A. Scheduling – Traditional Program of Instruction
For courses in which a final exam will be administered, compliance with ABA Standard 310 requires an amount of classroom or direct faculty instruction of no less than 48 hours for four-credit courses, 36 hours for three-credit courses, 24 hours for two-credit courses, and 12 hours for one-credit courses. Courses in which a final exam will not be administered require an additional amount of classroom or direct faculty instruction of no less than four hours for four-credit courses, three hours for three-credit courses, two hours for two-credit courses, and one hour for one-credit courses.
To ensure compliance with section A.1, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs or his or her designee shall create the academic schedule as follows:
- Four-credit courses: 52 hours of in-class or direct faculty instruction (i.e., 26 two-hour meetings or 39 1.5-hour meetings).
- Three-credit courses: 39 hours of in-class or direct faculty instruction (i.e., 26 1.5-hour meetings or 39 one-hour meetings).
- Two-credit courses: 26 hours of in-class or direct faculty instruction (i.e., 13 two-hour meetings or 26 one-hour meetings).
- One-credit courses: 13 hours of in-class or direct faculty instruction (i.e., 13 one-hour meetings.
The law school defines an “hour” for classroom or direct faculty instruction as sixty minutes, rather than the fifty minutes required by ABA Interpretation 310-1.
All courses must be structured to ensure two hours of out-of-class student work per week for fifteen weeks for each credit hour awarded, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time. This means a minimum amount of out-of- class student work of 120 hours for four-credit courses, 90 hours for three-credit courses, 60 hours for two-credit courses, and 30 hours for one-credit courses. The law school defines an “hour” for out-of-class student work as sixty minutes, which is consistent with Interpretation 310-1.
B. Scheduling – Online Components
The ABA defines “Distance Education Course” as “one in which students are separated from all faculty members for more than one-third of the instruction and the instruction involves the use of technology to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and all faculty members, either synchronously or asynchronously.” ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools, Definitions § 8. Distance education courses are subject to the same rules as set forth above in regard to instructional time.
Direct faculty instruction may be substituted for in-class instruction for distance education courses and for non-distance education courses with some online instruction as allowed. Direct faculty instruction is generally considered as audio or video lecture presentations; faculty use of a discussion board for responses to an entire class as a group; faculty feedback provided to class members as a group in relation to quizzes, exams, and other assessments; and faculty use of podcasts and other recorded instruction.
C. Scheduling – Irregularly Scheduled Credit-Bearing Academic Activities
For credit-bearing academic activities that do not meet on a regular weekly academic schedule, such as field placements, clinics, Mock Trial, Moot Court, and Law Review, the total work required for the course should be the equivalent of that required above when considering instructional and out-of-class work together.