Dismissal and Reinstatement

The Reinstatement and Probation Committee has jurisdiction and final authority over all reinstatement matters.

Any student on probation who fails to register or withdraws without a leave of absence shall be academically dismissed from the School of Law.

Any student on probation who does not remove the quality-point deficiency in the probation semester shall be academically dismissed with the right to petition for reinstatement and second probation semester.

After all grades are finalized and released, a student academically dismissed from the law school will receive official notice from the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Academic and Bar Success. The notice will be sent through official University email, and will contain the student’s status, a link to these Academic Rules, a copy of the full Procedural Rules of Reinstatement after Dismissal, and a form to petition for reinstatement with detailed instructions and specific deadlines for petitions.

The Reinstatement and Probation Committee will ordinarily consider reinstatement petitions two times per year: in early summer following spring term and in winter, within the first two months of spring term.

A successful petition for reinstatement must present clear and convincing evidence of a compelling reason for the grade deficiency and the difficulty which led to dismissal no longer exists. Students dismissed will not ordinarily be reinstated.

First year students may qualify for an expedited hearing before the Reinstatement and Probation Committee in certain circumstances. A student granted an expedited hearing will be readmitted upon showing a substantial likelihood of success. An expedited hearing will be granted to a student who:

1. was placed on probation at the end of first semester,

2. earned a semester grade point average of 2.0 or greater during the probation semester, and

3. petitions for reinstatement within ten (10) days after the notice of dismissal is sent.

The Committee is authorized to grant or deny relief incident to reinstatement, including extension of time to complete studies for the JD degree. The decision of that Committee shall be final.

If the Reinstatement and Probation Committee finds a compelling reason to justify reinstatement, it may grant the petition and set any conditions to reinstatement deemed appropriate, except a student shall not be allowed more than two additional probation semesters to remove any grade point deficiency.

An expedited hearing before the Reinstatement and Probation Committee will be granted to a dismissed student who was placed on probation at the end of the first semester and earned a semester grade point average of 2.0 or greater during the probation semester.

A student who is granted a second semester of probation but does not remove the quality point deficiency in the probation semester(s) shall be ineligible for reinstatement.

In extraordinary circumstances, the Committee may grant academic bankruptcy for one semester to any first-year student dismissed at the end of the first year. The Committee shall not have the power to change or eliminate grades. A student granted academic bankruptcy is thereafter ineligible to petition for an additional semester of probation if a cumulative 2.0 grade average is not achieved.