Tue May 22 2012   
 

Grading System

 

Grade Distribution Procedure

 

Grading Procedures

 

Review of performance in Course.Each faculty member shall discuss with and disclose to each individual student, upon request, the factors which enter into the determination of the student's final grade. Such discussions should be made within a reasonable time after the release of grades following the close of each semester. A faculty member is not required to review examination papers in detail with individual students, but should be available for a private discussion with a student who requests a review of the student’s performance in the course. If a faculty member expects to be away from the College of Law during the period immediately following the release of grades, and in cases where, due to other commitments, it is inconvenient or impossible for a period of time for a faculty member to discuss grades with students, the faculty member shall leave with the Faculty Services office the students' examination papers, with detailed comments or a copy of model answers or the best student answers, and an explanation of the process by which the faculty member arrived at the students' final grades in the course. This data will be made available to inquiring students. Students should not attempt to discuss an examination with a professor until after the grades for the class are posted.

 

The grading policy for second year students taking first year courses is as follows: (a) all exams are graded anonymously as a group; (b) the curve is established on the basis on this anonymous grading; (c) second year students then are identified by the Registrar and are taken out of the curve; (d) the curve is adjusted for first year students only; and (e) the second year students receive the grade initially awarded to them, although the student is still entitled to any increase in grade which was made while the grading process was still anonymous.


Change of Grade.A final grade may be changed by an instructor only if there has been an error in computation or for an equally justifiable reason. A grade may not be changed as the result of re-examination. The grade change must be made on a grade-change form and approved by the Vice Dean or his or her representative and the Registrar.

Grade Grievance Procedure

 

(a) Consultation with Faculty Member.A student who wishes to appeal a grade must first discuss the grade with the faculty member who assigned the grade. Upon request, the instructor shall review the matter with the student, explain the grading procedure, and state the manner in which he or she arrived at the grade. Except for correcting a mathematical or transcription error in grading, however, the faculty member is not authorized to change the grade assigned. The consultation requirement of this paragraph may be waived by the Vice Dean if, for example, the faculty member is unavailable for or refuses the consultation request.

 

(b) Grievance.If consultation with the instructor who assigned the grade does not resolve the matter, the student may thereafter appeal his or her grade by written petition to the Vice Dean. An appeal shall be lodged within 60 days of the start of the next regular term following the term to which the appeal relates or 60 days after the grade is first posted, whichever occurs later. (Thus appeal of a Spring or Summer semester grade must be filed no later than 60 days after the date of the first day of classes of the following Fall semester unless the grade appealed was posted after the first day of Fall classes, while appeal of a Fall Semester grade must be filed either 60 days from the start of the Spring semester or 60 days from the date the grade was posted, whichever is later.) The time requirements of this paragraph may be waived if the student demonstrates to the Vice Dean extraordinary circumstances warranting a waiver.

 

(1)The grade appeal petition must recite with particularity the specific grounds  for the appeal. Grade appeals must be based on actions by the faculty member in the grading process. Events that happen during the teaching of the course and administration of exams, by themselves, cannot constitute grounds for a grade appeal.

 

(a) For a course not graded anonymously, the only grounds for appeal are a grade alleged either: (i) to be affected by the faculty member’s personal bias or animus toward the appealing student, or (ii) to have been assigned by the faculty member in an arbitrary and capricious manner.

 

(b)For a course graded anonymously, the only grounds for appeal is a grade alleged to have been assigned by the faculty member in an arbitrary and capricious manner. A course designed to be graded anonymously will be treated as an anonymously graded course unless the student can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that anonymity was compromised such that the course should be treated as not anonymously graded.

 

(2) The Vice Dean may dismiss any appeal which, after consideration of the petition, the Vice Dean determines to be unfounded.

 

(3)If the Vice Dean finds that the petition states a ground for appeal, the Vice Dean shall, prior to taking any action, first discuss the matter with the faculty member involved. Thereafter, the Vice Dean may refer the appeal to a committee comprised of three members of the faculty of the Vice Dean's choosing or take whatever other action the Vice Dean deems appropriate, including rendering a decision on his or her own.The evidentiary burden concerning all factual allegations supporting a ground for appeal shall be on the student, and evidence must meet the clear and convincing evidence standard. In the absence of substantial independent evidence of personal bias or animus, review on appeal shall be limited to the examination or paper of the appealing student and the grade assigned to it plus information, if relevant, concerning the instructor's grading process, without consideration of any other examination or paper, and shall not involve an inquiry into the involved faculty member’s academic judgment concerning the academic quality of the work in question or otherwise discharging his or her responsibility for assigning grades.

 

(4)The Vice Dean shall notify both the appealing student and the faculty member involved of the final decision in writing.

 

(c)Student Appeal.If the student remains dissatisfied with the outcome after having followed the procedures herein set forth, the student may file a written appeal to the Dean.The appeal to the Dean must be submitted within seven days of receiving the notice of the final decision from the Vice Dean. The appeal must indicate with specificity the reasons why the final decision reached by the Vice Dean or faculty committee appointed by the Vice Dean was not satisfactory.

 

(1) Based on a review of the written appeal, the Dean will decide whether or not to hear the appeal.If the Dean decides that there are not sufficient grounds for review, the Dean will notify the student by letter. If the Dean decides that there are sufficient grounds for review, the Dean will conduct a hearing at which the Dean will interview both the student and the involved faculty member. The Dean may choose to interview other involved persons as well.

 

(2)After the Dean has conducted a hearing, the Dean shall promptly issue a final decision, with copies to the student and the faculty member involved.

