all first-year students on completing your first semester of law school, and to upper-level students for making it one semester closer to graduation. I hope everyone had a restful holiday break.

U-Pass Distribution. Distribution of Spring 2011 U-Passes will take place as follows:

*Thursday, January 13, 2:00-3:30pm, Front Lobby
*Friday, January 14, 12:00-1:30pm, Front Lobby
*Tuesday, January 17, 11:30-1:00pm and 3:00-4:30pm, Front Lobby

After Tuesday, January 17, you may pick up your U-Pass from the Registrar's office. For more information on the U-Pass program and which students qualify for participation in the program, see the U-Pass FAQ.

You will not receive a U-Pass during the initial distribution period if you registered for classes late or do not have a picture in our ID system. In either of those cases, please contact Jenna Abhijeet (jabhijeet@kentlaw.edu) to explain your situation, and we will put you on our supplemental order list after we confirm your status.

Note to International LL.M. students and visiting students: You qualify for a U-Pass if you are registered for at least 12 credit hours for the Spring semester. If you are reigstered for fewer than 12 credit hours, you do not qualify for a U-Pass.

Spring 2011 Semester Information. The Spring 2011 Term Information page has most of the information you will need in advance of the start of the Spring semester - click here, or go to the main Student Portal page and click on the Spring '11 link under "Academic term information." Print copies of many of the documents described below are available outside the third floor cafeteria. Alternatively, click on the individual links below to go directly to the indicated documents.

Initial Reading Assignments
Not all professors submit initial assignments, so do not be concerned if there is no listing for one or more of your Spring courses. Even if a course is not listed here, materials for the course should be available in the Bookstore. The list of assignments has been revised from its initial version as follows:

New assignments added 1/9/11: Antitrust (Prof. Hannay); Civil Procedure (Prof. Laser); Copyright Law (Prof. Buccafusco); Environmental Law & Policy 2 (Prof. Stern); Estates and Trusts (Prof. Decatorsmith); Federal Courts (Prof. Stewart); Land Use (Prof. Stern); Law and Human Behavior (Prof. Buccafusco); Property (Prof. Perritt); Seventh Circuit Review Honors Seminar (Prof. Morris); Tax Procedure (Prof. Decatorsnith).

Revised Spring Schedule (with Classroom Assignments)
Classroom assignments will also be posted in the front lobby before classes start.

Course Information Updates
This document lists all changes to the final Spring class schedule to date. The current version of the class schedule posted online reflects these changes.

Trial Advocacy 1 Section Assignments
If your section meets at the Daley Center, please be sure to bring your Kent ID card with you, as you may be required to show it before being allowed to enter.

Trial Advocacy 2 Section Assignments
If your section meets at the Daley Center, please be sure to bring your Kent ID card with you, as you may be required to show it before being allowed to enter.

Exam Schedule.
Please note that you are permitted to register for courses with exams scheduled at the same time; one exam will be rescheduled for you.

The Student Handbook requires that you take your finals at the times scheduled unless you have an exam conflict (as defined below), or you have a "serious illness or other extraordinary or compelling reason" beyond your control. A Final Exam Reschedule Form will be posted later this semester through Web for Students.

A student is deemed to have an "exam conflict" if he or she has two exams at the same time, or has two or more exams within 24 hours (e.g., exams at 8:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., or at 6:00 p.m. and 1:15 the following afternoon). A conflict does not exist if two exams are scheduled exactly 24 hours apart (e.g., exams at 8:30 a.m. one morning and 8:30 a.m. the next morning).

Bookstore Hours

2010-2011 Academic Calendar

Pass/Fail Elections. Pass/fail elections for the Spring must be made no later than Friday, February 11. This deadline is firm. Please review § 2.4 "Pass/Fail Election" of the Student Handbook if you have any questions regarding your pass/fail elections; many courses are not available for the election.

You may make pass/fail elections starting Tuesday, January 18. In order to make your election, you should:
  1. Log into your Webmail account
  2. Click on the "Web for Students" icon in lower left portion of the left frame
  3. Select the "Take Class Pass/Fail" option under the "Online Forms" heading
  4. Select the course you would like to take on a pass/fail basis
  5. Submit your selection

The Registrar's Office will review your request, determine your eligibility and notify you of the status.

