Welcome (back)! Fall 2024

Dear Students,

To our entering J.D. and LL.M. students, welcome to Chicago-Kent!  You have an exciting year ahead of you. To our continuing students, welcome back! I hope you had an enjoyable and productive summer.

I'm writing to share some information and reminders as the new school year begins.

Start of semester:  Orientation for entering students starts today, and Fall classes begin next Monday, August 19. Please see the Fall 2024 Quick Guide page for the latest version of the class schedule, initial reading assignments, and other information about Fall classes.

Democratic National Convention: As you are likely aware, our first week of classes will coincide with the Democratic National Convention. The university is monitoring the information provided by authorities and will continue to do so as the DNC approaches. I would like to echo the recent email from the Office of the Provost and encourage you to refer to the DNC Travel Toolkit, which provides information on road closures and travel restrictions. (You can also download the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications app and opt in to receive live updates.)

At this point, we are planning on holding classes as usual during the first week. However, we have asked faculty to be prepared to move classes online for some or all of that week if circumstances make it necessary or advisable (due to protests in proximity to the school, transportation disruptions, or other events). Please note that, if classes are moved online, the appropriate links will be available on the Canvas page for each of your classes. (As a reminder, the university has moved from Blackboard to Canvas for course websites - you can find a link to Canvas in the myIIT portal.)

Entering the building:  We require students, faculty, and staff to tap their ID cards on the scanner at the security desk each time they enter the building. New students will receive their ID cards early this week.  

Visitors:  All visitors, including alumni, must present a driver's license or other valid government-issued ID and sign in at the security desk. If you will be bringing visitors into the building, please make sure that they have identification with them. Please note that the Law Library is open only to current Illinois Tech students, faculty, and staff.

Fall courses and class recordings:  Most classes will meet in-person, while a few are being offered entirely online. All students are expected to attend classes regularly, even if a professor shares class recordings with all students enrolled in the class (this is in the professor's discretion). Professors who do not generally share recordings may make them available on a case-by-case basis (e.g., to students who miss a class due to illness or have an approved absence for other reasons). In addition, some students may receive class recordings as an ADA accommodation. Please note: If you have to miss class, you will not be able to participate live by Zoom; there are no hybrid classes. Your option in the event of an absence is to watch a recording of the class if one is available.

I wish you all the best for the new semester and look forward to seeing you soon.

Dean Krug