 

d) Faculty Appeal. If a faculty member whose grade has been appealed believes that his or her academic freedom or academic responsibilities have been affected by any administrative ruling in the process, the faculty member may appeal or grieve in accordance with the applicable procedures set forth in the University Handbook on Appointed Personnel or the ABOR Policy Manual. That appeal must be made within ten days of the action provoking it. No grade may be finally changed until the faculty member’s appeal process has been completed.

 

Grading System

University and College Grading System



 

 

Class Grade Distributions (Grade Curve), Dean's List, Class Ranks, Graduation with Honors, and Order of Coif

The following rules apply with respect to class grade distributions at the Law College:

  1. Mandatory Curve; Classes With Enrollments of 21 or More Students. Except

    as otherwise provided in paragraph (2), in all classes with an enrollment of 21 or more students who are J.D. candidates enrolled for graded credit, grades must be distributed in the following manner: 15 percent A’s, 15 percent A-’s, 25 percent B+’s, 25 percent B’s, 10 percent B-’s,and 10 percent C+’s or lower.

  2. Permitted Deviations From Mandatory Curve.Faculty may not deviate more than plus or minus 2.5 percent from the mandatory grade curve prescribed in paragraph (1), except in extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, the combined number of A’s and A-’s awarded as prescribed in paragraph (1) must be 30 percent of the total grades awarded, plus or minus 2.5 percent, and the combined number of B+’s, B’s, and B-’s awarded as prescribed in paragraph (1) must be 60 percent of the total grades awarded, plus or minus 2.5 percent. That is, for example, with regard to students in a class subject to the curve, the grade of A may not be awarded to more than 17.5 percent or less than 12.5 percent of the students; the grade of A- may not be awarded to more than 17.5 percent or less than 12.5 percent of the students; and the grades of A and A- combined may not be awarded to more than 32.5 percent or less than 27.5 percent of the students. Faculty who believe that extraordinary circumstances justify a deviation of more than 2.5 percent for a particular class may seek permission to do so in writing, explicitly stating the reasons for the request, from the Vice Dean. Unless the grades are accompanied by written approval signed by the Vice Dean, the Registrar may not record grades that deviate from the mandatory grade curve by more than 2.5 percent.

  3. Classes with Enrollments of Fewer Than 21 Students. In classes, other than substantial paper seminars, with fewer than 21 students who are J.D. candidates enrolled for graded credit, the mean grade point average may not exceed 3.5. Faculty may not deviate from this requirement, except in extraordinary circumstances. Faculty who believe that extraordinary circumstances justify a higher mean grade point average for a particular class may seek permission to do so in writing, explicitly stating the reasons for the request, from the Vice Dean. Unless the grades are accompanied by written approval signed by the Vice Dean, the Registrar may not record grades that deviate from the 3.5 grade point average prescribed under this paragraph.


 

Dean's List

A student who enrolls for and completes a minimum of 10 graded units of law credit in any semester and who receives at least a 3.30 average for that semester shall be placed on the Dean’s List.

 

Class Ranking

  1. First-Year Class. The first-year class shall not be ranked until the end of the academic year, except as is necessary to enable the Arizona Law Review or Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law to choose candidates on the basis of grade point averages.
  2. Second- and Third-Year Classes. The second- and third-year classes shall be ranked at the end of each semester. No new rankings are calculated following summer school.

 

    Dual Degree Students; Procedure for Ranking

        The following procedures for class rankings shall apply to any student who is    considered a dual degree student by the College of Law:

  1. First-Year Rank. Only after a dual degree student begins to take law courses, shall the student be ranked. For purposes of a first-year class rank, a dual degree student shall be ranked in the first-year law school class with whom the student completes her or his first year.
  2. Second-Year Rank. After completing the first year, a dual degree student shall be ranked with the Law College class that is currently completing its second year and with whom the student is taking courses. The student shall be ranked with that class until the student has completed a sufficient amount of course or other work to be classified as a third-year student.
  3. Third-Year Rank. Once a dual degree student is classified as a third-year student, the student shall be ranked with the College class that is currently completing its third year and with whom the student is taking courses. The student shall be ranked with that class until the student graduates, at which time the student shall be ranked with the other graduates in the class.

 

Graduation with Honors

J.D. graduates of the College of Law that rank within the highest 25 percent of the grade point averages for those in a graduation class may be awarded degrees with honors. No more than 25 percent of the total number of graduates in a class may graduate with honors. In the event that two or more graduates may have identical grade point averages that produce ties in rankings, fewer than 25 percent of those in the graduating class may be awarded degrees with honors.

 

1. Summa Cum Laude

 Highest Distinction Top 7% of the class
2. Magna Cum Laude High Distinction Next 7% of the class
3. Cum Laude Distinction Next 11% of the class

 

As outlined above, those who rank within the highest seven percent are eligible to receive the honor of Summa Cum Laude - Highest Distinction; those who rank within the next highest seven percent are eligible to receive the honor of Magna Cum Laude - High Distinction; and those who rank within the next 11 percent are eligible to receive the honor of Cum Laude - Distinction.

 

Order of the Coif

The College of Law is one of a select number of law schools holding membership in this prestigious national order. The faculty of the College of Law, in its discretion, awards this honor to J.D. graduates who are within the top 10% of the graduating class and who have completed at least 75% of their law studies in graded College of Law units.


A student admitted as a transfer student at the College of Law is eligible for consideration to membership in the Order of the Coif. However, such transfer students must meet two specific requirements:

 

 

 

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Updated: 08/26/2011