Master of Legal Studies (MLS)

14.1 MLS - Academic Program

14.2 MLS - Length of Program

1. Course and Program Length
   
   The MLS program is a part-time online program. Courses in the MLS program are taught over eight weeks. In week 8, instruction ends on the first Monday. Each class meeting begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. Exceptions may occur and will be announced by e-mail. Students are cautioned not to make discretionary plans that will prevent them from participating in the online class or completing course assignments.
   
   Each academic year consists of three semesters, each of which has two sessions or terms, so that six sessions (Fall 1, Fall 2, Spring 1, Spring 2, Summer 1, and Summer 2) per year are offered. Students may begin their studies in the MLS program three times each year: Fall 1, Spring 1, and Summer 1. See MLS Academic Calendar.
   
   The program is offered as a 30-unit program for any student beginning the program in Spring 1 of 2014 (January 1, 2014) or thereafter. The 30-unit program is designed to be completed in 15 sessions; most students will complete the program in about 2 years and 5 months, although it will be possible to complete it sooner.
   
   The program is offered as a 24-unit program for any student beginning the program before Spring 1 of 2014 (January 1, 2014). The 24-unit program is designed to be completed in 12 sessions and thus within 2 years, although it will be possible to complete it sooner.
   
   Students must complete all requirements for the MLS degree within five years of beginning the program.
    
2. Units Per Session
   
   It is anticipated that a student typically will complete one course per session (2 units) and then complete the 4-unit Capstone course over the last two sessions of enrollment. A student who enters in Spring 1 of 2014 (and thus in the 30-unit program) will typically complete 26 units over 13 sessions and then complete the 4-unit Capstone over the next two sessions. A student who enters prior to Spring 1 of 2014 (and thus in the 24-unit program) will typically complete 20 units over 10 sessions and then complete the 4-unit Capstone over the next two sessions. Opportunities to accelerate progress may be available to students who wish to take more than 2 units per session. Students may take up to 4 units of non-Capstone courses per session when courses are available. A student may elect to commence the Capstone course when the student is within 8 units of completing the program.
    
3. A student’s program may, of necessity, be required to depart from the above norms in special situations, such as when a student is on probation, is a transfer student, or has interrupted the customary sequence of study for any reason.
    
4. Each student is responsible for planning his or her own program, within the limits of the School’s policies, so as to complete all course and graduation requirements within the time limits stated above. Graduation likely will be delayed for students who do not adhere to the typical sequence of courses. The School has no provisions for partial course credit, so students may find it necessary to complete more than the required units of credit to meet graduation requirements.

14.3 MLS - Course Descriptions

Courses listed with “Required” are required for graduation; others are elective except as needed to fulfill unit requirements. All courses are letter-graded. Note: Elective courses are offered on a rotating basis depending in part on student interest and faculty availability.

Course Descriptions  

14.4 MLS - Required Courses

1. The curriculum consists of required courses and elective courses. Required courses are given each year and must be taken during the regular cycle or postponed until offered again. The advisors will inform students of the planned schedules of offered courses.
    
2. To graduate, students must complete 18 units of required courses, including each of the courses listed after Paragraph E below. Other than the Capstone, the required courses are designed to be taken during the first year.
    
3. Generally, students are expected to complete the cycle of required courses, other than the Capstone course, before taking elective courses except as noted in “D” below.
    
4. A student must complete an introductory course (American Legal System, Legal Fundamentals I, Legal Fundamentals II, Legal Research, or Legal Communication) during his or her first session of enrollment. In each subsequent session in which the student is enrolled, a student must enroll in one or, if available, more required courses until s/he completes all required courses other than the Capstone course. While enrolled in a required course, a student may also enroll in any available elective course on a space-available basis. Enrollment priority for elective courses is given to students who have completed all required courses other than the Capstone course.
    
5. A student may enroll in the Capstone course when the student is within 8 units of completing the program.

• MLS 459 - Administrative Process
• MLS 405 - American Legal System
• MLS 441 - Legal Communication
• MLS 414 - Legal Fundamentals I
• MLS 423 - Legal Fundamentals II
• MLS 450 - Legal Research
• MLS 432 - Litigation and Its Alternatives
• MLS 468 - Capstone course

14.5 MLS - Elective Courses

1. In addition to 18 units of required coursework, to graduate students must complete at least the number of units of elective coursework to fulfill program requirements (30 total units for students who begin the program in Spring 1 of 2014 or thereafter; 24 total units for students who begin the program before Spring 1 of 2014).
    
2. Elective Courses

• MLS 555 - Basic Evidence
• MLS 603 - Disability Law
• MLS 607 - Education Law
• MLS 516 - Employment Law
• MLS 527 - Ethics
• MLS 538 - Health Care Law
• MLS 505 - Intellectual Property
• MLS 549 - Negotiation

14.6 MLS - Curriculum Matrix

Although course offerings are subject to change, below is the matrix of MLS courses anticipated to be taught in Academic Year 2015-2016. A student entering the program generally will complete the required courses as offered over the six sessions of the student’s first year, and will then embark on elective courses and the Capstone course over the remaining sessions. Courses in bold type are required courses; courses in italic type are electives.
 

