Registration Policies

This page contains policies and rules regarding registration of classes.

Course Load

Full-time Students

Full-time students must enroll in at least 14 credit hours and not more than 16 hours. Third-year students who need 26 or fewer hours to graduate in their final two semesters may take 10 to 13 hours in either or both of their final two semesters, but no fewer than 10 hours per semester.

Students who do not fall within the 3L exception, as stated above, who would like an exception made to the full-time student credit requirement, must follow the under/overload procedure by emailing Dean Liz Battles  with the following information:

• An explanation in detail of why the under/overload should be granted.
• How the under/overload figures in to the graduation plan of the student.

The assistant dean, in her discretion, will determine whether the request should be granted. She will review the reasons given by the requesting student and will consider the student’s past academic performance. She may also request an in-person meeting before making a final determination.

Summer Session

During the regular summer session, students may take no more than 7 credits. During the summer interim sessions, students may take only one course at a time.

Career Opportunity Program

Career Opportunity Program students should arrange their schedules with Assistant Dean Liz Battles.

Work Schedule

As you plan your work and school schedules, keep in mind that law students are subject to ABA Rule 304 (f) which states: "A student may not be employed more than 20 hours per week in any week in which the student is enrolled in more than twelve class hours."

Advanced Writing Requirement

Students seeking to complete the Advanced Writing Requirement (AWR) must enroll in both the course and the AWR section accompanying it. Advanced writing designations and CRNs can be found below each course that qualifies.

Note: The advanced writing requirement is not met by the first-year writing program, law review, or Moot Court.

Add/Drop Policy

Clinical Courses

Clinical courses may not be dropped after student submission under the clinic lottery process.

Lawyering Skills Courses

Students who register for lawyering skills courses may not drop these courses after the first week of the semester without approval of the course instructor.

These courses cannot be added after the start of the semester except with the written permission of the course instructor.

Student Holds

Students with a hold on their account will not be allowed to register for classes or obtain a transcript until the hold has been removed.

Students on hold because of academic probation or special academic status need to meet with Assistant Dean Liz Battles and have their schedules approved.

Wait List Policy

If you would like to take a course that is full, you can put yourself on the wait list in Self Service during the registration process.

Directions for adding your name to the wait list:

• In MyDrake, under "Classes & Registration," click "Add or Drop Classes."
• On the next page, select the appropriate academic term and click "Submit."
• In the Add Classes Worksheet area on the bottom of the next page, enter the CRN of the course to which you would like to be wait-listed and click "Submit Changes."
• The page will refresh. The system will think that you are trying to register for the course, but it will not let you if the course is full. Therefore, it will return a registration error message that indicates that your attempt to add the class was unsuccessful. The next steps will work only when an online wait list has been enabled for the course.
• In the action pull-down menu to the right of the CRN, select the "Wait Listed" option and click "Submit Changes."
• The page will refresh. If there is room on the wait list and you meet all registration criteria for the course, your registration status will be displayed as "Wait Listed" followed by the date.

If a registered student drops the course, the first person on the wait list will receive a system generated email on his or her Drake email account notifying the student that he or she has 24 hours to register in that course. If the student does not register within that time period, the student will lose his or her spot on the wait list.

The wait list will be ongoing through the registration period and until Aug. 12. At that time you will no longer receive system generated emails about openings in courses.

For questions, contact Lori Richman at 515-271-4511 or lori.richman@drake.edu.

Interdisciplinary Option Courses

Graduate or upper-division courses taken in other departments of Drake University may qualify for interdisciplinary credit provided that they are material to the student’s legal studies.

In order to receive credit, you need to complete the Interdisciplinary Course Credit Form, which must be signed by your advisor, approved by the associate dean, and submitted to in the Dean’s Office in advance of enrollment. You should also check with the other college for seat availability.

Note: You are limited to a total of 6 interdisciplinary credits. You must receive a C+ or better to receive Law School credit, but the grade will not count in your Law School GPA.

Joint Degree Program

Students taking courses in other departments as part of an approved joint degree program must first consult with the joint degree program advisor, Liz Battles, for the Law School.

Moot Court

No more than 6 hours of Moot Court activities may count towards the 90 credits required for graduation.

Seminar Rule

To be eligible to enroll in one seminar, a student must have completed 32 hours of credit and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.00.

To enroll in more than one seminar, a student must have completed 45 hours for credit and have a cumulative grade point average of 2.50.

These rules do not apply to Estate Planning (LAW 327) or Business Planning (LAW 270). Students who violate these rules will not be given credit for the course even if they attend the classes. Your GPA and completed hours will be verified if you register for a seminar.

Summer in France

Students whose GPAs are below 2.00 at the conclusion of the fall semester are not eligible to enroll in the Summer in France program.

Option to Continue Beyond 90 Credit Hours

Students who have 89 or fewer credits can continue to enroll full-time for one additional semester in order to fulfill the 90-credit graduation requirement.

Students who have completed 90 credit hours at the conclusion of the fall semester and who have at least the 2.00 GPA required for graduation will be allowed to enroll full-time in one additional semester and earn credits above 90.

See the Drake Law School Student Handbook for further details.