ABA Standard 509: Consumer Information

The following information is presented in compliance with the ABA Standards and Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools. The American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar Standards Review Committee require that a law school publicly disclose consumer information as presented by the Standard 509 Consumer Information Report. Please refer to the below PDF for data presented directly as it was reported to the ABA. Last updated: February 22, 2013

• 2012 Hamline Law Standard 509 Consumer Information Report (PDF)
• 2013 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2012) (PDF)
• 2012 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2011) (PDF)

Standard 509 (a)

All consumer information that a law school reports, publicizes or distributes shall be complete, accurate and not misleading to a reasonable law school student or applicant. Schools shall use due diligence in obtaining and verifying consumer information. Violations of these obligations may result in sanctions under Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure for Approval of Law Schools.

Standard 509 (b)

A law school shall publicly disclose on its website consumer information in the following categories:

1. Admissions data

• Hamline Law Prospectus
• 2012 Entering Class Profile

2. Tuition, fees, living costs, financial aid, conditional scholarships, and refunds

• Tuition/fees/living costs
• Financial aid
• Conditional scholarships
• Refunds:

• Financial Aid Refunds
• Students Accounts Refund Policy: The Student Accounts refund policy is listed in their Financial Policies and Procedures brochure (PDF) under "Withdrawal Charges" in the section for "Other Policies."

3. Enrollment data and attrition/graduation rates

• Hamline Law Prospectus
• 2012 Entering Class Profile and Overall Enrollment Data

Attrition/graduation rates: Hamline University School of Law lost 18 students to attrition during the 2011-2012 School year as reported to the ABA.

4. Number of full-time and part-time faculty and administrators

• Faculty
• Adjunct Faculty
• Administrators

5. Curricular offerings, academic calendar, and academic requirements

• Curricular Offerings
• Academic Calendar
• Academic Requirements

6. Library resources

• Hamline Law Library

7. Facilities

• Facilities and Campus Map
• The Twin Cities

8. Employment outcomes and bar passage data

• Hamline Law Employment Statistics
• 2013 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2012) (PDF)
• 2012 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2011) (PDF)

First Time Takers: 224
Avg. Pass Diff: -4.56%
Reporting %: 72.77%
Avg. School %: 87.73
Avg. State: 92.29%

• Bar Passage Data

Standard 509 (c)

A law school shall publicly disclose on its website, in a readable and comprehensive manner, its policies regarding the transfer of credit earned at another institution of higher education. The law school’s transfer of credit policies must include, at a minimum: (1) a statement of the criteria established by the law school regarding the transfer of credit earned at another institution; and (2) a list of institutions, if any, with which the law school has established an articulation agreement.

1. Transfer credit policies

Transfer credits are covered in section 3.6 of the Hamline Law Student Policy Manual (PDF) and outlined below.

3.6. Transfer Credits to and From Other Institutions, JD Program

3.6.1. U.S. Law Students Transferring Credits Into Hamline  

3.6.1.1. Number and Type of Credits That Transfer: A JD student in good standing at another approved law school may receive transfer credits for courses in which the student received a grade of at least 2.000 on a 4.000 point scale, or its equivalent, “pass/no pass” courses do not transfer. No more than 43 transfer credits can count toward graduation. (AR 102)

3.6.1.2. Recording Credits/GPA Effect: Transfer credit courses will be recorded on the student’s transcript. Grades will also be recorded but will not be calculated into the student’s grade point average. (AR 112)

3.6.1.3. Procedure for Recording Credits: Upon a student’s acceptance for transfer into the JD program, the OTR will evaluate the credits sought to be transferred to Hamline Law to determine what credits will transfer and whether the credits transferred fulfill the requirements for graduation from Hamline Law based on an official transcript sent directly from the other institution to Hamline Law. (AR 102)

3.6.2. Non-U.S. Law Students Transferring Credits Into Hamline Law

3.6.2.1. Evaluation of Transfer Credits: Students who wish to transfer credits from non-U.S. law schools to the JD program must have their official transcript from the foreign law school evaluated by WES or a similar service. (AR 102)

3.6.2.2. Numerical Limitation on Transfer Credits: The Associate Dean for Academic Affairs will determine how many credits will be awarded based upon credits earned for the foreign law degree. (AR 102)

3.6.2.3. GPA Limitation on Transfer Credits: Advanced standing transfer credit will be awarded for LLB or equivalent work at the foreign law school only for courses in which the student achieved a grade of “C” (2.000) or equivalent, or better. “Pass/no pass” courses do not transfer. (AR 112)

