FORDHAM UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW CLINICAL EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM GENERAL PROGRAM INFORMATION FOR EXTERNSHIP FACULTY SPRING 2012 1. GENERAL INFORMATION Seminar Component Students receive one academic credit (letter grade) for the externship seminar course. Before beginning the Externship Program, students are required to attend an Externship Orientation Session. During the orientation, students receive basic information about the Externship Program and tips for being successful in their fieldwork, since many will begin working at their placements before attending their first seminar. The Externship Program asks that all seminar faculty include the following assignments in the course syllabus: STATEMENT OF GOALS (see Attachment A) The first written assignment for all student externs is the STATEMENT OF GOALS, which must be developed in collaboration with and signed by the Supervising Attorney during the student s first week of fieldwork. Note that the STATEMENT OF GOALS has replaced what was previously the Learning Agenda. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (see Attachment B) Along with the STATEMENT OF GOALS, students should have their Supervising Attorney read and sign the ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS during the student s first week of fieldwork. SUPERVISING ATTORNEY INFORMATION Students must notify their professors by e-mail of the name, title, and contact information (telephone and e-mail address) of their Supervising Attorneys. TIME RECORDS (see Attachment C) Students must have their supervisor sign their TIME RECORDS every other week. Students should keep their original TIME RECORDS until final course grades have been recorded.
END-OF-SEMESTER REFLECTIONS (see Attachment D) Each student extern is required to post the end-of-semester REFLECTIONS assignment in the Assignment Drop Box on TWEN no later than April 27, 2012, unless an earlier date is selected by the seminar professor. PLACEMENT EVALUATIONS Students must complete an online PLACEMENT EVALUATION no later than April 27, 2012. Their evaluations will be accessible to Fordham Law students who, in the future, are considering Externships. (Students names will not be revealed and the evaluations are not available to the public.) To complete the PLACEMENT EVALUATION, students must access the online form from the link that will be e-mailed to them in April. No student should be given a grade until his or her evaluation has been submitted. SUPERVISING ATTORNEY END-OF-SEMESTER EVALUATION (see Attachment E) The Supervising Attorney must submit an END-OF-SEMESTER EVALUATION of the student extern s performance to the Externship Program no later than April 27, 2012. It is the student s responsibility to remind his/her Supervising Attorney to submit this evaluation, in advance of the due date. Note that there will be no Mid-Semester Evaluation this semester. Fieldwork Component Student externs receive two academic credits (graded pass/fail) for the fieldwork course. Students must perform and document at least 10 hours of fieldwork per week for a minimum of 13 weeks during the semester (1/17/2012 4/27/2012). Supervising Attorneys There must be one attorney at the field placement designated as the Supervising Attorney for each student extern, even if there are several attorneys from whom a student receives assignments. Details regarding the expectations of the Externship Program for all Supervising Attorneys will be found in the HANDBOOK FOR SUPERVISING ATTORNEYS (see Attachment F). Students should read this Handbook and are required to provide a copy to their Supervising Attorney at the start of their fieldwork.
2. IMPORTANT DATES Although the dates will vary, students must submit several assignments by the conclusion of the first week of fieldwork. If possible, faculty should reach out to all students on the class roster before the first seminar and ask them their start dates. Students must submit their REFLECTIONS, END-OF-SEMESTER EVALUATIONS, and TIME RECORDS by April 27, 2012 unless instructed otherwise by their professor. 3. RESEARCH LIBRARIAN Most seminar professors invite a Research Librarian to visit during one of their classes. These sessions have been quite successful and students are extremely appreciative for the guidance. Students are asked to submit specific questions to the research librarians in advance of the librarian s class visit. The RESEARCH MANUAL FOR EXTERNS (see attachment G) is posted on TWEN for all externship courses. If you would like to schedule a Research Librarian for an entire seminar or a onehour portion, the Externship Program will make the necessary arrangements. 4. TWEN PAGES AND SUBMISSIONS TWEN The Externship Program will create your course s TWEN page based on your syllabus. General Course Materials Drop Boxes All of the documents referenced above will be available to students on each TWEN Page. Each TWEN page will have Assignment Drop Boxes for the STATEMENT OF GOALS, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS, and END- OF-SEMESTER REFLECTIONS. The SUPERVISING ATTORNEY END-OF-SEMESTER EVALUATIONS should be sent directly to the Externship Program. At the professor s request, the Externship Program can set up drop boxes for students TIME RECORDS (depending on how often and when each professor would like them submitted). Students need not submit original copies of any of the course materials to professors or the Externship Program (unless otherwise instructed by the seminar professor). Assignments and Syllabi
The Externship Program will create the rest of each individual course page based on the professors syllabi. Please include clear instructions on deadlines and procedures for assignment submissions. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions. Helene Yatrakis McNanna Externship Administrator Fordham School of Law 33 W. 60th St., 9th Fl. New York, NY 10023 (646) 312-8762 hmcnanna@law.fordham.edu
Attachment A
Attachment B
Attachment C
Attachment D
Attachment E
Attachment F
Attachment G