JD Student Advising

• The Graduation webpage outlines graduation requirements, which can also be found in the Student Handbook. Use the online JD Graduation Checklist to organize your course and credit planning.
• The Office of Student Affairs has an automated process to notify upper-level students of their progress toward graduation at key points in the registration cycle, including during 2L spring registration and during 3L fall and spring registration periods. Students will receive an email during these semesters detailing their progress toward meeting degree requirements.

• The S/U Election system gives students the ability to elect upper-level courses to be graded as pass/fail. All policies for the S/U Election system can be found in the Student Handbook.

Note: Please consult the current Student Handbook for S/U election policies, dates, deadlines, and considerations.

• Traditionally non-graded credit hours do not count against your S/U available credits, such as journal, competition, Legal Analysis and Writing, and externship credits.
• The only classes that count against S/U are letter-graded courses where you elected to change the grading style from letter graded to pass/fail. If you cannot remember whether you submitted an election form, review your course history and identify any letter-graded courses that were awarded an “S” or a “U.”
• For an explanation of which classes qualify for an additional 3 credit hours, please review the Student Handbook and then review the S/U Election System information.

• The S/U Election cannot be applied to more than 9 credits or more than three courses, except in the following case: one additional course (up to 3 credits) is available for S/U election if it is either designated as a Clinic or run by the Blakely Advocacy Institute.
• To confirm whether a course is in one of these designated categories, navigate to the current term's Course Schedule and click the red hyperlink that states “Click here for a list of courses where the Pass-Fail Student Election is available in some mode.” Then confirm whether the course is a Clinic by reviewing the Course Schedule and the Course Area, or confirm whether a course is associated with the Blakely Advocacy Institute by reviewing the Course Schedule and Course Area column.

You can find information on claiming and registering for Blakely Advocacy Institute courses and competition credits on the Blakely Advocacy Institute website.

How many credits will I earn for being on a journal?

• Each journal has different hours requirements for its members. Please consult with the Editor in Chief of your journal for confirmation on hours to be worked and credits to be earned.

How do I register for journal credits?

• Journal credits are considered “retroactive credits.” This means that while you earn your journal credits during your 2L year, you should register for them during your 3L year. Some students save all of their journal credits for their final semester to lighten their course load, but it is up to you when you register for them.

When should I register for these credits? How do I plan around them?

• Because you are likely registering for journal credits your 3L year (4L year for part time), you may need to lessen your 2L course load to accommodate. For example:
  • 2L Fall: 12 hours of registered courses + 3 hours of journal being earned but not registered = 15 active hours and 12 registered hours.
  • 2L Spring: 13 hours of registered courses + 3 hours of journal being earned but not registered = 16 active hours and 13 registered hours.
  • 3L Fall: 13 hours of registered courses + 3 hours of registered journal credit (previously earned) = 13 active hours and 16 registered hours.
  • 3L Spring: 13 hours of registered courses + 3 hours of registered journal credit (previously earned) = 13 active hours and 16 registered hours.

Note: You cannot register for more than 16 hours in a semester, regardless of whether the credits have already been earned. This means you may have to claim retroactive hours such as journals and competitions your 3L fall instead of saving them all for your 3L spring if you took a lighter load during your 2L year to accommodate your journal or competition hours.

• Yes. Students may schedule a course advising appointment through BookWithMe or by emailing Dr. Harrison-Williams at lharris8@Central.UH.EDU.
• Requirements: Students must email a completed online JD Graduation Checklist before the meeting time.

• Please complete the online JD Graduation Checklist and then email the Director of Student Advisement with any remaining questions you have after reviewing the checklist.
• Note: It is not necessary for law students to meet with an advisor in order to file for graduation. Law students may disregard the University's notification stating otherwise.

• Students are not permitted to take more than one half, that is, 45 credit-hours of distance education courses as defined by the ABA. An ABA distance education course means one in which students are separated from the faculty member or each other for more than one-third of the instruction and such instruction involves the use of technology to support regular and substantive interaction among students and between the students and the faculty member, either synchronously or asynchronously.
• UHLC's course listings can be found on its main webpage, along with the individual course descriptions for each course. The course description for a course will indicate whether that course is designated as an ABA distance education course.
• Note: Courses that were offered as distance education due to the pandemic and prior to the Fall 2022 semester will not count against the distance education credit-hour limit.

When can I switch my classification? When do I submit my required form(s)?

• Full time to part time: you can switch your classification after completing your 1L coursework (after your 1L spring). You should submit your required form before the semester in which you intend your classification to be changed.
• Part time to full time: you can switch your classification after completing your 1L coursework (after your 1L summer). Your 2L fall will be the first semester in which you can switch to full time. You will still be required to take Constitutional Law your 2L fall with your part time cohort. Although you are not able to switch your classification until 2L fall, you should submit your required forms during your 1L spring before registration begins. This enables you to register for a full-time courseload (12 to 16 hours).

What are the required forms for switching my classification?

• Full time to part time: submit a General Petition form to the Office of Student Affairs.
• Part time to full time: submit a General Petition form and a Full Time Certification form to the Office of Student Affairs.

Are there other considerations I may be missing for switching from part time to full time?

• If you are switching to full time, you will need to be in at maximum a part-time job. If you are unable to flex your job down from full time to part time, then you are ineligible to switch your classification.
• When planning for degree progress, you will start your 2L fall with 28 completed hours. This means you will need to have a semester average of credits at 15.5 hours. If you are taking summer hours, or intersession courses, you will have more flexibility in your semester load. Please utilize the Advising Calculator to plan how many hours you will need in any given semester.
• Keep in mind that even though you may be working fewer hours during your 2L year, you will be taking more credit hours which may require more cognitive load. Be intentional when planning your first full-time semester so that you do not overwhelm your schedule and cause your grades to suffer.