3.6.2.4. Timing of Transfer Credits: A non-U.S. law student must apply for advanced standing transfer credits at the end of the first year of courses taken in the JD program. Advanced standing credits will be granted only if the student has achieved a cumulative grade point average in first-year courses of 2.000 or higher. (AR 102)

3.6.2.5. Recording Credits/GPA Effect: Transfer credit courses will be recorded on the student’s transcript. Grades will also be recorded but will not be calculated into the student’s grade point average. (AR 112)

3.6.3. LLM Students Entering the JD Program

3.6.3.1. LLM Advanced Standing Credit: No more than 29 advanced standing semester credits can be transferred from any LLM program to count toward the 88 credits required for the Hamline JD program. (AR 102)

3.6.3.2. Graduation Requirements for LLM Transfers: LLM students transferring into the JD program must take all first-year required courses and must otherwise meet all requirements for graduation from the JD program. (AR 102)

3.6.4. Hamline Students Transferring to Other Institutions

Students who wish to transfer to another law school should notify the Registrar and the Associate Dean before applying for transfer, and request appropriate documentation from OTR for transfer credits. Most schools require letters of good standing, transcripts and other documentation as part of an application to transfer. The Office of the Registrar issues such documentation to Hamline Law students seeking to transfer to another school, provided that they are in good standing, have no holds and submit all the pertinent document issuance fees.

3.6.5. Hamline Students Visiting Away Who Seek to Transfer Credits to Hamline for Their Degrees  

3.6.5.1. Prior Approval: A student at Hamline Law who wishes to take courses at another law school for credit must seek approval in advance from the Dean's Office. (AR 112) Students should submit their petitions through the OTR.

3.6.5.2. Visited School Limitations: Students may visit away at ABA-accredited schools only.

3.6.5.3. Visited School Limitations–Minnesota: Students may visit away at one of the other three Minnesota law schools during fall and spring semesters as allowed in the Minnesota law school consortium agreement. (See Section 6.3) In unusual circumstances where it is necessary to take courses at other Minnesota law schools during the summer term or J-term, students must apply to “visit away” at Minnesota law schools (See Section 3.6.5)

3.6.5.4. Visiting Away Procedures: To visit away at another law school, a student must submit a Petition to Visit Away Form and a $50 processing fee to the Office of the Registrar for approval by the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. The Petition to Visit Away must include a list of all coursework to be undertaken at the other institution and the course descriptions for each course. Coursework that is not pre-approved will not be allowed to transfer.

3.6.5.5. Visiting Away Credits: Credits earned in an approved visit at another law school will be treated as transfer credits provided the student attains a grade of C (2.000) or better. “Pass/no pass” courses do not transfer. The grade will be entered on the student’s transcript but will not be calculated into his or her GPA. A maximum of 43 credits can be earned by visiting away. (AR 112)

3.6.5.6. No Visiting Away in Final Semester: Visiting away at another law school is not permitted during the last semester of the student’s law school career.

2. Articulation agreement

Currently, Hamline University School of Law has no articulation agreements.

Section 509 (d)

A law school shall publicly disclose the employment outcomes of its JD graduates on its website.

• Hamline Law Employment Statistics
• 2013 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2012) (PDF)
• 2012 Hamline Law ABA Employment Report (Class of 2011) (PDF)

Section 509 (e)

A law school shall publicly disclose on its website, in the form designated by the Council, its conditional scholarship retention data. A law school shall also distribute this data to all applicants being offered conditional scholarships at the time the scholarship offer is extended.

Scholarship Renewal Criteria

In order to renew a merit-based scholarship, Hamline Law students must possess a specific grade point average at the end of the spring semester as calculated by the Office of the Registrar. These merit-based scholarships are renewable through the semester in which a student completes 88 law school credits.

Scholarships renewed at either a 2.900 or a 2.500 GPA for students who matriculated in Fall 2010 and Fall 2011. All merit-based scholarships renew at a 2.400 GPA for students who matriculated in Fall 2012. For students entering in Fall 2013, the renewal rate is 2.000 GPA (good academic standing) for all merit-based scholarships.

Scholarship Retention Grid

The Hamline University School of Law Office of Admissions communicates conditional scholarship renewal criteria and retention data to all scholarship recipients at the time the scholarship is awarded.

• First-Year Scholarships and Fellowships
• Returning Student Scholarships and Fellowships