Charleston School of Law Juris Doctor Program Catalog and Student Handbook 2023-2024

Grades

For most classes, the law school uses a letter grade system as reflected below; if a course is to be graded on a pass/fail basis, that is so indicated in the registration materials for that particular semester or session. The chart below also shows the point value equivalents of each of the grade; there is no rounding.  

Calculation of Grade Point Averages  

After all grades have been recorded for students each semester or session, the Law School will calculate and report to each student his or her individual grade point average using the numerical equivalents explained above.  Students may access their grades and individual grade point average through their student CSOL Access account. 

Interpretations of Standard Letter Grades

A  A grade of A is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is uniformly outstanding for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

A-  A grade of A- given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is often outstanding but lacks the consistency associated with uniformly outstanding work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

B+  A grade of a B+ is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is very good but lacks the consistency associated with outstanding work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

B  A grade of B is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is uniformly good work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

B-  A grade of B- is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is often good work but lacks the consistency associated with uniformly good work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

C+  A grade of C+ is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is above the level of competent but not rising to the level of good work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

C  A grade of C is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is competent for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

C-  A grade of C- is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is below the level of competent, lacking the consistency necessary for competent work for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. A student who maintains a C- average is not eligible to graduate and, if that average persists, is not eligible to continue his or her studies at the Law School. 

D+  A grade of D+ is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that reflects some skill but is solidly below the level of competent for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

D  A grade of D is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that reflects some skill but is substantially below competent for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

D-   A grade of D- is given to any student who completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that generally reflects some minimal skill that is marginally above a failing grade for a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education. 

F  A grade of F is given to any student who either: (a) completes the requirements for a course and does so in a fashion that is not acceptable in a law student and future lawyer at this stage of his or her education; or (b) does not complete the requirements for the course in a timely fashion. This grade confers no credit for the course.

Interpretation of Other Letter Grades

In particular circumstances, a student may receive one of the following letter grades: P, W, WA, WF, X, or I:

P   Eligible courses will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Whether a course is to be graded on a Pass/Fail basis is denoted in the registration material for that semester or session.  A grade of P is given to any student who passes a Pass/Fail course. This grade confers credit but is not calculated in the semester or cumulative grade point average.

W  A grade of W is posted on the transcript whenever a student, after receiving approval from the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, withdraws from a course after the drop/add period.  The W grade confers no credit and is not calculated in the semester or cumulative grade point average.

WA  A grade of WA is given when a student has been withdrawn from a class due to excessive absences, and has a passing grade at the time of withdrawal. Once a student has received three WAs on his or her transcript, any subsequent withdrawals from any class on the basis of attendance shall result in the student receiving a WF (0.0) on his or her transcript; exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Associate Dean. A failing grade will be calculated as part of the semester and cumulative grade point average.

WF  A grade of WF is posted on the transcript whenever a student is withdrawn from a course for excessive absences and has a failing grade at the time the student is withdrawn or has received three WAs on his or her transcript; exceptions can be made at the discretion of the Associate Dean. The WF grade confers no credit and is calculated in the grade average (0.0).

X  A grade of X is posted on the transcript if the student, through no fault of his or her own, has not yet received a grade for a course. This grade is designed for those situations in which a course is expected to take more than one semester to complete. This grade also covers unforeseeable circumstances unrelated to the student. The X grade does not confer credit for the course and is not calculated in the grade point average.

I  A grade of I is given to a student who has not completed the requirements for a course due to unforeseen and exigent circumstances relating to the student. The Associate Dean must approve a grade of I before such a grade is given for a course. The Associate Dean shall set conditions for completing the requirements of the course, including the deadline by which the course work must be completed. Generally, the deadline for completion of the course requirements will not extend beyond the subsequent semester and, typically the deadline will be much shorter than that.  If the student does not meet the conditions set forth by the Associate Dean, an unresolved I becomes an F (0.0). At no time does an I confer credit for a course.

Pass/Fail Grading

Any course in which letter grades are not expected to be given will be graded on a Pass/Fail basis. Course descriptions and registration materials will designate those courses which are graded Pass/Fail.

Grading Standard for Pass/Fail

Students who pass the course receive a P for the course. Students who fail the course receive an F (0.0). A failing grade will be calculated as part of a student’s semester and cumulative grade point average.

Please Note: For all coursework taken on a Pass/Fail basis, whether at or outside the School of Law, students who perform below a passing level will receive an F.

Credit Hour Limitation on Pass/Fail Courses 

Please refer to the section on Computation of Graduation Credits: Pass/Fail Credits for information about limitations on the use of pass/fail credit. 

Grading Ranges for Law School Classes

1. All Required Courses

   1. First-Year Courses

 A mandatory grade-point-average course range of 2.5 to 2.7 applies to each section of all first-year courses:  Contracts I and II, Torts I and II, Property I and II, Civil Procedure I and II and, Legal Research, Analysis and Writing I and II.  Professors who, in the same semester, are teaching multiple sections of the same required course shall consult with one another during the grading process to work collaboratively to achieve a fair intersection course GPA variation.

