Scholarship Policy and Disqualification Rule

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It is the policy of the School of Law of the University of North Dakota that all students shall achieve and at all times maintain a level of academic performance sufficient to permit the award of the degree of Juris Doctor.

1. FIRST YEAR STUDENTS--Any student who, at the end of the second semester of law study, has not achieved a cumulative average of 2.00 is academically disqualified from any further work in the Law School.
1. Students disqualified under this subsequent with cumulative average of less than 1.75 are ineligible to petition for probationary readmission for a period or one calendar year.
2. Students disqualified under this subsection with a cumulative average of at least 1.75 are eligible to petition the Readmission Committee to be readmitted on probation.
2. UPPERCLASS STUDENTS--Any student not on probation, or not previously on probation, whose cumulative average at the end of the third or any subsequent semester is less than 2.00, is academically disqualified from any further work in the Law School. Students disqualified under this section are eligible to petition the Readmission Committee for probationary readmission. Any student on, or previously on, probation whose cumulative average at the end of the probationary period or any subsequent semester is less than 2.00 is disqualified from registration for continuation in the academic program, and is not eligible to petition for permission to continue therein.
3. READMISSION COMMITTEE--The Dean shall appoint at least three members of the law faculty to serve as the Readmission Committee until excused or succeeded in office by a subsequently appointed Committee. The Committee shall receive and consider such petitions as are properly filed and forwarded by the Dean. The Committee shall act upon and determine the merits of each petition by application of the standards set out in this Scholarship Policy and Disqualification Rule. Petitions will be received and handled in confidence by the Office of the Dean and The Readmissions Committee, but the filing of a petition shall be considered the filing party's consent to such limited revelations by the Dean and by members of the Committee as are necessary for the performance of their respective responsibilities, including, without limitation, such revelations as are required to inquire of third parties as to matters asserted in or relevant to the petition and to utilize stenographic and administrative personnel in the processing of the petition. The petitioner may be requested to furnish other information by the Office of the Dean or the Committee; such other information shall be furnished promptly, and will be received and handled as petitions are handled under this paragraph.
4. STANDARDS FOR READMISSION ON PROBATION--No eligible student disqualified under section 1 or 2 shall be readmitted except on probationary status, and probationary readmission shall only be permitted to eligible students who, in the judgment of the Committee:
1. have honestly and objectively considered their substandard academic performance and identified the true reason(s) therefore, and
2. exhibit maturity of conduct and judgment in the difficult situation of the disqualified student; and
3. have in some fashion--such as significant positive contribution to the program of the Law School or to the profession--demonstrated a serious interest in and dedication to law study or entry into the profession, or can reasonably be expected to demonstrate such interest and such dedication in the future; and
4. are blameless as to the immediate cause(s) of their disqualification, or, if wholly or partially to blame, can be excused; and
5. are likely to achieve and maintain the required cumulative average in the probationary period.
5. AUTOMATIC READMISSION--Notwithstanding the above provisions in this Scholarship Policy and Disqualification Rule, any student disqualified under section 1 above, to whom subsection 1. (b) is applicable, who has in either semester received an average higher than 2.00, and whose average in the other semester was not below 1.75, shall be readmitted on probation without the need to petition therefore.
6. CONDITIONS OF PROBATION--All students readmitted on probation, whether upon successful petition or automatically, will have the terms and conditions of the probation set by the Readmissions Committee. Such terms and conditions shall be communicated to the student contemporaneously with notification of probationary readmission the student's reenrollment in the Law School shall constitute full and complete acceptance of the terms and conditions of the probation.
7. DELEGATION AND FINALITY--The faculty of the School of Law hereby delegates to the Readmissions Committee its entire cower and function with respect to matters of readmission and probation, including the cower to readmit academically disqualified students as repeating students as set out in this Scholarship Policy and Disqualification Rule and accompanying Procedural Rules for Readmission Following Academic Disqualification; the determinations of the Committee as to readmission, the terms and conditions of academic probation, and whether the probationer's performance did or did not meet and fulfill those terms and conditions, shall stand as the final decision of the Law School.
8. TIME LIMIT--Any petition for readmission must be filed within three years from the thirteenth day of June next succeeding the semester in which the student became academically ineligible. Thereafter, such student may only apply for admission to the School of Law as a new first year student in accordance with the rules, regulations, and policies of the Admissions Committee, and such application shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Admissions Committee.

Updated September 5, 2002