14.7 MLS - Registration Procedures

1. Prior to the start of each session, continuing students will be notified by JURIS e-mail of information about tuition, fees, class schedules, academic calendar, registration deadlines, and required books by their Student Advisor in COL Student Services. Students are responsible to purchase or otherwise obtain the required books through outside vendors. The updated General Catalog will be available on the Gateway. Syllabi and other course information is found in Canvas, the online Learning Management System.
    
2. Students registering for the first time will be contacted by COL Student Services with information about registration, the Orientation webinar, and passwords for access to Westlaw, the Gateway, and Canvas.
    
3. New students will be provided with a JURIS e-mail account and log-in credentials to the School’s e-learning platform shortly after acceptance to the program and upon payment of the required tuition deposit.
    
4. During the Add/Drop period, students may register for available additional courses by submitting an Add form or remove courses from their schedule by submitting a Notice of Withdrawal form. After the Add/Drop deadline, students may not add courses. See the MLS Calendar on the website or the Gateway for deadlines for dropping courses.
    
5. Students who do not register for the upcoming session are administratively withdrawn for non-registration; procedures for arranging a leave of absence are described in Section 6.2 , Leave of Absence.

16.1 MLS - Letter Grades and Status Designations

1. A letter grading system is used for all courses. Grades are assigned from “A” to “F”, with numerical point equivalents on the School’s 4-point scale:

2. Grade designations denote the following:

3. Other grade/status designations used to indicate a student’s grade or status at the School, and which may appear on the student’s transcript and/or other records, are:

16.2 MLS - Calculation of Cumulative GPA

1. The cumulative grade point average (cGPA) is calculated based on course grades.
    
2. To calculate the cGPA, multiply the final grade in each letter-graded course by its unit value, total the sum of the products for all such courses, and divide that sum by the total number of letter-graded units. The cGPA is expressed on the transcript as a number, truncated at the second decimal. For example, the cGPA for a student who had course grades of “B” (3.0 points) in American Legal System, “A” (4.0) in Legal Fundamentals I and “B” (3.0) in Legal Fundamentals II is calculated in this manner:

GPA (20.0 points divided by 6 units) = 3.33

Grades earned in subsequent sessions would then be added to the prior grades to determine the student’s cGPA.

16.3 MLS - Petition for Change of Grade

1. Except as otherwise provided in this Catalog, grades will not be changed after approval by the Director of the MLS Program except to correct an arithmetic error or other material mistake by the instructor, such as incorrect calculation of points noted in the margin. An allegation that an instructor has not fairly graded an examination or other paper of the student, or has departed from established policy, is treated as an allegation of material mistake.
    
2. Authority to decide student petitions for change of grade is held by the faculty’s Academic Standards and Admission Committee (ASAC). The ASAC will not authorize a change in any grade without a showing of material mistake by the instructor by clear, convincing, and objectively verifiable evidence; the ASAC will not permit or require a change of any grading decision by an instructor which represents qualitative judgment concerning a student’s performance. Objectively verifiable evidence is not shown by a student’s belief that the analysis deserved a higher grade.
    
3. A student is not permitted to lobby an instructor for a change of grade. A student who has identified a potential material mistake may ask the instructor to review the claimed error. At the instructor’s election, the instructor may require the student to submit a written analysis of the claimed error or to present the analysis to the instructor.
    
4. A student who wishes to appeal a grade must do so by timely filing a written petition for grade change to the ASAC. All such petitions must: 1) be filed with the Registrar within 14 calendar days of the date the original grade was posted; 2) state clearly, specifically, and fully the basis for the claim of material mistake; 3) provide clear, convincing, and objectively verifiable evidence of the claimed mistake; and 4) include a copy of any written analysis submitted to the instructor.
    
5. Decisions on petitions to the ASAC are made pursuant to the procedures and standards set forth in the Charter for the Academic Standards and Admissions Committee of The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (“the Charter”), a copy of which is available on the Gateway (https://My.CollegesofLaw.edu/.)

16.4 MLS - Repetition of Courses

1. Students must make satisfactory academic progress toward the MLS degree by maintaining a grade point average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. Course grades of “F” do not count toward graduation requirements. A student who receives a course grade of “C” or below in a required course must retake the course.  If a student receives a grade of “C” or below in an elective course, the student will not receive credit and must retake the same or another elective course.
    
2. In addition:
    
   1. When a course is successfully retaken, the more recent of the two grades will be computed in the cumulative grade point average; the points for the lower grade will not be computed in the student’s GPA.
       
   2. The original grade will remain on the student’s transcript, along with the grade received for the retaken course.