ACADEMIC CREDIT POLICY - FACULTY
The American Bar Association and Department of Education require that schools adopt, publish, and enforce written policies regarding the determination of credit hours. Pursuant to ABA Standard 310, a credit hour must reasonably approximate “not less than one hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and two hours of out-of-class student work per 15 weeks, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time.” The Law School’s Academic Credit Policy (the Policy is set forth in section II), is based on a 13-week semester, which is allowable under ABA Standards and exceeds the ABA. Our Academic Credit Policy strives to provide clear guidance while also maintaining maximum flexibility for faculty, who are in the best position to determine the appropriate amount of out-of-class work for their students.
Faculty Responsibilities
Faculty will routinely assess their syllabi and course assignments and determine that their courses, including out-of-class preparation/work, are in compliance with ABA Standard 310 and the Law School’s Academic Credit Policy, which is set forth in the Student Handbook. In summary, as applied to Villanova’s calendar, Rule 310 requires for each credit awarded that the course involves at least one class hour of direct faculty instruction (under our schedule this comes out to 55 minutes over 13 weeks) and at least 2 hours and 10 minutes hours of out-of-class preparation/work. The Academic Dean and/or Academic Affairs Committee will routine remind faulty of Standard 310 and the Academic Credit Policy.
All new course proposals will follow the template provided by the Academic Affairs Committee and stipulate that ABA Standard 310 and the Law School’s Academic Credit Policy have been reviewed and that the proposed course is in compliance with ABA Standard 310 and the Law School’s Academic Credit Policy.
The Academic Dean will ensure that adjunct faculty are aware of ABA Standard 310 and the Law School’s Academic Credit Policy and will review adjunct faculty syllabi each semester to ensure compliance with the Standard and our Policy.
While the ABA requires at least 42.5 hours of work for the award of one academic credit, faculty recognize that the Law School requires at least 45 hours of work.
For seminar courses that meet for less than 13 weeks per semester, it is expected that student work for class preparation and for the research and writing of the seminar paper will substitute for the missing class time. Faculty should keep in mind that each classroom hour is 55 minutes per credit.
For courses without exams, faculty must ensure that time for the last week of exams is calculated into the time needed for academic credit (for each credit hour awarded, 45 hours of in-class and out-of-class work must be assigned). In other words, if faculty teach a class that does not include an exam, the calculation for in-class time must be 14 x 55 for 1 credit, 14 x (55x2) for 2 credits, or 14 x (55x3) for 3 credits. Faculty may assign out-of- class work to account for the 14th week.
We encourage your students to talk to you outside of class. Their exposure to you and to your ideas as an active practitioner is an important dimension of their learning process. It is a matter of your discretion when and how that sort of contact will occur. Many adjuncts will take student telephone calls at their offices, but you need not do so. If not, please make some arrangements to be available to your students before or after class. You may also set up electronic communications in Blackboard.
If you are asked to write a recommendation for a student, please check with the Registrar's Office to confirm the student has a Consent to Disclose Educational Records under the Family Education Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA) on file.
The occasional use of a guest lecturer can be a useful device in teaching your course. However, we caution against excessive use of guest speakers. Often, they do not focus well on the continuity of the subject matter you have established for your course, and they sometimes depend too much on anecdotal content. Use them judiciously. See Parking under the Campus Services tab for information on visitor parking.
Practical Writing Courses (adopted in 1993; revised April 2013)
The Practical Writing requirement is designed to provide the opportunity for students to apply doctrinal knowledge in practice oriented simulations. It is contemplated that several written and oral exercises would be required over the course of the semester (combined written/oral exercises are appropriate).
Skills goals: This requirement serves to expose the student to experiences that simulate those of the practicing lawyer and helps bridge the gap between abstract legal training and practice. The experiences should include several of the following:
Practical writing goals: This requirement focuses on improving the student's written
response to legal problems. Students should write and/or compose several – but normally
at least five (5) - examples of the types of documents that a lawyer would produce in
practice. If appropriate in the context, students may rely on forms but should be required
to substantially edit the forms to address the concerns of the particular case. Integral to
this goal are the following:
Assessment of Student Learning & Learning Outcomes
The ABA is mandating law schools develop learning outcomes and assessment methodologies with the aim of improving legal education programs. To this end, the Academic Affairs Committee undertook the first step in this process: developing the attached learning outcomes and associated performance criteria (“learning outcomes”). Although the learning outcomes were drafted to comply with ABA standard 302 (reproduced at the end of this memorandum for your convenience), we also wanted to highlight the offerings that make the Charles Widger School of Law unique.
As you review the learning outcomes again, please keep in mind that the ABA’s expectation is not 100% student competency in all the identified learning outcomes. Further, these learning outcomes and associated performance criteria are not static; as law schools evaluate student performance with regard to the various learning outcomes during the required curriculum mapping and institutional assessment processes, law schools can alter and revise their learning outcomes and associated performance criteria.
For your reference, ABA Standard 302 requires the following: A law school shall establish learning outcomes that shall, at a minimum, include competency in the following:
(a) Knowledge and understanding of substantive and procedural law;
(b) Legal analysis and reasoning, legal research, problem-solving, and written and oral communication in the legal context;
(c) Exercise of proper professional and ethical responsibilities to clients and the legal system; and
(d) Other professional skills needed for competent and ethical participation as a member of the legal profession.
In addition, there are two interpretations for ABA Standard 302. They are as follows:
Interpretation 302-1: For the purposes of Standard 302(d), other professional skills are determined by the law school and may include skills such as, interviewing, counseling, negotiation, fact development and analysis, trial practice, document drafting, conflict resolution, organization and management of legal work, collaboration, cultural competency, and self-evaluation.
Interpretation 302-2: A law school may also identify any additional learning outcomes pertinent to its program of legal education.
Students are provided the opportunity to evaluate each course in which they are enrolled. The evaluations are administered by members of the Honor Board during the final two weeks of the semester. The Office of Academic Affairs will request what day during the evaluation period that you would like your course to be evaluated. You are given an opportunity to add supplemental questions prior to the standard survey being completed. The standard law school survey is below.
The results of the evaluations will be available to you after final grades have been submitted.