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Ranking
Definitions: Rankings are lists of J.D. students sorted in descending order by institutional cumulative grade point average as of a given date. Academic Rule 109 requires that students be ranked in this order and that the rank appear on the student transcript.
Required Ranking: All Hamline Law students in a J.D. degree program who are actively enrolled at Hamline Law in a fall or spring term will be ranked. (AR 109) Grades posted or changed after the date students are ranked (soon after grades are due) such as grades posted upon finishing an incomplete, do not retroactively change rank. Students are ranked numerically. Students with the same GPA share rank. A student’s rank is always one more than the total number of students ranked above him or her.
Term Rank: Term rank places a student within one of three classes (L1 or L2 or L3/L4.) L3 and L4 students, including any student who has attended Hamline for more than three calendar years, are ranked together. (AR 107) A student’s class is determined by how many calendar years he or she has attended Hamline. Term rank is calculated once per term after all grades for the term are due and have been processed by the Registrar’s office.
Graduation Rank: Graduation rank is calculated once per academic year after the spring semester grades are in, and includes all students who have graduated in the preceding summer (August), fall, January, and spring terms. (AR 109)
Effect of Failure to Complete Graduation Requirements on Ranking: Any student who has failed to complete any graduation requirement by the date on which graduate rankings are run (typically July 1) will be ranked for graduation with the subsequent class. These requirements include, but are not limited to, payment of outstanding balances owed Hamline, failure to complete a Perkins exit interview, failure to complete a Career Services employment survey, and/or failure to comply with the terms of any disciplinary or other requirements imposed.
Dean’s Preclusion of Ranking: The Dean may preclude ranking individual students for academic and/or disciplinary reasons.
Transfer Student Ranking: Transfer students rank only on the basis of grades received at Hamline Law, and no transfer grades are calculated into their GPA or class rank, even when they are posted on the transcript. Transfer students will not receive a rank until they have completed two full semesters in attendance at Hamline Law.
Ranking Information/Disclosure: Individual students may see their term or graduation rankings on the Final Grades screen of Piperline. To see rankings on Piperline, follow the link path Student Services, Student Records, Final Grades.
Individual ranks are not considered directory information by Hamline University and cannot be disclosed to third parties without written authorization from the student. Any student who wants the Office of the Registrar or the Career Services Office to disclose an official ranking must file written permission for disclosure with each of those offices.
Honors
Dean’s Honor Roll: Beginning at the end of the first semester, J.D. students who receive a 3.250 or above grade point average for any semester of eight or more graded Hamline Law School credits shall be placed on the Dean’s Honor Roll for that semester and the achievement will be recorded on the student’s transcript. Any student with a grade of “I” or “Z” for any semester will not be eligible for the Dean’s Honor Roll for that semester until the “I” or “Z” has been removed from his/her record. (AR 109)
Graduation Honors: The School of Law recognizes the following student honors as calculated under AR 109:
Summa Cum Laude: Students who complete their required course work with a cumulative grade point average of 3.750 or higher will graduate Summa Cum Laude.
Magna Cum Laude: Students who complete their required course work and earn a graduation rank in the top ten percent will graduate Magna Cum Laude.
Cum Laude: Students who complete their required course work and earn a graduation rank in the top twenty percent will graduate Cum Laude.
Awards
CALI Awards: Hamline Law participates in the Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Excellence for the Future Awards® program. CALI may from time to time establish rules that supersede or add to the requirements listed below.
Courses Eligible for CALI Awards: Courses in which CALI awards may be given include letter-graded sections in any term with an enrollment of six or more Hamline Law J.D. students as of the last day of classes. Pass/No Pass sections and sections with variable credits or variable assessment methods are not eligible. In normal circumstances, only one award per section of any particular course is given.
Students Eligible for CALI Awards: Hamline Law J.D. students who enrolled for a letter grade in a section are eligible for CALI Awards.
