Course Scheduling & Sectioning
First-Year Small Sections
If resources permit, the faculty is committed to providing at least one small section for each first-year student. Small sections provide opportunities for more individual expression by the student, a closer teacher-student relationship, and greater opportunities for writing and testing. Every first-year student shall have at least one small section carrying at least five credits, in addition to Legal Analysis, Writing and Research. These small sections shall be no more than one-sixth of the first-year class.
Source: 12-11-2008 Regular Faculty Meeting.
Lunch Hour [12:30-1:30]
No classes will be scheduled on any day of the week between 12:30 and 1:30 so as to provide a time for student organizations, faculty committees, career services, and other groups to have meetings and events. However, make up classes and review sessions may be scheduled during this period.
Source: Administrative Policy.
Minimum Number of Student-Contact Hours
CREDIT HOUR POLICY
The UW Law Credit Hour Policy, based on American Bar Association Standard 301, provides that each quarter-credit should entail experiences that are
reasonably designed to involve one 50-minute hour of direct instruction plus two 60-minute hours of preparatory study, over ten weeks. This amounts
to an amount of work that reasonably approximates 500 minutes of direct instruction and 1200 minutes of out-of-class preparation for a total of
1,700 minutes per quarter-credit. The time students spend in exams, up to one hour per credit, may count as in-class time. Seminars, clinics,
and experiential courses are subject to slightly different guidelines.
- Seminars and other “paper” courses: At least 1,700 minutes per credit of time spent in classroom or direct faculty instruction, preparing for class
(reading or completing class assignments or assessments), and researching and writing the required paper(s).
- Field placement, clinic, or experiential courses: At least 1,700 minutes per credit of time spent in classroom or direct faculty instruction,
performing field placement or clinic work, preparing for class, or completing class assignments (e.g., reflective writing assignments), and preparing
for and taking an exam, if applicable.
Source: 09-17-2019 Faculty Resolution.
Start and End Date of Quarter
Autumn quarter classes at the law school always begin two days earlier than the start of classes generally at the University of Washington. In all quarters, the last day of classes at the law school occurs on the Wednesday before the last day of classes generally at the University of Washington.
Source: Administrative Policy.