Chicago-Kent home page Student portal Faculty portal Staff portal About The Record Current Record headlines Publication deadlines The Record archives

Office of Academic Administration and Student Affairs

Asst. Dean Stephen Sowle

Week of November 27, 2017
Student Portal Page
Student Health Insurance FAQ

Law School Survival Guide
U-Pass FAQ

Click here for Dean Sowle's Record Archives


Academic Calendar Reminder. The class schedule for the final week of classes is as follows:

Monday, November 27: Monday classes meet (Labor Day make-up)
Tuesday, November 28: Thursday classes meet (Rosh Hashanah make-up)
Wednesday, November 29: Thursday classes meet (Thanskgiving make-up)
Thursday, November 30: Friday classes meet and Wednesday classes starting 4:00 & after meet (Thanksgiving Friday and Rosh Hashanah eve. make-up)
Friday, December 1: Make-up Day.

Read period runs from Saturday, December 2 through Tuesday, December 5. Exams start on Wednesday, December 6 and end on Friday, December 15.

Pass/Fail Revocation Deadline.
 A student may revoke a pass/fail election and revert to standard letter grading up to Thursday, November 30, 5:00pm. To revoke a pass/fail election, go to your Web for Students account and navigate to the appropriate link in the lefthand menu.

Spring 2018 Schedule and Registration. 

Schedule and Registration Bulletin. The Spring 2018 class schedule and the Registration Bulletin on the Spring 2018 Quick Guide page by clicking here, or by going to the Current Students Portal page and clicking on the Spring 2018 Quick Guide link.

Corrections/Additions to the Schedule. Please note the following corrections to the Spring 2018 schedule. These corrections are reflected in the version of the schedule on the Quick Guide page.

-Critical Legal Studies (163-51): The listing for the course option incorrectly listed the ending time; it will meet Thurs. 6:00-7:50pm (not 6:00-7:25pm).

-Legal Writing 4 (432-09): This new section, focused on Labor & Employment Law, has been added to the schedule. It will meet Tues/Thurs. 10:00-11:25am and will be taught by Christopher Garcia.

-Patent Institutions (942-81): Students must have compleed Patent Law, or receive permission from Prof. Reilly, to take this seminar.

-Trial Advocacy 2 (LL.M. Section, 558-02): This section will meet on Thursdays (not Fridays) 9:00-12:00 noon.

-Intensive Essay Writing Lab (2 credits): Two sections of this seminar will be offered in the Spring, one on Thurs. 4:00-5:50pm (943-01), the other on Mon. 6:00-7:50pm (943-51). The seminar is pass/fail only, but will satisfy the graduation seminar requirement. The seminar will sharpen analytic and writing skills needed for practice as well as for success on the bar exam. It will include sessions during which students will write essay answers to questions of the sort asked by bar exams and will receive feedback and suggestions for improvement. Preference will be given to students in their final semester whose GPA places them in the bottom 20% as of the end of the 2016-2017 academic year and who plan to take the Illinois bar exam in Summer 2018. . Students who do not fall within that group but who have reason to believe they are in particular need of this seminar can petition for entry by submitting a letter to Prof. Elizabeth De Armond (edearmond@kentlaw.iit.edu) detailing the reasons for wanting to take the seminar.

Registration Instructions. Registration will take place from Tuesday, November 21, 9:00am through Tuesday, November 28, 11:00pm. You may register at any time during that period. After the end of the initial registration period, the registration requests will be processed according to each student’s registration priority. In other words, registration will not be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. As long as you register during the designated period, you will have an equal chance of being admitted to a class as other students within your registration priority group. Click here for instructions on how to access the registration system in the myIIT portal.

To learn what classes you have been admitted into, you must check the online registration site on or after Monday, December 4, 9:00am. Registering for a class during the initial registration period is no guarantee that you will be admitted into the class – you must check the web site on or after Monday, December 4, to learn what classes you have been admitted into.

Exam Information. Information about exams -- which exams will be fixed, self-scheduled, and take-home, and the dates of fixed exams -- will be provided prior to the start of the Spring semester. (Under our current procedures, we need enrollment information for elective courses before determining which category they fall into.)

Intersession classes. Please note that we will have several January intersession classes offered in the week prior to the start of the Spring semester -- see page 13 of the class schedule for a list of intersession classes. Note: First-year students may not take January intersession classes.

