| A | = 4.33 | CR | Credit | |
| A– | = 4.00 | NC | No Credit | |
| B+ | = 3.67 | P | Pass | |
| B | = 3.33 | NP | No Pass | |
| B– | = 3.00 | I | Incomplete | |
| C+ | = 2.67 | **** | Grade not turned in yet | |
| C | = 2.33 | NS | No Show | |
| C– | = 2.00 | NR | Not Reported | |
| D+ | = 1.67 | |||
| D | = 1.33 | |||
| D– | = 1.00 | |||
| F | = 0.00 |
The A range denotes outstanding scholarship; the B range indicates above-average work; the C and C+ indicate work demonstrating professional competence; C- and D describe work that is below the range of professional competence but sufficient for residency credit. F is failing work, unsatisfactory for unit credit.
- LL.M. in U.S. Law students are graded on a P/NP basis only.
Credit/No Credit
In certain elective courses, no letter grades are awarded. Students are evaluated in terms of whether their work meets the level of professional competence. (In a graded course, this would be a grade of C or above.) Students who perform at a level of professional competence receive a grade of “credit.” Students who performance below this level receive “no credit”, and the course does not count toward the hours required for graduation. CR/NC units are not counted toward the maximum number of units permitted on a P/NP basis.
Pass/No Pass
Students may choose to take non-required courses that are normally graded A through F on a P/NP basis. Students who wish to exercise this option during their last semester before graduation must receive prior approval from the senior assistant dean for student services.
For the fall and spring semesters students must elect the P/NP option within the first four weeks of the start of the semester. Summer students must elect the option at the time of registration. The election must be made in writing and submitted to the Law Records Office. The P/NP election is irreversible after the fourth week of fall or spring or after the first day of summer class.
Students may take no more than two elective courses on a P/NP basis in any one semester and no more than 12 units on a P/NP basis during the entire program of study. More such units are recorded on student transcripts but do not count toward graduation.
Students who achieve a grade of C or better in a course for which they have elected the P/NP option receive a grade of “pass”. Students who achieve a grade in the C- through D- range receive a “no pass”. Failing students receive an F.
Transcript posts indicate P, NP, or F. Grades posted as NP do not count toward the minimum 86 units required for graduation. Under no circumstances should a student ask to see the actual grade received.
For honors consideration, students must have a minimum of 65 units of traditionally graded credit (i.e., excluding both P/NP and CR/NC units). Transfer students must have 50 units of traditionally graded credit.
Audit
Generally, the right to audit courses is limited to practicing attorneys and judges. Current students may petition to audit a course on a space-available basis. Tuition is charged for audited courses which are designated as such on student transcripts.
GPA requirements
A student’s academic standing is determined by the cumulative grade point average (GPA), which is calculated by dividing the total grade points scored, in accordance with the above norms (e.g., A = 4.33, B = 3.33, C = 2.33, etc.), by the number of units of graded work attempted. A student’s cumulative GPA is expressed as a number carried out three decimal places without rounding.
To be in academic good standing, students must have a minimum GPA of 2.33 at the end of the spring semester of any attended year. Each student must maintain satisfactory academic standing as a prerequisite for continued attendance in the law school. Students must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.33 or higher in order to graduate. For purposes of determining academic standing, a student’s cumulative GPA is computed only after the spring semester of each academic year.
Grade curve and normalization
It is the School of Law’s policy that grades in required and bar-tested courses fall within a norm (e.g., that grades in various sections are similar). The policy is as follows:
1. First-year substantive courses
Instructors in Contracts (102), Torts (103), Property (104), Criminal Law (106), Pleading and Civil Procedure (114), and Constitutional Law I (200) shall give final grades that fulfill the following grade distribution obligations:
| A/A– No fewer than 8% |
No more than 12% |
| A through B– No fewer than 45% |
No more than 55% |
| C– and below No fewer than 8% |
No more than 12% |
2. Legal Research and Writing (101)
Instructors shall give grades in Legal Research and Writing that fulfill the following grade distribution obligations:
| A/A– No fewer than 10% |
No more than 15% |
| A through B– No fewer than 50% |
No more than 60% |
| C– and below No minimum percentage requirement |
No more than 12% |
- In determining whether a student qualifies to continue study at the law school following the first two semesters of law school, the grade that a student receives in Legal Research and Writing shall be considered if and only if it is a C- or below.
