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 terms, so that six terms (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. The 30-unit program is designed to be completed in 10 terms; with intersessions, most students will complete the program in about 1 year and six months.
   
   Students must complete all requirements for the MLS degree within five years of beginning the program.
    
2. Units Per Term
   
   It is anticipated that a student typically will complete one course per term (3 units), and then complete the 3-unit Capstone course during the last term of enrollment.
    
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.
    
5. Any deviation from the prescribed program must be approved by the MLS Program Chair.

14.3 MLS - Course Descriptions

Upon enrollment, each student must elect a concentration (either Frontiers in Law or Regulatory Compliance/Legal Risk Management) and, prior to graduation, complete all required courses and sufficient elective “concentration” courses as needed to fulfill program unit requirements.

All courses are letter-graded. Note: All courses are offered in irregular rotation, depending in part on student enrollment in each concentration and faculty availability.

Course Descriptions 

14.4 MLS - Required Courses

1. The curriculum consists of required courses and elective courses.
    
2. To graduate, students must complete 18 units of required courses, including each of those listed below, and 12 units of elective courses. The Capstone is designed to be taken as the student’s last course, prior to graduation.

MLS 440 - Administrative Process

MLS 410 - American Legal System

MLS 445 - Capstone course

MLS 415 - Legal Fundamentals

MLS 430 - Litigation and Its Alternatives

MLS 435 - Research and Advocacy

3. Courses are scheduled in a mixed cycle of required and elective courses. Courses must be taken during the cycle or postponed until offered again. Advisors will inform students of the planned cycle of courses. Postponement likely will delay graduation. Students are expected to complete the mixed cycle of required and elective courses, prior to taking the Capstone course.
    
4. A student must complete an introductory course (American Legal System, Legal Fundamentals, or Litigation and Its Alternatives) during his or her first session of enrollment. Thereafter the student will complete one course in each subsequent session in which the student is enrolled, following the cycle of mixed required and concentration elective courses until s/he completes all required courses other than the Capstone course and sufficient elective courses to have earned 9 elective units.
    
5. A student may enroll in the Capstone course when the student is within 6 units of completing the program.
    
6. Required Courses

• MLS 440 - Administrative Process
• MLS 410 - American Legal System
• MLS 445 - Capstone course
• MLS 415 - Legal Fundamentals
• MLS 430 - Litigation and Its Alternatives
• MLS 435 - Research and Advocacy

14.5 MLS - Elective Concentration Courses

1. In addition to 18 units of required coursework, to graduate students must complete an additional 12 units (4 courses) in elective concentration coursework in their chosen concentration.
    
2. MLS Residency Program
   During the Spring 1 term of each academic year, a multi-day MLS Residency program will be held during which students will have the opportunity to engage in discussions with faculty and leaders in the legal profession, government, or other fields. Each student will have the option of participating once while enrolled, by choosing when it is offered the elective concentration course designated “with Residency” in that student’s concentration. Students who choose not to participate in the Residency program will take the corresponding elective without the Residency designation.
   
   Students in the Frontiers of Law concentration will choose between Emerging Threats with Residency and Emerging Threats. Students in the Regulatory Compliance/Legal Risk Management concentration will choose between Data Security & Breach with Residency and Data Security & Breach. A student can earn academic credit for one but not both of the corresponding courses (e.g., a student who has earned credit for completing Emerging Threats with Residency cannot earn academic credit for having taken Emerging Threats).
    
3. Elective Concentration Courses

14.6 MLS - Curriculum Matrix

Although course offerings are subject to change subject to enrollment and faculty availability, below is the matrix of MLS courses anticipated to be taught in Academic Year 2016-2018.

Notes:            ^ A course would need to be offered for each of the two concentrations, if declared students are enrolled.

2016-2017 entering students:    ■ = F1 ‘16                 X = Sp1 ‘17               0 = Su1 ‘17  

2017-2018 entering students:    Y =  F1 ‘17                 Z = Sp1 ‘18                $ = Su1 ‘18 

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 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. See Sections 6.2 and 6.3 for policies on adding and dropping courses and the requirement for continuous enrollment.
    
5. Students who do not register for the upcoming session are administratively withdrawn for non-registration and/or non-attendance; 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 and “B” (3.0) in Research and Advocacy is calculated in this manner:

GPA (30.0 points divided by 9 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 (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 less recent 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.