•Experiential Course Requirement. Students who began in Summer 2016 or later must complete a total of six credits from an approved list of experiential courses (click here for the list). Most students will already satisfy four of these credits through the required sequence of Legal Writing 3 and Legal Writing 4. However, students who opt for the Legal Writing 4 Equivalency Class (see below) should consult the list of approved courses to determine whether the qualifying activity counts toward the experiential requirement. Law Review does not count toward the requirement. 

•Pass/Fail Limitations for Upper-Level Courses. Certain upper-level electives may be taken pass/fail, subject to the limitations described below; required courses, however, may not be taken pass/fail. Although there is no overall limit on pass/fail credits, there are two types of limits to the pass/fail credits you can take:

Pass/fail election: Students may elect up to 6 credits pass/fail during their entire time at Chicago-Kent. This pass/fail election applies to upper-level elective courses that normally are letter-graded; classes that are only offered pass/fail do not count toward this 6-credit limit. The following classes may not be elected pass/fail: (1) required courses, including Professional Responsibility; (2) seminars, whether or not being taken to fulfill the graduation seminar requirement; (3) courses that have been designated by instructors as ineligible for the pass/fail election (these courses are indicated on each semester’s schedule of classes); (4) courses that are graded only on a pass/fail basis (as noted above), such as clinical courses, Moot Court, and Law Review; (5) LL.M. courses; (6) Trial Advocacy and Appellate Advocacy courses; and (7) courses taken to fulfill the requirements of any certificate program. Fall pass/fail registration will open shortly before the start of the Fall semester (keep your eye on Dean Sowle’s section of the Record). A student taking a course on a pass/fail basis must earn at least a C to receive a P (Pass). If you pass the course but fail to earn at least a C, you will receive a grade of LP (Low Pass).

Clinic limitation: You may take no more than 24 credit hours toward graduation for the following courses combined: in-house clinical courses, externships, and Business Entity Formation. (Students in the Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Program (LADR) and the Criminal Litigation Program are exempt from this limitation.)

•Graduating Students: Reduced Loads and Tuition Discounts. Students graduating at the end of the Spring 2018 semester who need 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 2018 semester, 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 contact me by email no later than Tuesday, January 30, 2018, and I will arrange for the credit to be applied to your account. Please note: Financial aid is not available for any courses you take that are not necessary for you to reach the required 87 credits.

Registration for First-Year Students. First-year Day Division students should register for Civil Procedure, Property, and Legal Writing 2 for the Spring semester. (Please be careful to register for the Civil Procedure and Property classes listed for your current section, and for the Legal Writing section taught by your current professor.) For their fourth course, full-time Day Division students should also register for one of the options listed below. First-year Evening Division students should register for Contracts, Property, and Legal Writing 2.

1L Your Way. For their fourth course, full-time Day Division students should register for Legislation, or for one of the "1L Your Way" choices described below. If you decide to take Legislation, please register for Prof. Shapiro's section if you are in the Legal Writing sections taught by Profs. De Armond, Kries, Schrager, or Streseman; please register for Prof. Sowle's section if you are in the Legal Writing sections taught by Profs. Gentithes, Godfrey, Jacobs, or Johnson.

• The Clinic Rotation (2 credits). We were able to accept all students who applied for the Clinical Rotation. We will notify you prior to the start of registration as to the specific rotations you were selected for.

 An elective class. We have designated certain courses as automatically available for first-year students; see page 1 of the final class schedule for the list. With permission, students may take other electives that fit their schedules (requests should be sent to Dean Sowle). If you take an elective, you will be in class with upper-level students. Upper-level required courses may not be taken (this includes Constitutional Law, Professional Responsibility, Legal Writing 3, Legal Writing 4, and seminars). Depending on demand, we may not be able to accommodate all first-year students who wish to take an elective, although we are hopeful there will be sufficient spaces available for all interested students.

To ensure that all full-time first-year students are assessed on a common set of courses, grades for Legislation or for an elective taken its place will not be considered in calculating Spring class ranks for first-year students or for purposes of probation and dismissals, Law Review selections, or merit scholarships for first-year students. The Clinical Rotation will be graded pass/fail and thus won't count into students' GPA's for that reason. Grades for Legislation and electives will be included in all subsequent class rank calculations.

