SCHOOL OF LAW
SPRING '06 SEMESTER FAQs

Below are the answers to frequently asked questions. In addition, please refer to the 2005 STUDENT HANDBOOK SUPPLEMENT, which is also posted on the Tulane Law School website. Additional questions can be forwarded to the Tulane University Information Center, the numbers for which appear below.

**Questions 33-38 are new as of Oct. 20**

1. What is the schedule for the spring semester terms?

Upper-level and spring semester for 1Ls who visited in the fall semester
January 9 First day of classes
January 16 Martin Luther King Day (no classes)
Feb. 27-Mar. 5 Mardi Gras/Spring Break (no classes)
April 14 Good Friday (no classes)
April 21 Last day of classes
April 24-May 4 Final exams
May 13 Commencement

Spring terms for 1Ls who did not visit in fall

Spring 1

January 9 First day of classes
January 16 Martin Luther King Day (no classes)
Feb. 27 & 28 Lundi and Mardi Gras (no classes)
March 21 Last day of classes
March 24-31 Finals exams

April 1-9 Break

Spring II

April 10 First day of classes
April 14 Good Friday (no classes)
May 29 Memorial Day (no classes)
June 20 Last day of classes
June 22-30 Finals exams

2. What courses will be offered to first-year students who visited at another law school?

For first- year students who have visited at another law school, Tulane will offer one 14-week semester of the regular spring first year courses: Contracts II (and Obligations I for Civil Law students), Common Law Property (and Civil Law Property for Civil Law students), Constitutional Law I, and Legal Research and Writing. In addition, students may elect to take an additional course from a list of courses designated as “1L electives.” Because other law schools structure the fall semester differently from Tulane, some students may need to pick up a required first-year course in their second year.

3. What courses will be offered for first-year students who did not visit at another law school?

For first-year students who did not visit at another law school, Tulane will offer two 10-week semesters followed by an examination period that will end in March and June, respectively. “Spring 1” will include the usual fall-semester courses: Contracts I, Civil Procedure, Criminal Law, Torts, and Legal Research and Writing. There will be a one-week break between the conclusion of Spring 1 examinations and the start of Spring 2 classes. The “Spring 2” semester will include the spring semester first-year courses which are listed above in Question 2, plus a group of first-year electives. Students will receive the same number of contact hours and minutes as they would in a 14-week semester. First-year students should enjoy smaller sections and a more favorable student/faculty ratio.

4. I am a 1L student who did visit in the fall, but I still need to take a required first-year course. Will I be able to take it in Spring 1?

Generally not. Due to the different schedules for you and the students who did not visit, and the need to keep the two groups separate for purposes of rankings and Law Review/Moot Court eligibility, those of you in this position will have to wait until fall ’06 to pick-up any required first year course that you missed. Exceptions may be made where possible for students who were only part-time visitors.

5. I am a 1L. Can I enroll part-time in spring?

No, we do not maintain a part-time program, and this has never been an option for 1L students

6. I am a 1L who did not visit in the fall semester. What are the procedures and requirements if I chose to defer until fall ’06?

First, withdraw by the November 1st deadline.

Second, by November 15, 2005, send to TulaneLawAdmissions@gmail.com a statement of intent to defer your enrollment from 2005-06 to 2006-07.

Third, by December 1, 2005, complete and submit the deferral forms that will be made available by the Tulane Law School Office of Admission on the Law School website.

Fourth, by January 15, 2006, send a commitment deposit of $2,500 to the Tulane Law School Office of Admission. This commitment deposit is non-refundable, but will be credited directly to your fall 2006 tuition bill, along with the $750 commitment deposit you submitted in 2005.

Finally, any scholarships awarded for the 2005-06 academic year will be renewed, under the same terms, for 2006-07 enrollment.

7. How will 1L rankings be determined since those who visited in the fall and those who did not will have had a different kind of schedule and, for the fall semester, will have been graded on a pass/fail basis?

At the end of the first year, we will create two sets of ranking for 1Ls. Those who completed the entire first-year at Tulane in Spring 1 & 2 will comprise one group, and those who only completed one semester at Tulane will comprise the other. CDO will explain these different rankings to prospective employers. The two groups will be consolidated after the conclusion of the second year of law school.

8. Given that there are two groups of 1Ls, what about eligibility for Law Review and Moot Court, both of which have historically depended in some measure on grades?

These are student organizations that promulgate their own rules, so it is not for the administration to dictate policy in this area. However, both the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review and the Chief Justice of the Moot Court Board are aware of the issue, are consulting with their faculty advisors, senior boards, and will likely make changes in their selection criteria this year. 9. What courses will be offered for upper level JD and LLM students?

The curriculum will include courses regarded by the faculty and administration as essential for legal education beyond the first year, including clinical courses, and necessary to complete certificate and other program requirements. A complete list of courses and schedule will be posted on the website well in advance of the November registration date.

10. Will the spring semester include classes that are normally offered in the fall to provide prerequisites for other courses?