A faculty member teaching two sections of the same course may average the grades of the two sections to achieve the mandatory range

2. Upper-Level Courses

• A mandatory grade-point-average course range of 2.5 to 2.7 applies to each section of the following required courses:  Constitutional Law I and II, Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure, Sales, and Evidence.
• A mandatory grade-point-average course range of 2.4 to 3.0 applies to each section of the following courses:  Business Organizations, Professional Responsibility, Secured Transactions and, Wills, Trusts and Estates. 
• Professors who, in the same semester, are teaching multiple sections of the same required course shall consult with one another during the grading process to work collaboratively to achieve a fair intersection course GPA variation.
• A faculty member teaching two sections of the same course may average the grades of the two sections to achieve the mandatory range.

2. All Elective Courses

A suggested grade-point-average course range of 2.70 to 3.33 is suggested for each section of all graded (non-Pass/Fail) elective courses.

3. Departing from the Ranges

   1. Mandatory Range

Requests to depart from the mandatory range must be directed to the Dean’s designee (the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs) or the Dean’s Office. There is a strong presumption against the grant of such requests, and only the most exceptional of circumstances (and a compelling showing of clear necessity) can warrant departures from mandatory ranges. The burden of making such a showing rests with the instructor who requests the departure.

2. Suggested Range

Departures from suggested ranges lie with the discretion of each instructor, who may award grades outside the suggested range when, in the instructor’s discretion (due to course size, seminar- or clinical-nature, or otherwise), a departure is warranted.

4. Section Consultation

When multiple sections of the same course are offered in any semester, the instructors of each section are encouraged to circulate their grade distributions to one another prior to posting and to seek as much inter-section grading uniformity as they deem achievable. A faculty member teaching two sections of the same course may average the grades of the two sections to achieve the mandatory range.

Requests for Grade Changes

After a Professor has submitted grades to the Office of the Registrar, the grades are final and may not be changed except with permission from the Academic Standards Committee or, as set forth below, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. To qualify, a requested grade change must allege facts indicating a basis for the change that falls within one of three categories set forth below and in accordance with the policies detailed below:

Mathematical, Administrative or Clerical Error

1. Upon a showing that a grade was recorded in error due to a mathematical error, administrative error or clerical error, a request for a grade change should be presented to the Associate Dean. In general, requests for grade changes on the basis of a mathematical error, an administrative error, or a clerical error, are submitted by the faculty member who taught the course.

2. A mathematical error is an error based upon an incorrect calculation of a student’s score on an exam or in a class, such as an error in addition, subtraction, or other formulaic error.

3. An administrative error is a non-mathematical error made by a faculty member in reading a student’s exam, such as unintentionally overlooking a portion of a student’s exam answer.

4. A clerical error is an error, other than those addressed above, such as a transcription error. Clerical errors are not limited to errors made by faculty and include errors made by a staff member after a faculty member has submitted his or her grades.

5. If a student wishes to challenge a grade based on any of the above grounds, the student shall first address the issue directly with the faculty member responsible for the grade. If the faculty member agrees that a mathematical error, administrative error or clerical error has been made, the faculty member shall submit the request for a grade change to the Associate Dean.    

6. If the faculty member does not agree that a mathematical error, administrative error or clerical error has been made, the student may submit a written request for the change to the Associate Dean. The Associate Dean shall allow the faculty member to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation he or she deems necessary before making a final determination. 

Bias

1. A grade challenge made on the basis of bias would include an allegation by a student that his or her grade was unfairly awarded based upon a particular faculty member’s bias with regard to (and presumably against) that student.

2. To allege bias, a student must allege specific facts indicating professorial prejudice (either against a group of students or against the student making the allegation). To qualify for consideration, the challenge must allege that the prejudice stems from a source other than the student’s performance in class discussions, on the course’s webpage, on assignments, or on papers, quizzes and examinations. Allegations of bias must be made under oath.

3. Challenges based on bias shall be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean, who shall forward the challenge directly to the Academic Standards Committee. The Committee shall allow the faculty member involved to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation it deems necessary. If the faculty member involved is a member of the Committee, the faculty member shall be recused from participating in the deliberations.

Arbitrary and capricious grading

1. A grade challenge made on the basis of an allegation of arbitrary and capricious grading must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean, who shall forward the challenge directly to the Academic Standards Committee. The arbitrary and capricious standard is narrow and, when reviewing a challenge on this basis, the Academic Standards Committee is not to substitute its judgment for that of the professor. The Committee should find that a grade is arbitrary and capricious only if there was no rational basis for the grade, based on all the circumstances. 

2. The Committee shall allow the faculty member involved to provide a written response and shall conduct any investigation it deems necessary. If the faculty member involved is a member of the Committee, the faculty member shall be recused from participating in the deliberations.

Requests for Changes

Requests for grade changes grades must be made no later than:

• January 31 for fall semester grades; and
• August 31 for spring, Maymester, and summer semester grades.

Determinations on Requests

All decisions of the Academic Standards Committee with respect to requests for grade changes shall be final. All decisions by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs with respect to grade change requests under “Mathematical, Administrative or Clerical Error” shall be final.