Independent Research Opportunity. Students may earn one credit of Independent Research (graded pass/fail) by attending the conference on Countering the Financing of Terrorism, which will be held at the Law School on Sunday, January 7, 2018, and then writing a paper under the supervision of Prof. Batlan. Contact Prof. Batlan at fbatlan@kentlaw.iit.edu for more information.

Teaching Evaluations.
 Teaching evaluations will be done online for all classes, except for clinical classes and first-year and second-year legal writing classes. The forms became available on Wednesday, November 15, and will remain available through the last day of classes, Friday, December 1. Although you can complete the forms at any time through December 1, we have asked faculty members to provide time in an upcoming class session for you to complete them. 

The forms are available on the local Web for Students system, at https://wfs.kentlaw.iit.edu. Once you log into Web for Students, click on the link for Course Evaluations under the "Online Forms" heading in the lefthand menu. 

Teaching evaluations are anonymous and will not be available to professors until grades are turned in. Instructors will review the responses to improve the quality of their instruction and courses. The evaluations are also considered as one important factor in tenure, promotion, and compensation decisions for full-time faculty and are used as a factor in determining the effectiveness of part-time instructors.

Fall 2017 Final Exams.
 

•Exam Schedule and Exam Number. The final exam schedule for the current semester is available here. You will be notified of the classroom assignments for your exams prior to the start of exam period. To find your personal exam schedule, go to your Web for Students account and navigate to "Fall 2017" link under the "Schedule" heading in the lefthand menu. Your exam number is also provided there. 

Exam Types and Distribution. There are three types of exams:

Fixed Exams: First-year doctrinal courses and certain other courses have fixed exams. Students will report to designated classrooms on specified days and times for these exams. The dates and times are listed on your Exam Schedule in Web for Students (see above).

Self-Scheduled Exams: Self-scheduled exams are those with time limits less than 24 hours (for example, 3-hour and 4-hour exams) where you are able to choose the date and time to take the exam, within the confines of the exam period (December 6-15). You do not need to pre-schedule the exam time. Self-Scheduled exams may be picked up from the Exam Administration Office (Rm. 305) as follows:

   Monday-Friday: between 9:00am and 5:45pm 

   Saturday: between 9:00am and 11:00am

   No exams are given on Sunday

Please note: These times are pick-up times, not return times. For example, if you pick up a 3-hour exam at 5:45pm on a weekday, you will have the full 3 hours to complete the exam and must return it by 8:45pm. 

You must present photo identification to pick up your exam. Your exam will be time-stamped and you will then proceed to one of the designated Self-Schedule exam rooms to take your exam using Examplify (formerly known as SoftTest). Examplify will record a download time for the exam as well as an upload time for the exam. Once you download the exam in Examplify, you must complete the exam.  When you have uploaded your exam answer, return the exam questions to the Exam Administration Office (Rm. 305).

Take Home ExamsTake-home exams are those that allow students 24 hours or more to complete the exam and are given through the Registrar’s office. In some situations your professor may give you the exam during class; in other stiuations, the exam may be distributed electronically, or you may be required to pick the exam up in the Registrar's office. Most take-home exams this semester will be submitted electronically. Details about distribution and submission will be provided for each exam prior to the start of the exam period. Please note that you do not need to use the Examplify exam software for take-home exams.

The Registrar's Office hours during exams will be as follows:

Monday-Thursday, 8:30am - 6:00pm
Friday, 8:30am - 5:00pm
Saturday/Sunday: CLOSED

Please arrive at least 10 minutes before closing time if you are picking up or returning a take-home exam. 

Because the Registrar's Office will be closed on Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10, you will not be able to pick up or return a take-home exam on those days, and you should plan accordingly, unless your exam is authorized for electronic distribution and/or submission. (For example, if you have a 24-hour take-home exam, you should not pick it up on Friday, December 8, because you will not be able to return it on Saturday.)

The last day of exams is Friday, December 15. If you have a take-home exam that allows you to choose when to take it during the exam period, please note that all such exams must be returned no later than Friday, December 15. In other words, you may not pick up an exam on December 15 and return it after that date.

If your take-home exam requires in-person pick up and/or submission, you must pick up and return the exam yourself; you may not have another person do so on your behalf.

Availability of Professors' Old Exams. Many professors make their old exams available for students to review. Exams after 1982 are available online by clicking here. Earlier exams are bound in volumes available in the 10th floor reading room in the Library.