Yes. The spring semester will include many important classes usually offered only in the fall. This includes most prerequisites for other courses. If for some reason a prerequisite is not offered, we will urge the faculty to be reasonably flexible in waiving the prerequisite requirement when it is academically appropriate to do so.

11. I am a 3L. Do I still have to complete the upper-level writing requirement?

You must make every effort to complete this requirement, and if you have not already done so, there will be several opportunities to do so through seminars, journal work, and directed research in the spring term. However, if despite your best efforts, you are unable to complete this requirement due to the interruption in your program caused by Hurricane Katrina, you may petition Dean Scott for a waiver. Dean Scott can be reached at wbscott@earthlink.net.

12. What about Trial Advocacy?

The Dean for Academic Affairs is in contact with the adjunct faculty, many of whom have relocated their law firms, to determine their availability. The course will be offered to a limited number of students if a sufficient number of adjunct professors are available. In any case, our clinics will waive the Trial Advocacy requirement.

13. When will law students be able to register?

On-line registration will begin in November 2005. A list of courses will be posted in October.

14. What is the policy governing students’ requests to visit away for the spring 2006 semester?

The Law School’s longstanding policy, published in the Student Handbook, provides that 3Ls who present compelling personal circumstances may, in rare instances, be permitted to spend one or both semesters of their third year at another law school. Second year students are permitted to visit away only in critical situations. If, after reading the postings regarding this issue under Law School Official Announcements on the TLS website, students wish to petition for visiting student status, they should contact Dean Tondra Netherton, Asst. Dean for Students, at tondranroberts@yahoo.com. Before submitting a petition, however, students should understand that “compelling personal circumstances” is not an open-ended term that the Dean for Students may define at her discretion. Rather, it is defined in the Student Handbook and applies in only certain very limited types of circumstances. Students should consult that Handbook language, which has been posted on the TLS website.

15. Will the Law School offer the summer abroad programs?

Because so many of our faculty will be needed in New Orleans until the end of June to teach in the Spring 2 term, we will not be able to offer our full array of summer abroad courses this year. However, we do plan to run our programs in Rhodos, Spetses, Amsterdam, Berlin, and possibly one or two other location in summer ’06.

16. How will the law school provide bar certification for graduating students?

Any student who needs bar certification forms completed should send those forms electronically to colleentimmons@bellsouth.net. If the state bar association does not allow for electronic processing of bar certification forms and a physical address is needed, please send those to Tulane University, Law School, 6823 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118. Upon restoration of the student record system, we will begin processing those bar certification requests. All students should check the bar association website for the state in which they plan to take the bar for information about application procedures and deadline dates.

17. How do I obtain an official transcript?

Requests to receive an official transcript will need to be made in writing to the University Registrar. Students should include the dates of attendance and to whom the transcript should be sent in their written request. Those requests may be mailed to the Registrar at the following address: Tulane University, Registrar / Transcripts, 110 Gibson Hall, New Orleans, LA 70118. As soon as the mechanisms for processing official transcripts are restored the university will begin processing these requests. There will be an announcement on the Tulane website when transcripts will be available; transcripts will be provided without charge.

18. Can students who visit elsewhere still take a Tulane course on a P/D/F basis?

Yes. The one-time P/D/F option at Tulane is still available.

19. How will transfer credit appear on the Tulane transcript?

Your transcript will list the course taken at the other law school, but will only show the grade as P or F. All courses in which the student received a passing grade according to the rules of the visited law school will show a grade of P. Most employers will want to see a copy of your transcript from the visited law school, in addition to your Tulane transcript.

20. What about the community service requirement?

Our rules provide that the community service work must be "law-related." This is a faculty-adopted rule, and it would be inappropriate for the administration to waive it entirely. We will, however, be more liberal in interpreting what constitutes "law-related" work. Please contact Assistant Dean for Community Service Julie Jackson at snailmailfan@gmail.com with specific questions regarding a service project you are considering to see if it qualifies as “law-related.”

21. Will the student journals have access to budgeted funds?

We anticipate that all of our journals will continue to publish some or all of their issues for the year. Although we don’t have specific budgetary information at this time, we will ensure adequate funds to cover normal operating expenses.

22. Will students still be able to receive the full credit for journals?

Yes. Students who work on journals over the course of the year (which many are doing from their current locations) can enroll in the spring for journal credit (which is when journal credit enrollment normally occurs anyway) and receive the full credit.

23. How will it be determined whether a student who has engaged in an externship/internship will receive any credit?

Most externships taken through a school they are visiting this semester will undoubtedly receive credit. The only requirement is that they are properly conducted and supervised pursuant to ABA accreditation requirements, which we assume most or virtually all will. Students taking an externship in the fall should contact Dean Julie Jackson as soon as possible, provide her with the information about your externship (what it involves, the name of the field supervisor, the name of the faculty supervisor, etc.), and she will determine promptly if it will qualify for credit at Tulane. Please refer to the 2005 Student Handbook Supplement and/or contact Dean Jackson.

