Adjunct Resources

Your University Network ID [UNI]

• Your University Network ID [UNI] is assigned when your affiliation with the University begins.  A UNI is required to view and edit personnel records, view and print pay summaries, change federal tax withholding, create or change direct deposit information for paychecks, and print W2 statements. While you hold an appointment, these services can be accessed at: http://my.columbia.edu.
• To look up or activate your UNI, please visit: http://cuit.columbia.edu/cuit/manage-my-uni.
• If you have activated your UNI and cannot remember your password, please visit http://cuit.columbia.edu/cuit/manage-my-uni and click the “Forgot Password” link.  
• Please also note that the UNI system will periodically require you to change your password, as a security precaution to protect your important personal data. When this happens, please visit http://cuit.columbia.edu/cuit/manage-my-uni and click the “Change Password” link. For additional help with changing your password, please contact the Law School IT department at 212-854-1370 or [email protected].

Your Law School Network ID [Lawnet]

• You will also be assigned a separate Law School network ID and password, so that you can access Law School resources not available to the rest of the University community.  These include online access to the Law Library, and access to LawNet, the law school's online network.
• Through LawNet, you can view and edit course descriptions, view your class list, activate and manage classroom seating charts, access student and staff directories, submit and review grades, and view and print course evaluations.

• To access LawNet, please visit http://www.law.columbia.edu/lawnet, and login using your Law Schoolusername and password [not your UNI]

 Your University Email Account

• All adjunct instructors are assigned Law School e-mail addresses, which end with the @law.columbia.edu suffix, as well as university email addresses, which end with the @columbia.edu suffix.  Both addresses are managed via LionMail, the University email system.
• During your affiliation with Columbia Law School, the administration may send important information to your Columbia email account, so please arrange to check your e-mail regularly, or forward it to another email account that you check regularly.
• You can  check your e-mail remotely from any device on the Internet. To do this, please sign into LionMail, using your UNI and associated password, at  http://lionmail.columbia.edu.
• If you do not wish to use the University LionMail system you can forward University emails to another email address you manage. To forward your emails, please visit https://uniapp.cc.columbia.edu/acctmanage/mailforwarding and follow the on-screen instructions.  If you need assistance with e-mail forwarding , please contact the Law School IT department at 212-854-1370 or [email protected].

Technical Support

• The Columbia Law School Information Technology department is located on the seventh floor of Jerome L. Greene Hall and is staffed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. It may also be reached by phone at 212-854-1370, or online at web.law.columbia.edu/information-technology. 
• Specific requests for assistance may also be sent to the IT helpdesk at [email protected].

Limited clerical assistance is provided to adjunct instructors through the Faculty Secretariat, 711 Jerome L. Greene Hall, 212-854-2688. For assistance, please contact [email protected]

Copying and Printing

• There are copy and print rooms on floors five through nine of Jerome L. Greene Hall, in addition to the printer dedicated to adjunct instructor use in 611 Jerome Greene Hall.  To use the photocopiers, you’ll need a four-digit ID code "0004". After you have punched in the four-digit code, press OK. Once you’ve finished making copies, press clear/mode and clear/stop simultaneously to clear your code.
• The copiers in the Diamond Law Library require a copy card. The Business Office (212-854-7503) can provide you with a credit slip that the library circulation desk will accept in lieu of a copy card. 
• For larger tasks, please complete a copy request form from the Secretariat, attach it to the originals, and leave the material in the copy request box on the service counter. During the semester, jobs are generally completed within 24 to 48 hours. At the start of each term and during exam time, they will typically require a week's notice. If it is a rush job, please notify someone in the office when you submit it.

Mail and Packages

• The Information Center is located behind the elevator bank on the first floor of Jerome L. Greene Hall. It is staffed from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and can be accessed via the west corridor near Room 103.
• Instructors who have received mail addressed to the Law School are notified by the Info Center via email.
• FedEx packages and forms are available at the Secretariat.  You can either leave your package with the Secretariat or, on weekends and evenings, bring it to any Federal Express office (A FedEx office is located on the southwest corner of 116th Street and Broadway). You can also leave it at a FedEx drop box with one located just down the block on West 116 Street. (toward MorningsideDrive) outside the Wien courtyard.
• For United States Postal Service mail drop, there are boxes at various locations near the Law School.  There is also a post office on 112th Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue.