Calculation of Award: The CALI award is given to the student with the highest grade in the class as determined by the faculty member. The faculty member may include all factors announced as relevant in determining the grade, such as class participation or non-examination evaluations. In extraordinary circumstances, if in the opinion of the faculty member there is a tie for the highest grade, a maximum of two awards may be given upon request of the faculty member.
Notification to Recipients: When submitting final grades, faculty members report the recipient of the CALI award to the office of the registrar who forwards the information to CALI. CALI posts the titles of the sections and name of the awardees online at http://www.cali.org and sends certificates to the office of the registrar 4-6 weeks thereafter. The Office of the Registrar notifies winners via e-mail when the certificates are available for collection. Certificates not collected by the established deadline are mailed to the student’s mailing address of record. The Office of the Registrar also records each award as a permanent comment on the recipient’s transcript.
Graduation and Commencement Procedures
Graduation Terms: Hamline Law graduates students at the end of each term during the academic year. Graduation dates typically fall in the following months:
- Spring: May
- Summer: August
- Fall: December
- January Term: January
Expected Graduation Date: Upon matriculation, students enrolled in the weekday curricular option are assigned an expected graduation date of May, 20XX, where XX is three years after the year of matriculation. Weekend students are assigned an expected graduation date of May, 20XX, where XX is four years after the year of matriculation. Students are responsible for notifying the Office of the Registrar of changes to the expected graduation date.
Commencement Dates: Commencement exercises are held once per academic year, after the final exams for the spring semester, in mid to late May. Participation is open to all students graduating during the academic year, including Fall, January Term, Spring, and Summer grads.
Graduation Honors, Preliminary and Final: Preliminary graduation honors are announced at Commencement based upon work completed through the conclusion of the previous fall semester. Official graduation honors are awarded at the conclusion of the academic year, when grades are received and recorded and students are ranked, which generally occurs in early July.
Early Commencement Participation: Commencement day honors cannot be calculated for students who elect to participate in May commencement but will not complete the credits required for graduation until the following academic year.
Diplomas
Receipt of Original Diplomas: Diplomas are ordered after graduation honors are officially awarded and will be mailed to the students in early to mid-August. The diploma vendor mails the diplomas via USPS First Class Mail to the student’s current mailing address in Piperline. Students must ensure accurate address information in Piperline.
Duplicate Diplomas: Hamline Law may issue a duplicate diploma upon student request. The student must provide a duly executed affidavit stating the reason for the request. To protect the institution and to assure the integrity of records, the duplicate diploma will include special wording printed on its face as follows: “Duplicate diploma issued upon request of the awardee on [date].” The new diploma will bear the signatures of the current officers of the university (as opposed to those who signed the original diploma). The diploma will carry the date the original diploma was awarded. The fee for issuance of a duplicate diploma is $90.
Lost, Damaged or Destroyed Diplomas: Upon return of the original diploma, Hamline Law will issue a standard replacement diploma. The fee for re-issuance of a standard diploma is $90. If the student is unable to return the original diploma, the student must provide a duly executed affidavit stating the reason. To protect the institution and to assure the integrity of records, the new diploma will include special wording printed on its face as follows: “Upon request of the awardee, this diploma was reissued on [date] to replace the original that was lost or destroyed.” The new diploma will bear the signatures of the current officers of the university (as opposed to those who signed the original diploma). The diploma will carry the date the original diploma was awarded. The fee for re-issuance of a lost or destroyed diploma is $90.
Change of Name on the Diploma: Hamline Law adheres to the American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) guidelines for diploma re-issuance upon change of name: “the name on a diploma should not be changed except when there has been a court-ordered change of name.” Hamline Law will issue a new diploma upon presentation of a certified copy of the court order or similar official document. To protect the institution and to assure continuity of records, the new diploma will include special wording printed on its face as follows: “Upon request of the awardee, this diploma was reissued on [date] following a legal change of name.” The new diploma will bear the signatures of the current officers of the university (as opposed to those who signed the original diploma). The diploma will carry the date the original diploma was awarded. The original diploma must be returned prior to issuance of (or exchanged for) the new diploma. The fee for re-issuance of diploma upon change of name is $90.
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