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Charleston School of Law Juris Doctor Program Catalog and Student Handbook 2023-2024: Testing Overview, Scheduling, Conflicts and Requests to Reschedule

Online Academic Catalog and Student Handbook

Academic Catalog Outline At-a-Glance

Below is a brief outline of the Charleston School of Law Academic Catalog. Click the + sign to see the linked list under each heading. You can also click on the top tabs to see a complete list under each heading tab. A complete list of content under each heading is found in the Detailed Academic Catalog Guide Outline.

Administration of Tests and Exams

The Office of Academic Affairs administers all assessments and exams as well as any testing accommodations.  Students wishing to request testing accommodations should refer to Students with Disabilities. Students must affirmatively request and be granted accommodations at least two weeks prior to any testing period.

Students are responsible for reviewing and complying with all policies and procedures, including the Charleston School of Law’s Honor Code and Code of Conduct. Questions about any exam policy or procedure should be directed to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, 843.377.2420.  Questions about the Honor Code should be directed to the Associate Dean of Students, 843.377.1104.

Testing Overview

All assessments, midterms and final exams are administered during the designated periods for each semester or session, as set forth on the Academic Calendar. Students are expected to be present on campus during testing dates for their courses and to remain in the Charleston area for the duration of the testing period for the semester or session. 

The below policy applies beginning with Fall 2023 Semester

Testing Policy For Required Courses:  

  • 1L Courses: Contracts I & II, Torts I & II, Property I & II, Civil Procedure I & II.
  • Upper-Level Courses:  Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Business Organizations, Evidence, Professional Responsibility, Constitutional Law I & II, Sales, Secured Transactions, Wills, Trusts & Estates, and Bar Prep.

Each of the above required courses must have one proctored midterm scheduled and administered by the Office of Academic Affairs. Midterms are scheduled for one hour. The midterm must account for either:

  • at least 20% of a student's final grade in the course, or
  • at least 10% of a student's final grade in the course plus untimed, non-proctored exercises assigned by the professor.

The midterm must be composed of both multiple choice and essay questions, except in the following circumstances:

  • as permitted by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, or
  • in the case of Professional Responsibility, which may be composed of multiple choice questions only, or
  • for Wills, Trusts & Estates, Secured Transactions, and Business Organizations, which may be composed of essay questions only.

Each of the above required courses must have a proctored final exam equivalent in length to the course's credit hours, not longer than or shorter than the number of credit hours. Final exams are scheduled and administered by the Office of Academic Affairs. 

Elective Courses

Elective courses may have proctored or non-proctored exams, final projects or papers. For elective courses with final exams, the final exam must be equivalent in length to the course's credit hours, not longer than or shorter than the number of credit hours. Final exams are scheduled and administered by the Office of Academic Affairs. 

 

Midterms: Conflict Policy

Midterms are scheduled and administered through the Office of Academic Affairs. Midterms will be administered during a designated midterm period during which no classes will meet. This period will also include a reading day when no classes will meet. 

     1. Standard Conflicts 

It is highly likely that students will have more than one test on a given day and four or more tests during the midterm period. Unless students have two tests scheduled at the same time, or three tests on one day, there will be no rescheduling. If a student has two tests at the same time on the same day, one test will remain at the scheduled time and one will be moved to a different time block on that same day. If a student has three tests on one day, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or his or her designee will determine which test to reschedule during the designated midterm period. Students with standard conflicts must affirmatively request a rescheduling using the designated test reschedule form.

  1. Other Rescheduling

In all other circumstances, a student may obtain a rescheduling of a test only upon the prior, written, discretionary approval of the Associate Dean. Rescheduling a test in the absence of the circumstances noted above is an extraordinary event, and students should expect such requests to be denied in the absence of exceptional circumstances. Requests to reschedule tests based on employment obligations, travel plans, vacation or social commitments, and the like will almost always fail to qualify as exceptional circumstances.

  1. Reschedule Date

The date for the taking of any rescheduled test shall be set by the Associate Dean. Students should expect any rescheduled test to be administered after the date of the originally scheduled test and during the designated midterm period. Exceptions to this scheduling will be exceedingly rare.

  1. Conditions

In considering requests for the rescheduling of a test in the absence of a standard conflict, the Associate Dean may require such documentation and impose such conditions as she or he deems proper. No individual faculty member at the Law School may grant a rescheduling.

  1. Making a Request

All requests to reschedule must be made by following the directions set forth here. Requests to reschedule must be made at least one week prior to any conflict. Once the request has been received, the request will be reviewed by the Associate Dean. If the request is approved, students will receive written confirmation of the rescheduling from the Office of Academic Affairs.

Exams: Conflict Policy

Final Exam Rescheduling Policy

  1. Final Exam Conflicts Rescheduling 

A student may have a final exam rescheduled if he or she would otherwise have two or more exams scheduled to start less than 24 hours apart. The student must request the rescheduling following the directions here and must receive written confirmation of the rescheduling from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or his or her designee no later than the last day of that academic term. The Associate Dean may choose which exam to reschedule and when to reschedule it.

Example: If Student Smith has an exam scheduled for Monday, Dec. 1 at 1:00 p.m. and another on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 9:00 a.m., he may request the Associate Dean to reschedule one of them. However, if Student Jones has one exam scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 1:00 p.m. and another exam scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4 at 1:00 p.m., she does not qualify for rescheduling as the two start times are not less than 24 hours apart.

If a student has four exams in four days and at the request of the student, the Associate Dean may move, at his or her discretion, the fourth exam to the available conflict day.

  1. Other Final Exam Rescheduling

In all other circumstances, a student may obtain a rescheduling of an examination only upon the prior, written, discretionary approval of the Associate Dean. Rescheduling an examination in the absence of two course exams in the same 24-hour period is an extraordinary event, and students should expect such requests to be denied in the absence of exceptional circumstances. Requests to reschedule exams based on employment obligations, travel plans, vacation or social commitments, exams on back-to-back days, and the like will almost always fail to qualify as exceptional circumstances.

  1. Reschedule Date

The date for the taking of any rescheduled final examination shall be set by the Associate Dean. Students should expect any rescheduled examination to be administered only on the Law School’s designated Exam Conflict Day(s). Exceptions to this scheduling will be exceedingly rare, and students should not anticipate ever being granted a rescheduled examination date that would occur before the date for regularly-scheduled administration of that examination.

  1. Conditions 

In considering requests for the rescheduling of an examination in the absence of course exam conflicts, the Associate Dean may require such documentation and impose such conditions as he or she deems proper. No individual faculty member at the Law School may grant a rescheduling.

Academic Policies Mini-Outline

Please see information on this page for:

 

Submitting a Request to Reschedule a Test

If you have a conflict, you must submit a Test Conflict Reschedule Request Form to request a rescheduling.

You will not receive an immediate answer to your request.