Policy on Externship Clinics and Individual Externships

FACULTY RESOLUTION OF DECEMBER 8, 1994 (AS AMENDED OCTOBER 12, 1995)

Externship clinics and individual externships are semester or year long course length student placements with organizations or individuals outside the law school. In these placements, the first level of student supervision is conducted at the placement by an individual designated as the placement supervisor. The following policies and principles apply:

1. All credits awarded based upon a student's work in an externship placement shall be graded pass-fail. In externship clinics that are supervised by a member of the full-time faculty, the faculty member shall have the option of using the regular (A through F) grading system for those credit hours that are awarded based upon class sessions or other components of the clinic conducted under the direct supervision of the faculty member.
2. All externship clinics and ongoing individual externship placements are to be reviewed by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Clinic Committee and the Educational Policy Committee at least every three years to insure they are meeting their educational objectives. They may be reviewed more often.
3. Individual externships are subject to the following additional requirements:
   1. In addition to the direct student supervision by the placement supervisor, each must be under the supervision and sponsorship of a member of the full-time faculty (the faculty supervisor).
   2. The faculty supervisor is responsible for insuring that the individual placement will provide educational work assignments including significant writing and appropriate evaluation of student performance during the semester for which the student receives credit. The faculty supervisor will make initial arrangements establishing the externship, specifying the one or more specific projects and any other work to be done by the extern, the placement supervisor and supervision to be given, and other aspects of the externship. The faculty supervisor will communicate regularly with the placement supervisor to provide continuing supervision of the externship.
   3. The faculty supervisor will meet periodically with the student extern to discuss her work and to review the student's work product. Each student extern will be required to keep a journal or log of her work at the placement and the faculty supervisor will review this periodically.
   4. The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will prepare forms for establishing, conducting, and supervising an individual externship placement and these will be completed by all the parties involved. These forms may be revised as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs deems necessary.
   5. Individual externships may be for 1-4 credits, as determined by the supervising faculty member at the beginning of the externship (and based upon the semester of enrollment). A minimum 56 hours of work by the extern should be required for each semester's credit hour allocated.
   6. Individual externships will be treated as special research projects for purposes of determining limits on the number of hours credit a student may take. Thus, a student may enroll for three credits of special research or individual externship or both each term and four credits over the summer, up to a maximum of eight credits.
4. Externship clinics are subject to the following additional requirements:
   1. Externship clinics should be supervised by a member of the full-time faculty who will serve as director of the clinic. Where this is not possible, externship clinics may be supervised by an adjunct faculty member designated as the director of the clinic. When an adjunct faculty member serves as director of the clinic, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will supervise the performance, educational quality and class size of that clinic.
   2. The director of the clinic is responsible for insuring that each clinic placement will provide educational work assignments and appropriate evaluation of student performance. The director will make initial arrangements establishing the placement, specifying the work to be done by the extern, the placement supervisor and supervision to be given, and other aspects of the clinic placement. The director will communicate regularly with the placement supervisor to provide continuing supervision of the externship.
   3. The director of the clinic will conduct regular individual tutorial sessions with each student. Each student extern will be required to keep a journal or log of her work at the placement and the director will review this periodically.
   4. The director of the clinic will held periodic seminar sessions with all students in the clinic. The seminars should address educational and professional matters relating to the subject area of the clinic.
   5. Where an adjunct faculty member serves as director of the clinic, the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will prepare forms for establishing, conducting, and supervising each clinic externship placement and these will be completed by all the parties involved. These forms may be revised as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs deems necessary.