The Information Technology department provides multimedia support for Law School classes, conferences and student group events in Law School spaces.  If you need assistance with any Classroom Technology-related matters, please contact them at 212-854-2400, via email at [email protected] or visit the website.

Available services include:

• Microphones. Most classrooms do not require the use of microphones in order for the students to hear teachers speaking in the front of the classroom. Several of the larger classrooms are equipped with microphones and voice reinforcement equipment. If you would like to use a microphone while teaching, please discuss this with the Information Technology staff.
• Computer Projection. Many rooms have built-in computers and projectors. Projecting PowerPoint presentations, web sites or other computer-based information can be done easily and effectively in many instances. Portable projectors and laptops with network connections are available to be used in any classroom without built-in equipment.
• Recording Classes. To have your class recorded, please contact Information Technology at 212-854-2400 or via e-mail at [email protected], providing the time, date, and location of your class.  Audio recordings will be distributed to you and your students in MP3 format and linked to your CourseWorks page. For videorecording, many rooms have built-in cameras. Portable cameras are also available upon advance request. 
• Additional services. Other services available through Information Technology include, document camera, overhead projectors, dlide projections, film projects, and videoconferencing. Many rooms also have built in VCRs which can be used to project video tapes (VHS format) on the projectors. Portable VCRs and projectors are available from the pool equipment that can also be used in any classroom without built-in equipment; please note that advance notice is required to reserve this equipment and to have staff available for assistance.

Course evaluations

• The school asks all instructors to set aside a short period of class time (15 minutes or so) sometime during the last two weeks of the semester to allow students to complete an on-line course evaluation. These evaluations provide important information in assessing which courses to offer and which faculty members to assign to teach them, and are especially helpful in courses taught by adjunct instructors and/or first-time instructors.  Especially if previous response rates on your evaluations have been spotty, please make an effort to find time in your class schedule for this activity.
• Students should be advised in advance to bring their laptops to class on the day evaluations are administered so that they can fill out the online forms. Please take care to impress upon them the importance of completing the task.
• It is also best practice for the instructor to leave the room during the evaluation period, which could be held at the beginning of class, at the end, or adjacent to a mid-class break.
• Please also feel free to contact Juliana Utley, Assistant Director of Student Services, at [email protected], with any questions you may have about student evaluation. 

Customizing your evaluation questions

• The Course Evaluation System will allow you to add to the core sets of evaluation questions for your class; for instance, you may wish to solicit specific feedback on particular exercises or readings you assigned. The system is open for customizing for a period of approximately one to two weeks before evaluations are opened to the students; you will receive an e-mail from the Department of Student Services to notify you when the customization period has begun.  
• If you have previously entered questions, they will be stored in your question library.  All you need to do is add them as desired to a current evaluation.  You may also choose to keep the questions as they are, in which case you need not do anything.

• In order to access the CES site, log in to Lawnet  using your Law School username and password.  Once you have successfully logged in, select "Customize Course Evaluation Questions" under the Faculty Services heading.   There is also a "help" option describing various menu items of use to you in this process.

Accessing your course evaluations

• You will be able to access your students' evaluations through Lawnet once you have released your grades to Registration Services.  If you have any technical questions about using the Course Evaluation System, please contact the Helpdesk at 854-1370  or [email protected].

Orientation for new instructors

• Each term, the Law School invites all new instructors to attend an orientation meeting usually held at breakfast in the first week of classes. The meeting provides an opportunity for new adjuncts to meet senior administrators and to be briefed on important administrative and curricular policies. Details regarding the meeting will be sent out a few weeks before the beginning of the semester.

Adjunct instruction committee

• A standing committee, comprising several full-time faculty members and senior administrators and co-chaired by the Vice Dean for Curriculum, is tasked with supporting adjunct instruction at the Law School. Committee members are available to consult with adjunct instructors upon request. They also try to visit all adjunct courses on a triennial basis in order to share best practices and to afford instructors the opportunity to let us know how Columbia can better support their teaching. In addition, if you have any questions that come up over the course of the semester about teaching or other academic matters, please feel free to contact Avery Katz, Vice Dean for Curriculum, at 911 Jerome L. Greene Hall, [email protected], or 212-854-0066.

