Associate Dean Sowle’s Announcements, August 19 - August 23, 2024

Classes Will Meet Online the Week of August 19. As announced last week by Dean Krug, classes will be held online this week due to the Democratic National Convention. In -person classes will start the week of August 26. Students should access Zoom through the Canvas sites for their classes. You can access Canvas through https://access.iit.edu (the Okta portal). Look for the Zoom link in the sidebar in Canvas.

Fall 2024 Semester Information.  The current Fall 2024 schedule is available on the Fall 2024 Quick Guide page. The following Information is available on the Quick Guide page:

-Classroom assignments (listed in the current version of the class schedule)
-Add/Drop Period
-Initial reading assignments
-Academic calendar
-Book ordering information
-Pass/fail elections (the pass/fail election form is now online)
-Consortium courses
-Submitting applications for graduation (for Fall graduates)
-Experiential course requirement
-64-credit classroom course requirement
-Taking reduced loads or extra credits
-Graduation checklist
-Making up Incompletes

Building and Library Hours for Fall 2024. The building and library hours for the Fall 2024 semester are available by clicking here.

U-Pass Information for Fall 2024. Information about the availability of the U-Pass for Fall 2024 students is available by clicking here. Please contact Dean Abhijeet (jabhijeet@kentlaw.iit.edu) if you have any questions about the U-Pass program.

My Successor. As many of you know, I will be retiring on August 31. My successor as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will be Prof. Mary Nagel (mnagel1@kentlaw.iit.edu). 

Revised Policy on Postings and Flyers.  Please click here for the recently-revised policy on postings and flyers in the Law School Building, including rules about where postings and flyers can be placed and how long they can remain. 

Spring 2024 GPAs and Class Ranks. Cumulative GPAs through the Spring 2024 semester, and class ranks for students who receive them, are available through Web for Students (click on the "Spring 2024" link under "Grades and Rank"). Students who graduated last Fall or Summer will find their final class rank under the Fall 2023 or Summer 2023 links. Reminder: Please keep in mind that, in order to access Web for Students from outside the law school building, you must use a VPN connection -- click here for more information. Class ranks are based on cumulative (not just Spring semester) GPA. For students who transferred into Kent in January, please keep in mind that you will not receive a class rank until you have been here for two semesters.

The class rank GPA cut-offs as of the end of the Spring 2024 semester are available by clicking here.

Note to Spring 2024graduates: For J.D. students who just graduated, this information constitutes your final GPA and class rank. Graduating students should wait until next week if you wish to request transcripts reflecting your degree conferral and/or graduation honors, as the Registrar's office will be entering that information in the coming days.

Note about class ranks: Please keep in mind that, for students who started in Fall 202 or later, only those in the top half of their class receive ranks.

Note to first-year students: If you are a first-year full-time student, the cumulative GPA for you in Web for Students includes all of your coursework through the end of the Spring semester. However, as previously announced, class ranks were determined using an alternate GPA calculation excluding Legislation or any elective course taken in its place, in order to ensure that all first-year full-time students were assessed on a common set of courses for purposes of class rank. Likewise, probation and dismissal decisions, eligibility for Law Review, and eligibility for merit scholarships are based on first-year performance excluding Legislation or any elective course taken.

CALI Awards for Spring 2024. The CALI Excellence for the Future Award, sponsored by the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction, is given to the student or students who receive the highest grade in each section of each course. The CALI award recipients for Spring 2024 courses are available by clicking here. If a section or a course is not listed, that means the professor elected not to give a CALI award, or we have not heard from the professor. Congratulations to all of you who received an award -- you should be proud of your achievement.

Mental Health Resources. This is a reminder that the university provides counseling services free of charge for students. Click here for details on the available mental health resources, including free counseling services provided by the university to enrolled students. In addition to resources available through the university, the Lawyers Assistance Program also provides assistance to law students. LAP provides free and confidential assistance to members of the Illinois legal community, and can help you with issues of addiction, stress, anxiety, depression, focusing, worries about the character and fitness process, and having a successful first-year transition. Click here for more information about LAP and its services.