24. Will there be a commencement ceremony for spring graduates? If so when will it be held?

Yes. There will be a Tulane University commencement on Saturday, May 13, 2006, one week earlier than originally scheduled. The Law School will also hold a separate diploma conferral ceremony.

25. I am a 3L but did not visit this fall so I will not have enough hours to graduate in May. Can I still participate in commencement?

Yes, you may march in the ceremonies on May 13 with the rest of your class even though you may not complete all your degree requirements until the next semester.

26. How do I find e-mail addresses for the various deans and faculty members at Tulane Law School?

Start by going to the E-mail Directory on the Tulane Law School website, www.law.tulane.edu. If you cannot find the e-mail address for which you are searching there, check the “phone book” on the www.tulane.edu legacy website which, if not up already, will be up very soon.

27. Who is the contact for University Student Health Office questions?

Dr. James Farrow, Director of Student Health, jafguru@hotmail.com

28. Who/what is the contact for student health insurance questions?

Students should contact Chickering Co., the health insurance carrier for Tulane students, at Chickering.com (click on “Find Your School” and enter “Tulane”). Alternatively, you may telephone Chickering at (617) 218-8400.

29. What is the contact information for the Tulane International Student Office?

Students should email Mr. Bill Lennon at blennon5111@yahoo.com.

30. Whom should students with disabilities contact with questions about implementation of disability accommodations at their host school?

Students, or representatives of the students’ host law schools, should email Dean Tondra Netherton, Asst. Dean for Students, at tondranroberts@yahoo.com.

31. Whom should students contact with questions about student organizations and journals?

Students are asked to contact Ashley Hugunine, SBA president, who is functioning as the clearinghouse for the administration regarding student organization matters. Ashley can be contacted at Ashley.Hugunine@law.duke.edu. She is in constant contact with the administration, particularly with Dean Netherton regarding student organization and journal matters as well as other matters of student concern, and is promptly responding to student questions. Students should be advised that all university accounts have been “frozen” temporarily, including student organization and journal “9” accounts and SBA funds. Students are warned not to incur expenses for which they plan to seek reimbursement from organization/journal accounts pending further notice from the university.

32. What is the recommended University and Law School contact information for student questions?

Students are encouraged to direct questions to 866.502.7264 or, if you are calling from Texas, 713.888.5008. Members of the Law School administration, faculty and staff are continuing to respond to messages directed to them individually, but the response time could be slow due to the large number of emails being sent.

**Questions 33-38 are new as of Oct. 20**

33. The Student Handbook says that students are limited to earning six credits in any summer. What is the maximum number of credits that a student will be allowed to earn during the summer in 2006?

Nine.

34. The Student Handbook also says that the maximum number of credits earned during all summer sessions over a student’s career that can be applied toward the 88 credits required for graduation is 12. Will that limit be waived or increased?

For students who take more than six credits during the summer of 2006, the limit of 12 total summer credits will be increased for them by the number of credits over six they earn in summer 2006. Thus, for example, if a student earns nine credits in summer 2006, the limit on the total number of summer credits that can be applied toward the 88 required for graduation will be increased to 15.

35. Is the law school’s summer program in New Orleans a “Lagniappe semester” like the undergraduate program?

No. The law school’s summer program in New Orleans will follow the same format that it always has in prior years (six weeks of classes), with the only difference being that there will be more courses offered than in a normal New Orleans summer session. Because the maximum number of credits a student may take is nine, no student can be “full time,” and tuition will be charged on a per credit basis rather than on a semester basis. Thus, the summer session is not a “semester” in any ordinary sense of the term.

36. Will the law school waive its six-semester-as-a-full-time-student residency requirement for a current 2L student who earns enough credits in summer 2006 to meet the 88-credit requirement by only attending five full-time semesters?

The law school will not waive the six-semester residency requirement for any student, with one exception. The law school will waive the residency requirement for a current 2L student who earns 88 credits by attending only five regular full-time semesters, and picks up the balance of the necessary credits in summer 2006 (or in both summer 2005 and 2006), if and only if the student was unable to visit at another school during fall 2005 and waiving the residency requirement is the only way the student can graduate on time in May 2007 with his/her class.

37. What are the dates of the law school’s summer session in New Orleans?

The first day of classes in the summer session will be May 15. Classes in every course will run for 75 minutes, Monday through Friday, for six weeks, with classes ending on June 23. Exams will be the week of June 26-30.

38. I am a 3L but will need to take a summer course to complete my degree requirements (i.e., 88 credit hours). What will I be charged and can I do directed research in lieu of a class?

If you took at least fifteen credit hours in the spring ’06 semester and, at the end of that semester (a) have satisfied the six semester residency requirement, (b) are current in your accounts receivable account, and (c) still need three or less credit hours to complete your degree requirements, tuition for a Tulane New Orleans summer course will be waived. You may also satisfy that requirement with directed research instead of a classroom course and, for students in this situation only, we will also waive the three credit hour limit on directed research credit to allow you to apply up to six credits of directed research work toward your degree.

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