Teaching workshop series

• The adjunct instruction committee also hosts a regular series of teaching workshops where adjunct faculty are invited to join with full-time faculty and senior administrative staff to share perspectives on teaching. Topics of past workshops have included supervising student writing, encouraging class participation, and effective use of classroom technology. The workshops are usually held once per semester, roughly in the middle of the semester at 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., and have generally been well-received by those in attendance. A light supper is served and all adjunct instructors are welcome.  

Teaching and research assistants

• It is possible, though not common, for adjunct instructors to select an advanced student to serve as a teaching or research assistant. The Law School does not provide TAs or RAs but can help with recruiting them.  If you would like the Law School to post an opening or solicit CVs for you, please notify the Department of Student Services at 212-854-2395 or [email protected].
• TAs and RAs can either receive course credit or can be paid at the standard work-study rate. Most students prefer the course credit.
• To receive payment, students must complete employment paperwork at the Department of Human Resources and will need you to sign their weekly timesheet.  
• To enroll for course credit, students should formally register for either L6822 (Teaching Fellows) or L6685 (Unpaid Faculty Assistant Service) and submit a form with your signature to Registration Services. You will then award the student a Credit/Fail grade at the end of the semester. The number of credits should be proportionate to the hours worked with one credit corresponding to five hours per week over the course of a 14-week semester. 

The Office of Registration Services, overseen by Dean Hazel May, is the source to consult for any questions relating to course information, examinations, and academic rules and requirements.  This office is located at 500 William and June Warren Hall, and can be reached via e-mail at [email protected] and by phone at 212-854-2668.

Posting Course Information

Online Course Descriptions  

• Before registration begins each semester, Registration Services will remind you to enter or update your course description using the “Submit Course Description” application in LawNet. The course information, schedules, and room assignments can be found in the Law School’s online Curriculum Guide. To change course descriptions after registration has begun, please contact Elina Yuffa at 212-854-0683 or [email protected].

Course Books and Materials

• Pursuant to federal law, any books or materials that students are required to purchase must be posted (with ISBN numbers) with your course description. To comply with this requirement, Columbia University has created a specialized database for entering textbook information. Because this database is a university resource (not a Law School service), faculty will need use their “UNI” (not LawNet) network ID to access this service. 

View specific instructions on how to enter your textbook information

• Information entered in the database will automatically be transmitted to the university bookstore and will serve as the basis for their book order. Accordingly, any changes in requirements should be submitted several weeks prior to the beginning of the semester.

Faculty Profiles

• A short biographical profile and a photo of each instructor is posted on the Adjunct Instructors page of the Columbia Law School website. Instructors who wish not to have photos posted for security or other reasons should notify Elina Yuffa.  To make changes to an existing profile, please send the new text in its entirety to Elina Yuffa at [email protected].
   

Class Sizes and Registration Priority

Class Size

• Seminars and skills-based workshops are typically capped at 18 students to ensure that all students have an adequate opportunity for participation and mentoring. It is possible to set the cap lower or higher at the instructor's request, though a higher cap should be disclosed up front in the course description before students pre-register. Lecture classes are capped based on the available classroom space, which is assigned based on past student demand. Please consult with the Dean of Registration Services and/or Vice Dean for Curriculum if you are interested in setting a nonstandard cap.

Registration Priorities 

• By resolution and vote of the faculty, students have priority in class registration based on their enrollment status, with LL.M. students—by virtue of their having only one year in residence—having partial priority over 3Ls, and 3Ls having partial priority over 2Ls.  Priority within these categories is allocated by lottery.

Special Registration Rules for Individual Classes

• Individual instructors are permitted to award registration priority on a different basis if they wish (for example, based on individual written application or on students’ participation in a particular substantive program of study).  If you wish to consider doing so, please contact Alice Rigas, Dean of Registration Services.  Non-standard registration policies should be indicated in the course description prior to registration so that students have fair notice of them when making their course selections.
   

Class Lists and Seating Charts

Accessing your class list

• To access your class list, cisit LawNet at http://www.law.columbia.edu/lawnet; and login using your Law School username and password [not your university UNI]
• Click on “Faculty Services” then on “See Class List.”
• Click “Select” to view your options.  You have the option to view your list with or without photos. 
• Once the page has loaded, select “File” and “Print” to print the class list.
• For more detailed information, see the class list instruction page at the Department of Information Technology website.

