IV. Research Papers

A. Original Work Required

Any paper or other written work submitted for any Law School course, seminar or independent research project must be solely the original work of the student in whose name the work is submitted, with all sources acknowledged. Unless specifically authorized otherwise in writing, use of artificial intelligence in the process of writing any paper or other written work is prohibited. The Law School may analyze papers using anti-plagiarism, AI-detection, and related programs.

B. Multiple Submissions

No paper or written work, or portion thereof, may be submitted for credit toward the law degree that has been previously submitted in identical or similar form in another course or seminar or any other forum anywhere, either within the Law School or any other setting. The work submitted for credit toward a law degree must be completed originally and solely for the requirement for which it is submitted.

1) If a student wishes to submit work for credit toward the law degree which he or she has begun previously (but was not submitted for academic credit) the student must submit the previous work to the instructor in advance for approval. Such approval must be in writing provided via email to the Student Records Office.

2) Similarly, no paper or similar papers may be submitted in more than one course or seminar or independent study or any other forum anywhere either within the Law School or any other setting concurrently without the advance written permission of the instructors to whom the paper will be submitted provided via email to the Student Records Office. If permission is granted, the paper must be at least twice the length required for each course or seminar for which it is submitted. 

C. Deadlines and Extensions

Unless the instructor announces an earlier deadline, all papers for academic credit are due no later than noon on the day before the last day of the finals period for the semester in which credit is to be awarded. EXCEPTION: Student-initiated study abroad program research papers have a different deadline. Students are expected to work diligently over the course of the semester to complete papers in a timely manner.

Instructors may not grant deadline extensions; all authority in this matter is delegated by the faculty to the assistant dean for academic services and registrar and the assistant dean for student affairs.

Deadline extensions must be sought in advance of the scheduled deadline and will be granted only when the student suffers an emergency during the exam period (e.g., the student’s hospitalization).  The student seeking an extension must make a written request to the assistant dean for academic services and registrar and the assistant dean for student affairs stating the current status of the paper, including information on the work left and expected amount of time necessary to finish the paper. The student must also provide with the request the most up-to-date draft of their paper. To support a request for an extension, the student must have written documentation of the emergency satisfactory to the assistant dean for academic services and registrar and the assistant dean for student affairs. 

An extended deadline cannot be later than one week before the grading deadline for the class requiring the paper. The Law School expects students to have papers substantially complete by the start of the exam period. No extensions of paper deadlines will be permitted due to mismanagement of time during the course of the semester, changes in the research or direction of the paper, events that occurred during the semester, or exam period workload.   

D. Late Submissions

Students are expected to submit papers in accordance with established deadlines. Failure to submit papers when requested may result, for each 24-hour period that the paper is beyond the deadline, in as much as a two-step reduction in the grade for the course, seminar or research project (including independent research, external studies, student-initiated study abroad and third-year theses). The first 24-hour period begins at the submission deadline, so a paper submitted at any point during this first 24-hour period warrants up to a two-step reduction. The exact reduction in grade will be determined by the instructor. Pursuant to part I.I.1 of these policies, faculty use 10 letter grades, each of which constitutes a “step,” in evaluating performance in courses and seminars (A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, D, F).

Index

Academic Policies (continued)