Exam Emergencies. If an emergency occurs that may prevent you from taking a final exam, you or someone on your behalf should call Dean Sowle (312/906-5282) or Jenna Abhijeet (312/906-5005) as soon as possible. If you cannot reach one of us, call the Registrar's office (312/906-5080). Do not contact your professor about any problem connected with your exam, as this may compromise your anonymity. Please read Section VII of the Student Handbook, which contains the rules governing exams, exam conflicts, make-up exams, missed exams, and related issues; and review Article II of the Code of Conduct in the Student Handbook. 

•Consulting Laptops/Tablets During Exams. Unless your professor specifically authorizes it, you may not consult materials (notes, outlines, etc.) stored on a laptop computer, iPad, or other tablet computer or electronic device during an open book or limited open book exam; you are limited to consulting print materials authorized by your professor. Please note: This is separate from the issue of whether you may write your exam on your own laptop. The limitation described above applies whether you are writing your exam by hand or on a laptop computer.

•Cell Phones During Exams. You are not permitted to use a cell phone during any exam, including during any restroom breaks. If you have a cell phone with you during an exam, it must be turned off and stored out of sight.

•Exams on Computer. Students taking exams on laptop must download and install the  Examplify exam-taking software (formerly known as SofTest). Click here for more information about downloading and installing the software. You will receive information from the Information Technology Services department about when and how to do this. Even though you do not need to submit an Exam Method Registration form to use your laptop for exams, you do need to download and install Examplify.

Unless a professor specifies otherwise, Examplify is configured to lock students out of other programs and services on their computers for the duration of the exam. This means that, unless a professor specifically authorizes access, students will not have access to notes, outlines, or other materials stored on their hard drive or the network.

Please note of the following items; complete information about Examplify is available by clicking here:

  • All students have to download the latest version of the Examplify software. Previously installed versions (under the SoftTest name) will not work for Fall 2017 exams.
  • The Examplify software will be available for download at a later date (you will be notified when it is available).
  • Windows 10, 8, and 7 are the only supported Windows platforms for exams.
  • Windows 10 Creators version 1703 is supported, however, the Fall update, version 1709, is NOT supported at this time.
  • Alternate versions of Windows 10, such as Windows RT and Windows 10 S, are NOT supported at this time.
  • Only genuine, U.S.-English versionf of Windows operating systems are supported.
  • Non-Pro Microsoft Surface devises are NOT supported.
  • "Virtualized" Windows operating systems via products such as Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion will not function for exams.
  • Mac OS X 10.9 (Mavericks), OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), OS X 10.11 (El Capitan), and OS 10.12 (Sierra) are the only supported Mac OS X platforms for exams.
  • Mac OS 10.13 (High Sierra) is not currently supported.
  • A native Mac version of the Examplify exam-taking software is available for Mac users to download.
  • Any individual found to be running an unlicensed or "pirated" operating system on their computer may be declined technical assistance.

To avoid any technical or computer difficulties, please make sure you bring the following items with you to the exam.

  • The contents of your ExamSoft Registration confirmation email

  • Your laptop power cord

  • Note: Use of a standard Ethernet network cable is encouraged in areas where there are ports available.

Notice About Borrowing Laptops: The ITS department has a limited supply of laptop computers reserved for use in emergency situations that arise during exam period. These laptops may be used (subject to availability) if your computer has problems immediately before or during an exam, as long as the problem is not due to your failing to properly configure or register your laptop to run the Examplify program. Because of limited supply, the ITS department's laptops are not available for general loaning purposes during exam period, including to students who do not own a laptop. However, if you have exceptional circumstances that you believe justify borrowing a laptop for an exam, please contact Jenna Abhijeet (jabhijeet@kentlaw.iit.edu) to discuss your situation.

•Notice to Handwriters. Students who are hand writing an exam will be placed in the same room used by laptop users for that exam. Hand writers will not be put in a separate room.

Joke of the Week. The shinbone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

CALENDARS

.: Main Chicago-Kent event
   calendar

.: Academic calendar

.: CLE calendar

.: Alumnae/i event calendar

.: Admissions calendar

Chicago-Kent home page Student portal Faculty portal Staff portal About The Record Current Record headlines Publication deadlines The Record archives