3. Advocacy (105)
Instructors shall give grades in Advocacy that fulfill the faculty policy mandating a median grade between B and B-.
4. Upper-division required courses and courses tested on the California Bar Exam
Courses tested on the California Bar Exam and all courses required for graduation with the exception of those set forth above shall be subject to the following grade distribution obligations:
| A/A– No fewer than 10% |
No more than 15% |
| A through B– No fewer than 50% |
No more than 60% |
| C– and below No fewer than 8% |
No more than 12% |
Current upper-division courses subject to the grade normalization policy:
- 201. Constitutional Law II
- 248. Business Organizations
- 281. Wills and Trusts
- 290. Community Property
- 302. Legal Profession
- 310. Criminal Procedure
- 320. Evidence
- 324. Remedies
5. Exception
In courses subject to grade normalization, the dean may, for good cause, approve a deviation from the required distribution of grades if the number of students registered in the course at the end of the grading period is 25 or fewer and the instructor requests such an exception.
6. Rounding
In determining compliance with the required array of grades, fractions may be rounded up or down or both. For example, in a class of 70 students, 8 percent equals 5.6 students and 12 percent equals 8.4 students. By rounding up and down, the instructor in a first-year class of 70 students may give 5-9 grades of A/A- and 5-9 grades of C- or below.
Class rank
Percentile rankings for each class year and program (e.g., first-year day, first-year evening, etc.) are computed annually based upon the relevant cumulative grade point averages at the end of the spring semester. J.D./MBA students are ranked with second-year students until their graduating year. Students in the top 20 percent of their class, based on GPAs, are recognized on the Dean’s List. Class rank at the time of graduation in the spring is computed for the entire graduating class combined (December, May, and July graduates). Students’ current and cumulative GPAs are available on E-Campus.
Faculty submission of grades
Grades are due 30 days from the date that the bulk of the exams are available for grading. Grades for courses with papers are due 30 days from the end of the exam period. Once grades are submitted to the Law Records Office, there is usually a delay of several days before the grades are posted to individual student records and available to students on E-Campus.
Grade changes
Once submitted to the Law Records Office, a grade may not be changed except to rectify a computational error in deriving the grade or a clerical error in recording the grade. Computational or clerical errors do not include a subjective re-evaluation of the content of student work.
Faculty members who seek a grade change for the cause named must present a written Notice of Grade Change petition to the dean. Before taking effect, all grade changes must be signed by the instructor and approved by the dean.
First-Year grades
Midterm grades in year-long first-year courses are “pencil grades” and do not appear on transcripts. Students are notified of these “pencil” grades via e-mails sent to their GroupWise account.
Incompletes
For compelling reasons, instructors may award a grade of I (“Incomplete”). The instructor may not award a grade of Incomplete for students in their final semester of law school or in courses in which the grade is determined by final examination. A grade of Incomplete will not be posted to a student’s record until the student submits a signed Incomplete Grade form to the Law Records Office. Both the student and instructor should sign the Incomplete Grade form.
When a grade of Incomplete is authorized by the above rule, work required to remove the grade of Incomplete must be submitted to the instructor no later than the last day of classes of the next following semester or by an earlier date specified by the instructor. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in an automatic conversion of the incomplete grade to a grade of F. See “Fulfillment of Course Requirements” below.
Availability of grades
The Law Records Office posts grades to E-Campus. Under no circumstances will Law Records personnel give out grades via phone or fax.
The Office of the Registrar is the sole source of copies of academic transcripts. For details see www.scu.edu/studentrecords/Transcript-Detail.cfm.
Individual professors may, at their discretion, use supplemental grade posting or grade availability including a summary of grades awarded.