Creating a seating chart

• Students will not be able to sign up for a seat in your class unless you authorize creation of a seating chart.  
• To create a seating chart, access your class list using the above instructions.
• From your class list, click on the "Seating Chart" tab to view and edit the seating chart settings for the class.  (Please note that not all classrooms offer an online seating chart; if a seating chart is available you will see an option to "Create Seating Chart".)
• Click the "Create Seating Chart" button and follow the prompts. 
• For more detailed information, see the seating chart instruction page at the Department of Information Technology website.

Add/Drop Period

Changes in Your Class List 

• You should expect changes to your class list during the Add/Drop period when students are allowed to make changes in their academic program.   The Add/Drop period begins one week before the first day of class and typically extends for two weeks. 

Instructor Opt-Out

• Allowing students the flexibility to change their schedule in the first week of class enables them to make better use of academic counseling and their summer job experience, and is likely to provide you with a better match of students.  However, if due to the specific nature of your course it is very important to you to finalize your roster early [for example, in order to assign students to teams], you may choose to require your students to attend your initial classes.  If you choose this option you should notify the class in your course description or by e-mail, and should also notify Registration Services.

Limit on Late Additions

• Students are expected to finalize their schedules by no later than September 13, so please do not tell students that they may join your class after this date.  If special accommodations need to be made, please contact Registration Services or Hazel May directly and we will attempt to work something out.

Limit on Late Withdrawals 

• Withdrawal from a course after the close of the Add/Drop period is allowed only with the instructor’s  permission and only up through the sixth week of the semester (October 15 in the fall term and February 15 in the Spring term).  For such late withdrawals from a course, a grade of “W” (withdrew) will be entered into the student’s official transcript.
   

Wait lists

Explanation 

• Perhaps counterintuitively, the existence of a wait list does not necessarily mean that a class is oversubscribed. Under the CLS registration system, students will appear on your wait list if they are registered for a conflicting class or if they are registered for more than the maximum number of credit hours.
• Such students enjoy the option to drop other those classes and take yours instead, in order of their priority on the waitlist, if they do so within the first week of class.  Any students with lower registration priority will also be put on a wait list until students with higher priority have resolved their conflicts, even if the lower-ranked students have no conflicts themselves.  
• However, it is extremely unlikely that every higher-ranking student will exercise their option to take your class [and in addition some students who are currently registered for the class may decide to drop it, in order to take up some other option they are simultaneously being offered in another class]. Thus, it is virtually certain that at least some lower-ranking students will get into the class if they stick it out for the first week.

Default Order of Priority

• By default, students on a wait list will be automatically offered the opportunity to add your course in the order that they registered for it, and your class list will be updated in real time throughout the Add/Drop period. If you wish, however, you may offer priority in registration to students who are present in class during the Add/Drop period. But if you choose this option you should notify the class in your course description or by email, so that students shopping for classes will have fair notice of your policy.

Choosing a different order of priority

• If you wish to register students in a different order from the default wait list or on any other basis, please contact Hazel May, Dean of Registration Services.

Non-law Students and Auditors

Non-Law Students

• Students pursuing full-time graduate degree programs in other units of the university are permitted to enroll in law school offerings subject to space availability, the academic rules of their home units, and permission of the Columbia Law School instructor.  It is expected that such students will have met the usual course pre-requisites, although the instructor may choose to waive these if appropriate in an individual case. Please contact Hazel May, our Dean of Registration Services, if you have any questions about whether to admit such students to your class.  

Non-Columbia Students

• The law school maintains an exchange program with NYU Law School under which a limited number of students from each school are permitted to enroll in courses at the other.   If an NYU student approaches you for permission to take your course, please direct them to their own school's office of registration services.
• Students at other law schools may enroll in CLS classes only if they have applied and been admitted as a visiting student.

Auditors

• The Law School does not have a formal registration category of auditor, but instructors in upper-level courses are free to allow (or not to allow) auditing on an informal basis, with the understanding that the presence of an auditor should not detract from the educational experience of registered students.  If the person requesting to audit is neither a CLS law student nor a visiting scholar, however, please consult with the Dean of Registration Services or the Vice Dean for Curriculum before agreeing to the request.

Visitors

• We permit all prospective applicants and students to visit classes that are open for such visits, instructing visitors to arrive early, introduce themselves to the instructor whenever possible, and sit in the back of the class. However, if you find it disruptive to your students, please feel free to politely turn away such requests. 