Adding and Dropping Classes. You may add an open course without special permission until the end of the first week of Spring classes; during the second week, however, you may add an open course only with permission of the instructor. You may not add a course after the second week of the semester.

You may withdraw from any course except a required course, a clinical course, Law Review, Moot Court, or Intensive Trial Advocacy at any time prior to the date of the final exam or final paper (see §3.10(c) of the Student Handbook). There is no tuition penalty if you drop a course during the first two weeks of classes. You will not receive a tuition refund, however, if you drop a course after the second week of classes.

Graduating Students: Reduced Loads and Tuition Discounts. Graduating seniors needing fewer than the minimum number of hours to graduate may take fewer credits without special permission. In addition, if you will be graduating at the end of the Spring 2011, and will be taking more than the 87 credits required to graduate, you may receive a 50% discount on each credit you take over the required 87 credits. If this affects you, please contct me by email no later than Friday, February 4, and I will arrange for the credit to be applied to your account.

Taking Courses at the Stuart School. Upper-level Chicago-Kent students are allowed to take up to two non-law, graduate-level courses, with my permission, including courses offered at the Stuart School of Business. Please contact the Registrar's office for information about the Stuart School's Spring schedule.

Fall 2010 Grade Submissions. Grades for the Fall semester are due no more than five weeks from the date of the exam or, for non-exam courses, five weeks from the last day of the exam period. Exams ended on Monday, December 20, so all Fall grades should be in by Monday, Janaury 24.

Academic Counseling. I am available for counseling about course selection, certificate programs, bar preparation, academic rules and regulations, and other academic matters. If you are interested in a particular area of law, I can also arrange for you to meet with a faculty member who specializes in that area. You may contact me by email (ssowle@kentlaw.edu), phone (312/9096-5282), or by stopping by my office (320C).

Extended Departmental Hours on Tuesday Nights. To assist evening students in transacting administrative business, the following deparments will be open until 7:00 pm every Tuesday night: the Registrar's Office, the Bursar's Office, the Office of Financial Aid, the Career Services Office, the Admissions Office, and the Computer Center Help Desk. Evening appointments with the Office of Students Services may be made by appointment with Jenna Abhijeet (jabhijeet@kentlaw.edu) or me (ssowle@kentlaw.edu).

Illinois Bar Exam: Informational Sessions - Revised Announcement. The Illinois bar examiners will be holding informational sessions for first-year students, and for third-year and fourth-year students approaching graduation, at Chicago-Kent on Wednesday, January 26, 2011. (Please note: This is a change from their earlier plan to hold sessions for all Chicago-area students on January 27, at a location outside the Law School.) The sessions will run as follows: (1) 11:30-12:20 pm for first-year day students; (2) 5:00-5:50 pm for first-year evening students; and (3) 4:00-4:50 pm for graduating students. All sessions will be held in Rm. 590.

You should plan to attend the appropriate session for your status if (1) you are a first-year student and you have questions about the first-year bar registration process; (2) you are a third-year or fourth-year student planning on taking the February 2011 or July 2011 bar exams and you have questions about the application or character and fitness process; or (3) you are a student at any stage of your studies and you have questions about the character and fitness process. If you are unable to attend one of the sessions, you may contact Vanessa King at the bar examiners' office (217-522-5917) to discuss the information provided in the sessions.

See below for more information on bar registration process for first-year students, and for the application process for the July 2011 bar exams for graduating students. We recommend that you download and look over the application and/or registration materials available at http://www.ibaby.org before the January 26 programs.

Bar Registration for First-Year Students. First-year students who plan to take the Illinois Bar Examination after graduation should register with the Illinois bar examiners. The registration materials are due by March 1, 2011. The forms and instructions are available on the bar examiners' web site: http://www.ibaby.org.

