Academic and Conduct Policies

You should familiarize yourself with the important policies linked below governing your academic and personal responsibilities while at the law school. Failing to read or familiarize yourself with these policies will not excuse the failure to abide by their requirements.

Academic and Conduct Policies

Academic Integrity

Students are subject to the Academic Integrity Code with respect to all work done while enrolled at the law school. Additionally, students are expected to familiarize themselves with Citing Responsibly, the law school's guide to avoiding plagiarism.

Non-Academic Related Conduct

For non-academic conduct, students are bound by the GWU Student Code of Conduct. Students are expected to familiarize themselves with these policies. 

Title IX Sexual Harassment and Related Conduct Policy

All students are bound by the University Title IX Sexual Harassment and Related Conduct Policy. Students may report an incident to the Title IX Coordinator by phone at (202) 994-7434 or via their website. Students can receive confidential support for any trauma-related incident through the Office of Safety and Support.

Mutual No-Contact Orders and State Bar Certifications

When the law school receives reports of non-academic misconduct, those reports are referred to the appropriate university office—such as the Title IX Office or Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. No office at the law school, including the Dean of Students Office, processes, investigates or adjudicates non-academic conduct issues. The law school does not issue no-contact orders. All conduct issues falling under the Sexual Harassment Policy or the Code of Student Conduct are investigated and adjudicated by the Title IX Office or Student Rights and Responsibilities respectively.

The law school does, however, answer questions on state bar certification requests. Every state has its own set of questions, and these questions vary in number, breadth, and specificity. State bars do not traditionally ask whether students have reported misconduct or accessed services, but sometimes ask about disciplinary matters. We will not report mutual no-contact orders as disciplinary action in response to a bar certification. The language in mutual no-contact orders--which are issued by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities and the Title IX Office--was revised in 2020 to state explicitly that the orders are not disciplinary actions. To review a template of the current mutual no contact language, please see here.   

We are not aware of any students whose bar admission was delayed or prevented due to no contact order reporting. However, separate from no-contact orders, students seeking bar admission should familiarize themselves with the questions on bar applications. If students have any questions about what the law school will be reporting, they should be in touch with our office at the time of their application to the bar. Our goal is to ensure that our reporting and a student's self-reporting are in accord with each other while maintaining our mutual duty of extraordinary candor to each state bar.

The Dean of Students Office strives to support an inclusive environment where students feel comfortable raising any issues of bias, harassment, or sexual misconduct. Students should not feel added anxiety or distrust about accessing critical resources in this already difficult time. We encourage students with any concerns to reach out to the Dean of Students Office.

Supplemental Disclosures

In the event a student failed to disclose material information in their application to GW Law, they must complete this supplemental disclosure form. For questions about this process, please contact Anthony Tiberio, Assistant Dean of Students, at [email protected]

Law School Policies

Class Recording Policy

Many professors allow all of their classes to be recorded and released by default. Professors, however, may also not record by default, and they may restrict access to any recordings for all sessions or particular sessions. For more information on whether or not your classes are automatically recorded, please see this document. For information on how to access recordings, please watch this video.

For more information about law school policy for seeking recordings when they are not released by default, please see the Class Recording Policy.

Leaves of Absence

After completion of the first year of study, a student may petition the Dean of Students for a leave of absence from the law school. A leave of absence will be granted only when the request is sufficiently compelling, and no leave of absence will be granted in excess of one academic year. A leave of absence during the first year of study may be granted in the case of a student's medically certified disability requiring absence from classes due to a student's hospitalization and medically certified subsequent period of recovery. A student who has been granted a leave of absence must comply with the University's registration procedures of maintaining continuous enrollment. Any student who does not maintain continuous enrollment while on a leave of absence will be required to petition the Academic Scholarship Committee for readmission. To request a leave, please complete this form and return it to the Dean of Students Office at [email protected].

Posting Policy

The George Washington University Law School's posting policy applies to all who utilize the bulletin boards located within the law school. Bulletin boards are for the use of law student organizations sanctioned by the Student Bar Association, law faculty members, law school offices, and other individuals or entities by permission from the Dean's Office. Flyers should clearly state the individuals or entity responsible for the flyer and their contact information. Flyers must be deemed appropriate under university policy and regulations. 

All flyers shall be posted on bulletin boards throughout the law school. No posting on the following:

  • official bulletin boards (e.g. Career Development Office, SBA-only, and Administration bulletin boards)
  • doors
  • wooden surfaces
  • painted surfaces
  • windows around/above student mailboxes
  • elevators
  • classrooms

Please post only one poster/flyer per bulletin board.  Do not cover other flyers. Flyers must be taken down once the event is over. 

Flyers not in compliance with this policy are subject to removal.

Withdrawals & Refunds

Applications for withdrawal from the University must be made in person or in writing to the Dean of Students Office. After the first two weeks of class, applications for changes in class schedule must have the written approval of the instructor, the Dean of Students Office, and the director of the Records Office. Under no circumstances may a student withdraw from a course after the last day of classes in a semester.

In authorized withdrawals and changes in schedule, cancellations of semester tuition charges and fees will be made in accordance with the following schedule for the fall and spring semesters:

  1. Complete withdrawal from the University
    • Withdrawal dated on or before the end of the first week of the semester = 90%
    • Withdrawal dated on or before the end of the second week of the semester = 60%
    • Withdrawal dated on or before the end of the third week of the semester = 40%
    • Withdrawal dated on or before the end of the fourth week of the semester = 25%
    • Withdrawal dated after the fourth week of the semester = 0%
  2. Partial withdrawal
    • If the change in program results in a lower charge, the refund schedule above applies to the difference.
  3. Regulations governing student withdrawals as they relate to residence hall and food service charges are contained in the specific lease arrangements.
  4. Summer Sessions
    • In cases of authorized withdrawals from courses, refunds of 85% of tuition and fees will be made for courses dropped within the first seven calendar days of the start of a session. No refund will be made if dropped thereafter.
  5. For First Year Law Program (not including nonrefundable deposits)
    • Withdrawal prior to the last Friday in July = 100%
    • Withdrawal prior to the first day of the student’s scheduled orientation = 90%
    • Withdrawal from the first day of the student’s scheduled orientation through the first week of the first year law student classes of the semester = 75%
    • Withdrawal from the start of the second week of the semester through October 5 = 50%
    • Withdrawal after October 5 = 0%

Courses that do not follow the traditional semester may have different refund policies.

Refund policies of the University are in conformity with guidelines for refunds as adopted by the American Council on Education. Federal regulations require that financial aid recipients use such refunds to repay financial aid received for that semester’s attendance. This policy applies to institutional aid as well.

In no case will tuition be reduced or refunded because of absence from classes. Authorization to withdraw and certification for work done will not be given to a student who does not have a clear financial record.

Important Forms

Registration Forms Requiring Signature After Deadline