Categories of Written Work 

Student writing may be submitted in partial fulfillment for the requirements of scheduled courses and seminars, and also under the category of Supervised Research.  In addition, all J.D. students are required to complete both a Major Writing Project and a Minor Writing Project before graduating. All LL.M. students are required to complete an LL.M. Writing Project.   The distinctions among these categories are as follows:

• Major Writing Credit.  The key feature of the Major Writing Credit is not additional length, but significant revision. Specifically, work submitted for Major Writing Credit must be a substantial and rigorous piece of legal writing, comparable to that required by a paper that serves as the primary basis of evaluation for a two-credit seminar. The student must submit a first draft to the faculty supervisor, receive comments on the draft, and then submit a revised version of the paper that is responsive to those comments.
   
• Minor Writing Credit. Work submitted for Minor Writing Credit may be an ordinary course paper, brief, or other written work, and does not require a revision in response to the faculty supervisor’s comments. The expected length and scope of the paper, however, should be otherwise comparable to that required by a paper that serves as the primary basis of evaluation for a two-credit seminar.
   
• LL.M. Writing Credit. The LL.M. writing requirement may differ from the Major and Minor Writing Credits required of J.D. students.  LL.M. candidates must complete and submit a research paper based on the student’s original legal research, and must be worth at least two points of academic credit.   This paper may be prepared for a seminar or as supervised research registered as “Research for the LL.M. Degree.”
   
• Supervised Research.  Students wishing to earn academic point credit outside the confines of a regularly scheduled course offering should register for Supervised Research. Credit may be earned by writing a research paper or its substantial equivalent under the supervision of any faculty member, including visiting and adjunct faculty. The number of credits earned for supervised research should depend on the amount of work that the project entails. (For example, a paper that will require work comparable to that required by a two-credit seminar should be awarded two points of credit.
   
  Students registered for Supervised Research are expected to communicate regularly with the supervising instructor over the course of the project. Instructors should consult in advance with students and with the Dean of Registration Services on the appropriate plan of supervision in any particular case.
   
• No Other Credit for Independent Study. In the past, some students have asked faculty, often in connection with outside externships or internships, to supervise them in earning credit without writing a paper. This is no longer permissible. Please tell students seeking academic credit of this sort that they must register for Supervised Research and write a paper sufficient to earn credit under that category.

It is entirely within the instructor’s discretion whether to accept applications for Supervised Research, Major Writing Credit, or LL.M. Writing Credit that go beyond the ordinary requirements for the instructor's course. If you feel you do not have time to supervise a student’s project, or otherwise lack interest in the proposal, please feel free to decline the student’s request. You may also wish to require the student to write up a formal proposal before deciding whether to serve as supervisor.

Registration for Writing Credit

• If you agree to supervise a student for research or writing credit, you will be asked to sign the appropriate Research and Writing Registration Form before their registration can be completed.  Students are responsible for obtaining the appropriate paperwork, but forms are available in the Office of Registration Services as well as online at www.law.columbia.edu/academics/registrar/Reg_Forms.

Expected Scope of Work

• The faculty has by formal resolution expressed its collective sense regarding the ordinary scope of a paper that serves as the primary basis of evaluation for a two-credit seminar. Such a paper should range approximately from 6500 to 8000 words, although shorter papers reporting extensive empirical, archival, or like work could also be appropriate. We are aware that some of you do require more extensive work than this from your students and we stress that you should feel free to continue to do so if you think it appropriate, though you should be aware that your requirements will be more rigorous than average.

Student Self-Certification of Written Work 

• By resolution and vote of the faculty, students are required to affirm language of certification when submitting any examination or when submitting written work for credit. Individual faculty members are responsible for ensuring that appropriate certification is submitted in connection with all written work other than exams.  The text of this certification and certification forms available for download, can be found on the Columbia Law School website under the general category of “Academic Rules.”  Please note that all students were made aware of this policy and the implications of its violations at the beginning of their time at the Law School.
• If you encounter a situation of potential academic dishonesty in the course of your teaching at Columbia Law School, please contact Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin, Dean of Students, who can advise you on possible courses of action.

