Academic Evaluation
Grades
Letter grades are given with numerical equivalents as follows.
A+ = 4.33
A = 4.0
A− = 3.66
B+ = 3.33
B = 3.0
B− = 2.66
C+ = 2.33
C = 2.0
C− = 1.66
D = 1.0
F = 0
Credit toward the JD degree is given for all grades between D and A+ (inclusive). A JD candidate who receives a grade of F or No Credit (NC) in a required course must retake that course from the same or a different instructor. Any student who retakes a required course and receives a grade of F or NC will be excluded from further study and may not graduate unless the student petitions for and receives the permission of the Academic Scholarship Committee. A JD candidate who receives a grade of F or NC in a non-required course may retake the course once, from the same or a different instructor. All failing and NC grades remain on the record. The cumulative average of a student includes all grades earned in courses evaluated on a let- ter-grade basis and taken at the Law School while a candidate for the degree.
The majority of courses are graded on a letter-grade basis, but for some courses, primarily those that are clinical or skills-oriented, the grade of Credit (CR) or No Credit (NC) is given or the following grading scale is used: Honors (H), Pass (P), Low Pass (LP), and No Credit (NC). For Honors, a student must do work of excellent quality, and no more than 25 percent of the class may earn this grade. For courses graded on a Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) or Honors, Pass, Low Pass, or No Credit (H/P/LP/NC) basis, NC is given for work that would receive a grade below C- were evaluation to be made using the letter grade scale.
A student who has been excused from taking a regularly scheduled examination or has been granted an extension of the deadline for a research paper is given the grade of I, Incom- plete. (See Failure to Take an Examination, and Deadlines for Courses Graded on the Basis of Methods of Evaluation Other than In-Class Examinations, below.)
No grade may be changed by an instructor after it has been posted or disclosed to a student unless there has been an arithmetic or administrative error that has been certified in writing as such by the instructor. A student has the right of faculty peer review of complaints of “preju- diced or capricious academic evaluation” under the regulations outlined in The George Washing- ton University Guide to Students’ Rights and Responsibilities. To initiate such a review, the student must submit a letter and supporting documentation to the senior associate dean for academic affairs by the last day of classes of the semester following the semester or summer session in which the grade for an examination, paper, or other work product was awarded. The student has the burden of making a prima facie case, with appropriate documentation, that the grade was prejudiced or capricious. Mere disagreement with the grade is not a sufficient basis for initiating a faculty peer review.
Method of Evaluation
The method of evaluation is indicated at the end of each course description in this Bulletin, and a student’s grade in the course will be determined in large part on that basis. In most courses, a final examination is held during the examination period. These courses are marked “exam- ination.” Additional written work requirements are indicated by notations such as “drafting assignments” or “problem assignments.” Some courses are marked “take-home examination,” indicating that the instructor will determine the method by which the examination is adminis- tered outside of the classroom.
Courses that require the preparation of a major research paper in lieu of an examination are marked “research paper.” The satisfactory completion of such a paper by a student individually will satisfy the legal writing requirement for the JD degree. Some courses are marked “exam- ination or research paper with permission of the instructor.” In such cases an examination will be scheduled, but the instructor may grant permission for an individual student to write a research paper in lieu of the examination. Research papers satisfactorily completed in these courses also will satisfy the legal writing requirement for the JD degree.
Skills courses are usually graded on the basis of simulation, role-playing, and/or some form of written assignment and may be marked, for example, “drafting assignments” or “simula- tion and paper.” In clinical courses no method of evaluation is indicated. In such courses it is the student’s performance in carrying out his or her clinical responsibilities that forms the basis for the grade.
Participation—Once a student has been evaluated in a course using the method indicated in the course description, the instructor may raise or lower the student’s grade on the basis of class participation. For courses in which the sole method of evaluation listed in this Bulletin is an examination (whether in-class or take-home), a student’s grade may be raised or lowered for class participation by only one grade step, e.g., from B to B+, or B to B-, provided that the instructor so notifies the students in the syllabus. For all other courses (excluding skills and clinical courses), instructors intending to consider class participation in the final grade deter- mination must state in the syllabus the weight it will be accorded.
Academic Recognition
The distinction of “George Washington Scholar” is indicated for those students whose cumu- lative grade-point average at the end of any semester places them among the top 15 percent of their class. The distinction of “Thurgood Marshall Scholar” is indicated for those students whose cumulative grade-point average at the end of the semester places them between the top 15 and 35 percent of their class. A notation of these distinctions is entered onto students’ tran- scripts each semester after all grades have been reported in all courses.
Honors
The degree of Juris Doctor “With Highest Honors” is awarded to those students, not exceed- ing three percent of the graduating class, who have obtained the highest cumulative averages of at least 3.67.
The degree of Juris Doctor “With High Honors” is awarded to those students with the highest cumulative averages of 3.33 or better. The number of students receiving degrees “With High Honors,” when added to the total number of students receiving degrees “With Highest Honors,” may not exceed 10 percent of the graduating class.
The degree of Juris Doctor “With Honors” is awarded to those students with the highest cumulative averages of 3.0 or better. The number of students receiving degrees “With Honors,” when added to the total number of students receiving degrees “With High Honors” and “With Highest Honors,” may not exceed 40 percent of the graduating class.
For students who receive their degrees in September and January, eligibility for honors will be determined based upon the student’s grade-point average in comparison with those students who graduated the previous May.
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif, a national legal honor society, aims “to foster a spirit of careful study and to mark in a fitting manner those who have attained a high grade of scholarship.” The George Washington University chapter was established in 1926. Members are elected each year from the highest-ranking 10 percent of the graduating Juris Doctor candidates.