Although you are not required to register as a first-year student, the advantage of doing so is that you will avoid paying substantial additional fees if you register at any point after March of their first year. If you are uncertain whether you intend to practice in Illinois, you may want to consider waiting to register and paying the late fee should you eventually decide to take the Illinois bar exam. The application form is very comprehensive and requires you to provide a significant amount of background information, some of which may be difficult to remember or obtain. I suggest that, if you do plan to register by the March deadline, you begin working on the materials sooner rather than later. If you have any questions about the application materials, you may call the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar at 217/522-5917.

All information you disclose on the bar registration application should be consistent with answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school. Please note, however, that the bar registration application asks for a considerable amount of information that you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission. You only need to be concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms. You can amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it.

Representatives from the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar will visit Chicago-Kent this month (see announcement above) to answer questions concerning the completion of the bar registration application.

First-year students who think they may practice in another state should contact the bar examiners office in that state as soon as possible to determine their registration requirements. Booklets with the addresses and phone numbers of state bar examiners offices are available for you to consult in the Registrar’s office and in my office.

July 2011 Illinois Bar Applications. Applications for the July 2011 bar exam must be submitted by February 1, 2011. You may file a late application for the February bar up to December 31, and for the July bar up to May 31, but penalty fees apply. The forms and instructions are available on the bar examiners' web site: http://www.ibaby.org. Please note: Even if you registered with the bar examiners as a first-year student, you must still file a final application. If you have any questions about the application materials, you may call the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar at 217/522-5917.

The law school sends a “Certificate of Dean of Law School Proof of Legal Education” to the Illinois bar examiners for every student who graduates in December or May. Please be sure to file an Application for Graduation at the beginning of your last semester so we will know you plan to graduate at the end of that semester. Important note: We will not certify any student to the bar examiners if the student has an outstanding balance owed to the school.

All information you disclose on the bar application should be consistent with answers to questions on your Application for Admission to the law school. Please note, however, that the bar application asks for a considerable amount of information that you were not asked to provide on our Application for Admission. You only need to be concerned about the consistency of your answers for questions asked on both forms. You can amend your Application for Admission, if necessary, by addressing a letter to me setting forth the details of the omission or misrepresentation and the reason for it.

Representatives from the Illinois Board of Admissions to the Bar will visit Chicago-Kent this month (see announcement above) to answer questions concerning the bar application process.

Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). The MPRE is required for admission to the bars of most jurisdictions, including Illinois. The exam is administered in March, August, and November each year. You may take the exam after you have completed two-thirds of the credits required for the J.D. degree (at Chicago-Kent, this means you must have completed 58 credits). You may register online by going to http://www.ncbex.org/multistate-tests/mpr. The deadline for applying for the March 5 exam is Janaury 18 (the late deadline is February 3).

FERPA Rights and Notification of Access to Education Records. The Student Handbook outlines student rights and responsibitilies regarding access to educational records. Please review sections 14.4 and 14.5, which are linked to this page. Please pay particular attention to section 14.5, which lists the types of information that Chicago-Kent classifies as "directory information" (which Chicago-Kent may release at its discretion) and the information published in the online Student Directory (available only to members of the Chicago-Kent community). Section 14.5 also explains how you may request that directory information, including the information published in the Student Directory, not be published or released.

Fire Safety Reminder.
In the event of a fire, it is vital that we clear the building as quickly as possible. Please keep the following in mind:

Please use the nearest staircase to exit the building, unless the staircase is overcrowded. In that case, please seek out an alternate staircase (there are at least two on each floor). There are maps in the elevator bays on each floor identifying the locations of the staircases. Do not use the elevators.

Once in the staircase, please proceed all the way to the first floor -- do not exit at the third floor in order to use the atrium staircase.

Please do not take time to gather up your belongings -- your safety is more important than your possessions. If you feel that you must take any valuables with you, please "grab and go" -- do not waste precious seconds or minutes powering down your laptop computer or packing up your belongings.

Once you exit the building, please move either eastward or westward down the sidewalk so that you will be out of harm's way if any windows shatter. For your safety, please do not step into traffic or cross against a traffic light.

Failure to leave the building promptly, or failure to follow the directions of Law School personnel, may subject you to a Code of Conduct charge.

Joke of the Week. I wondered why the baseball appeared to be getting bigger and bigger. Then it hit me.

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