Grading for Written Work 

Written work submitted as part of the requirements for a course or seminar is graded on the same basis as the course or seminar.  In addition:

• For Major and Minor Writing Credit, grading is Credit/Fail only.  Instructors are asked to confirm that the student satisfied these degree requirements by entering the grade of CR
• For Supervised Research, grading can be either by regular letter grade or by Credit/Fail. This is decided in consultation with the instructor at the outset of the project, and should be indicated on the Research and Writing Registration form that the student and the instructor complete.
• For the LL.M. Writing Project, papers must be graded on the standard letter scale for Law courses, either as part of the requirements for a seminar or under the framework of Supervised Study. Credit/Fail or other non-evaluative grades are not permitted. For administrative purposes, however, students will additionally register in a zero-point offering entitled “LL.M. Writing Project,” for which the supervising instructor is asked to enter the grade of “CR” (credit) to confirm formally that the student satisfied this degree requirement.

Additional information 

• For additional details, see J.D. Rules 1.4 and 1.5 or the LL.M. Degree Requirements. 

Examinations at Columbia Law School are administered using an anonymous grading system, under which student exam answers are identified by randomly assigned exam numbers. Students’ identities are revealed to the instructor after an initial grade has been entered into LawNet, at which point the instructor can then make adjustments for class participation or other criteria before entering and releasing the final course grade. Grading for courses evaluated by a term paper or by other methods is not anonymous.

Permissible Grades

• Under the Columbia Law School grading system, students may be awarded a grade of A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C, F, and W.  The law school does not use the C+, C-, or D grades.  
   
• Pursuant to faculty resolution, no more than one A+ may be awarded per class; and the grade should be reserved for extraordinary achievement.  It should not be awarded automatically for the top performance in the class if that performance is not extraordinary.
   
• The “W” grade is awarded when students withdraw from a course after the official Add/Drop period and before October 16 in the fall term and February 16 in the spring term.  After these dates students must petition the Rules Committee for permission to withdraw with a “W” grade, and will be considered only upon a showing of exceptional and compelling circumstances.  An offering cannot be dropped after the last day of classes for the semester.
   
• Please also enter a grade of incomplete (“IN”) in LawNet for any student to whom you may have granted an extension.
   
• A Credit/Fail grading system is used by some clinics, externships, research and writing registration categories. Courses approved by the faculty to use Credit/Fail grading will so indicate in their online descriptions.
   
• Please address any questions about grading either to the Vice Dean for Curriculum or to the Dean for Registration Services.

Upper-Year Grading Curve

• To combat grade inflation and promote consistency across different courses, the faculty has adopted a flexible grading policy under which instructors are expected to adhere roughly to past average practice, keeping in mind that year-to-year variations in enrollment and in student performance may make strict adherence infeasible in any particular class.
   
• Memos detailing recent averages are distributed each term, but as a rough guide, absent special circumstances grades of A-minus and above should be given to no more than 40 percent of students in lecture courses, or 66.6 percent of students in seminars, practicums, and the like.
   
• Out of fairness to students in other courses, please make a good faith effort to comply with these guidelines.
   

• 2017-2018 Upper year grade guidelines

  Pursuant to CLS faculty resolution, instructors are expected to broadly adhere to past grading practice. To assist you in following this principle, here are the average grade distributions for the last five years:

  A+

  A

  A-

  B+

  B

  Other Available Grades:

  B-, C, F

  UPPERYEAR COURSES

  0.77%

  15.86%

  26.78%

  33.55%

  20.32%

  Assigned as earned

  UPPERYEAR SEMINARS

  1.88%

  29.93%

  36.93%

  24.96%

  5.08%

  Assigned as earned

  Please note:

  Grade of A+: The Faculty has resolved to limit the A+ grade to not more than one per course or seminar. This grade should be used sparingly and only for truly extraordinary performance.  It should not be used automatically for the top performance in the class if that performance is not extraordinary.

  Grades of B-, C, F: In recent years approximately 2.2% of upper-year course grades and approximately 0.63% of seminar grades awarded were B- (B minus). Also, approximately 0.51% of course grades and approximately 0.59% of seminar grades awarded were C or below. Instructors are not required to award these grades.

Deadlines for Grade Submission

Deadlines for submitting grades to Registration Services depend on the semester and on whether the student is graduating at the end of the term.  Because late grades can substantially disadvantage students’ employment prospects as well as adversely affect their morale, please make every effort to submit grades in a timely fashion; and please attend to the following deadlines when planning your calendar.

