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Policies & Guidelines

Policies

Guidelines

Grading

Current Grading System

The Wake Forest University School of Law uses the grading scales below for evaluating student work in a course. The grade scales below were adopted for use as follows:

  • Master of Studies in Law (MSL) – Beginning Fall 2016
  • Juris Doctor (JD): Beginning with the Class of 2019
  • Master of Laws (LLM) – Beginning Spring 2017
  • Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) – Beginning Spring 2017

Letter Grading

Grade Grade Points
A+ 4.00
A 4.00
A- 3.67
B+ 3.33
B 3.00
B- 2.67
C+ 2.33
C 2.00
C- 1.67
D+ 1.33
D 1.00
D- 0.67
F 0.00

Pass/Fail Grading

Grade Description
H Honor Pass
P Pass
LP Low Pass
F Fail

Additional Grade Options

Grade Description
AU Audit
CR Credit
I Incomplete
NC No Credit
S Satisfied
TR Transfer Credit Accepted
W Withdrew from Course
WD Withdrew from School

Grade Suffix

Mark Description
V Waived
X Course not calculated in GPA
* Grade not calculated in GPA, credit earned only

Previous Grading Systems

Juris Doctor (JD)

A B C D F
Beginning Fall 2005 90-100 80-89 70-79 66-69 Below 66
Beginning with the Class of 2004 88-100 80-87 70-79 66-69 Below 66
Beginning with the Class of 1994 91-100 81-90 71-80 66-70 Below 66
Through the Class of 1993 85-94 75-84 65-74 60-64 Below 60

Additional grade include Audit (AU), Incomplete (I), No Credit (NC), Not Pass (NP), Pass (P), Satisfied (S), Transfer Credit Accepted (TR), Withdrew from course (W), and Withdrew from school (WD).

Master of Laws (LLM)

A B C D F
Beginning Fall 2009 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0
Prior to Fall 2009 Refer to JD scales above

Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)

A B C D F
Prior to Spring 2017 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0

Master of Studies in Law (MSL)

A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- F
Prior to Spring 2016 4.3 4.0 3.7 3.3 3.0 2.7 2.3 2.0 1.7 1.3 1.0 0.7 0.0

Transfer of Credit

Wake Forest Students Visiting Away

The Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs may grant a Wake Forest student the right to visit at another law school for one or two semesters if the student can show “special need.” Examples of “special need” include, but are not limited to: engagement or marriage to a person who lives a sufficient distance from Winston-Salem so that continued enrollment at Wake Forest constitutes a hardship; specialized training available at the other school that is not available at Wake Forest. Examples that would not constitute “special need” include, but are not limited to: a desire to study closer to home; lower tuition at another school; greater ease in preparing for another state’s bar exam; placement opportunities.

Grades earned as a visiting student do not transfer to a student’s Wake Forest record, nor are they included in the student’s record for purposes of calculating rank in class. Only course credits earned at the visited law school are transferred to the student’s record. However, in order for course credits earned elsewhere to transfer as course credits for the Wake Forest JD degree, a visiting student must earn a grade of “C” or better in the course. Visiting students must obtain approval of all courses taken at the visited school from the Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.

Transfer Students

The Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs determines the amount and type of credit given for work done in other law schools. This determination is typically based on an interview with the transfer student, a review of curriculum information from the previous law school, and, in some cases, consultation with faculty members who taught the transfer student at the previous law school.

Specifically, the Executive Associate Dean will determine the overall number of credits earned, the number of credits to be attributed to each course, and the number of graduation requirements that the transfer student has satisfied. The Executive Associate Dean’s decision is based on the similarity in subject matter and academic rigor between the course as taught at the previous law school and the course as taught at Wake Forest School of Law. The objective is to grant each transfer student the number of credits and fulfillment of degree requirements that students would receive for completing comparable work at Wake Forest School of Law.

The transfer of credits usually results in the loss of some credit because of differences in graduation requirements and course credits. Please keep in mind, full credit for Legal Analysis, Research, and Writing from the previous law school is generally not given and, depending on the previous law school’s curriculum, some first-year Wake Forest classes may be required.