Fall Term 2017

For most courses taught in the Fall term, grades are due on the Friday before the start of spring semester (in 2017–18, this is Friday, January 12).  Instructors with more than 150 exams to grade are extended an additional ten days to complete their grading. 

Spring Term 2018

For the Spring term, the deadlines are more complicated because of the need to clear students for graduation.        

•    Monday, May 7     Grades due for graduating students in all courses without exams
•    Friday, May 11   Grades due for graduating students in all courses with exams
•    Thursday, June 14  Grades due for continuing students in all courses with 150 or fewer students enrolled
•    Monday, June 25  Grades due for continuing students in all courses with more than 150 students enrolled        

It is permissible to submit grades in two batches if necessary to get all graduating students' grades in by the final May 12 deadline.  However, instructors who do this should make every effort to ensure that their grade distribution as a whole comports with the grading curve set out above, keeping in mind that the exam performance of non-graduating students is typically stronger than that of graduating students. 

Deadline for Extensions 

• Grades for students who have been granted extensions are due four weeks after the student has submitted all required work, and, in addition, two weeks before graduation for graduating students.

Submitting Grades

• Grades should be submitted through the LawNet system, at <https://lawnetportal.law.columbia.edu/web/registrar/submit_grades>. If this is infeasible, please submit via email to Registration Services. 
   
• Please note that when you release your grades in LawNet you are not releasing them directly to students, rather, you are only certifying that your grades are final and are authorizing Registration Services to post them for student access.  Accordingly, please do not communicate final grades directly to students or discuss grades with them before they have been officially posted.

Changing Grades

• Grades may be changed after they have been released to students if the instructor considers it appropriate to do so, but as a matter of best practices, we ask the instructor for an explanation of the reason for the change. For example, discovery of a clerical or arithmetic error in assigning the original grades is a standard and unexceptional reason. Substantive reconsideration of the value of a student's class performance is also permitted, but instructors should strive to ensure that such reconsiderations are not improperly influenced by factors extraneous to the class, such as the effect of a grade change on a student's eligibility for academic honors.
   
• In ordinary classes and seminars, we also ask that the instructor certify that the opportunity for a grade change be extended fairly to all students (e.g., through some manner of announcement to the students that you are willing to entertain such requests, in the same way that one needs to announce to the students when one plans to take class participation into account).
   
• Along the same lines, grade changes also occasionally stem from ex post reconsideration of the value of a student's class participation. While this matter is also within an instructor's discretion, we counsel particular caution in changing grades for this reason because of its subjectivity and potential for unfairness.

Feedback on Grading

• The faculty has agreed by formal resolution that all students are entitled to an opportunity to receive feedback on their class performance after grades are awarded.
   
• Such opportunity should be provided no later than the sixth week of the semester following the class (or, in cases where the student has received an extension into the following semester, six weeks after the submission of the student’s grade).  It is the student’s obligation to avail this opportunity within a reasonable time.
   
• Feedback may include any of the following or a comparably informative alternative:
  • Providing written comments on students’ exams or seminar papers.
  • Holding dedicated office hours the following semester for students to come in and discuss their performance.
  • Providing each student with a memorandum explaining the general criteria used for grading and how the student's performance fared under these criteria.
• In courses evaluated by a final examination, acceptable feedback may also include:
  • Providing model student answers or a model answer written by the professor.
  • Offering an optional exam discussion session with the professor or TAs.
• To distribute graded papers or exams, you may give the papers or exams to the Faculty Secretariat and notify students to pick up their exam from that office.  Instructors are asked to hold onto undistributed exams or papers for a period of one year.

In General 

• Students at Columbia Law School are obliged to comply with the principles of academic honesty, and also to familiarize themselves with these principles before taking examinations or submitting any work for credit toward a degree. These principles are the cornerstone of educational integrity at Columbia Law School. They also reflect the legal profession’s special obligations of self-regulation.  Academic dishonesty—attempted or actual—will not be tolerated at Columbia Law School.  All students attend a session at the beginning of their time at the Law School that addresses the issues and educates them about the consequences of dishonesty. 

Examples of improper conduct

Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to):

• Plagiarism: Failure to cite or otherwise acknowledge in any paper, exercise, or project submitted for credit ideas or phrases gained from another source such as published text, another person’s work, or materials on the Internet unless the source is obvious from the context given.
• Self-Plagiarism: The submission of one piece of work in more than one offering or in any two exercises for credit without the explicit permission of the instructors involved.
• Preparation by another: The submission of work as one’s own that has been prepared by or purchased from another.
• Cheating: To give, receive, take assistance, or make unauthorized use of information from written material, another person, his or her paper, or from any other source (except as explicitly allowed by the instructor) before or during an examination or other written exercise.
• Violation of instructions: Failure to abide by the explicit directions or instructions of an instructor with regard to a performance for credit.
• Falsification of work product: Falsification or misrepresentation of data, evidence, or other reportable observations in any course or other exercise for credit.
• Impermissible collaboration: The violation of the rules on acceptable collaboration on projects, papers, exercises, or examinations set by a faculty member or Law School committee.
• Tampering with materials: Removing, hiding, or altering library materials or stealing another person’s materials.
• Facilitation of academic dishonesty: Facilitating academic dishonesty by enabling another to engage in such behavior.

Reporting procedure 

• If you encounter a situation of potential academic dishonesty in the course of your teaching at Columbia Law School, please contact Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Dean of Students, who can advise you on possible courses of action. She can be reached at 212-854-0137 or [email protected].

Term of Appointment

• Adjunct faculty are appointed on a term to term basis. Accordingly, you will receive a formal appointment letter several weeks before each semester in which you are teaching.  Please be sure to read and return the enclosed acceptance form in a timely fashion as university regulations do not permit instructors without an appointment to begin teaching.

Rank of Appointment

• Adjunct instructors are most commonly appointed to the rank of Lecturer in Law, and in limited cases appointed to the rank of Adjunct Professor. We ask that you please take care to identify your affiliation with the Law School accurately in professional settings (e.g., CVs, posted biographies, writing recommendation letters or op-ed pieces).

Condition of Sufficient Enrollment 

• The Law School reserves the right to cancel an offering due to insufficient enrollment at the end of the Add/Drop period (e.g., a seminar that draws fewer than six students, at which point the critical mass needed to support discussion is typically lost).  In such cases, the instructor has the option, though not the obligation, to continue to work with interested students under the category of Supervised Research.

Renewal of Appointments

• The decision whether to renew an adjunct instructional appointment is made annually after the end of each academic year, based on enrollment, student and committee evaluations, and prospective curricular need. It is presumed that initial appointments will be renewed for a second term, assuming acceptable enrollment and evaluations and no significant change in curricular need. After an offering has been taught twice, there will be a presumption in favor of renewal for two additional terms. This is, again, assuming acceptable enrollment and evaluations and no significant change in curricular need.
• After four successive terms of teaching, instructors will be invited to take a year away from the classroom and then, if they wish, to re-apply for appointment in the following academic year. The reason for this procedure is to ensure both that instructors and the curriculum remain fresh, and that we continue to have the capacity to consider promising new offerings. In cases of strong curricular need, an instructor may be invited to re-apply for appointment without the year off.

CLE credit 

• Instructors who are members of the bar can receive continuing legal education credit in connection with teaching their classes.  The Dean of Registration Services will prepare and send a letter certifying that such credit has been earned at the end of each semester.

• To process your formal appointment, please contact Chloe Horsham, Assistant Director for Human Resources, at 201 William C. Warren Hall, [email protected]​, or 212-854-5332.
• For questions about student registration, academic rules and regulations, examinations or grading, please contact Hazel May, Dean of Registration Services, at 500 William and June Warren Hall, [email protected], or 212-854-6372.
   
• For questions about teaching or general Law School policies, please contact Avery Katz, Vice Dean for Curriculum, at 911 Jerome Greene Hall, [email protected], or 212-854-0066.
   
• For questions or concerns about individual students, questions about academic integrity, plagiarism, or other academic issues, please contact Yadira Ramos-Herbert, Director of Academic Counseling and Student Outreach, 500 William and June Warren Hall, [email protected], or 212-854-2395. 
• For questions and concerns about individual LLM students, please contact Sylvia Polo, Dean of Graduate Legal Studies, at 608 William and June Warren Hall,  [email protected], or 212-854-1528. 
   
• For all other administrative matters, please contact Elina Yuffa, the Associate Director for Curricular Planning and Adjunct Administration, at 732 Jerome Greene Hall, e[email protected], or 212-854-0683.