Brandeis School of Law Student Orientation 2013
Welcome, Incoming Brandeis School of Law Students!
Welcome to UofL Law School’s orientation page. Here, you will find information you’ll need before beginning at the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law. Check here often for updates and read carefully. We will post important orientation and class registration information, along with helpful tips about books, housing, social events, and other law school matters.
Mandatory orientation for first-year students begins on Monday, August 12, and runs through Thursday, August 15, with an optional Service Day on Friday, August 16. Orientation is designed to introduce you to the fundamental skills you will need as you begin your legal education. During orientation, we will focus on four key areas:
- Academics – an introduction to the basic law school skills and academic expectations, including how to read and brief cases, and what to expect in class
- Administrative matters – an introduction to administrative services, financial aid, the law school building, and information technology
- Professionalism – an introduction to the importance of professionalism in law school and administration of the Honor Code oath; and
- Social – formal and informal opportunities to meet with faculty, staff, upper-level students and classmates
Please carefully review the information below to help you prepare for your arrival and orientation week. If you have questions, you may contact Kimberly Ballard, Assistant Dean for Student Life, at kimberly.ballard@louisville.edu.
Orientation Items
Assistant Dean’s Welcome
Congratulations on your acceptance to the University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law. From your first day of law school and all during your professional life, the entire Brandeis School of Law community has the responsibility and the privilege to educate and guide you as you mature into a legal professional. That guidance begins during orientation.
Orientation will occur on August 12 through August 15, and will conclude with an optional Service Day on August 16. Orientation provides you with important information on how to make a successful transition to law school. Faculty and staff will introduce you to campus policies, procedures, and facilities, and will teach you how to prepare for class. They also will introduce you to study habits that will help you manage the demands of law school.
Orientation also gives you the opportunity to meet your classmates who will become your fellow travelers on your professional journey and your life-long personal friends. But most of all, orientation gives all of us at UofL Law School the opportunity to welcome you into our community and to celebrate your decision to become a legal professional. We are delighted to have you join us.
I look forward to meeting you in August.
Kimberly Ballard,
Assistant Dean for Student Life
Orientation Schedule
Right now, School of Law faculty and staff are busy planning your orientation program, which will take place on August 12, 13, 14, and 15. The tentative schedule will be released in early June. The summary below will give you an idea about the activities you will be participating in during orientation, and when you will be on campus.
Monday, August 12, is your opportunity to get your laptop connected to the system, tour the campus and law school, get your University ID card made, and take care of other important tasks such as purchasing a parking permit, your books, and a law school locker. Students should plan to be on campus for approximately two and a half hours during their scheduled registration time.
Tuesday, August 13, will include a welcome session in the morning. Later in the day, you'll attend a law school IT training session, learn about on-campus resources, and attend a panel discussion with upper-division students. The Law School invites you to attend the Granville Inn for food and refreshments following the last session. Plan to be at the law school from 9:30 to 5:00, and later if you attend the get together at the Granville.
Wednesday, August 15, you will attend several information sessions designed to prepare you for academic success in your first year of law school. The Law School will also host a dinner and movie night. Plan to be at the law school from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., and later if you attend the movie.
Thursday, August 16, will include a mock class on Contracts (your assignments will be sent in advance) and an opportunity to meet your professors. In the afternoon, family and friends are invited to join you for the Honor Code oath signing ceremony. The Law School welcomes you and your family to a reception in your honor following the ceremony. The reception will be held at the Law School from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Friday, August 17, is your opportunity to participate in Orientation 2013 Community Service Day. Your Student Bar Association officers are planning a number of service events and we hope you will all choose to participate. The community of Louisville will benefit from these projects but you'll benefit too, in two ways: you will feel good about your volunteer work and you will get to know your workmates, i.e., your classmates and upper-level students, along with some faculty and staff members.
Letter from Your SBA President
Coming soon.
Community Service Day
Your Student Bar Association is planning several great volunteer projects for incoming students on Friday, August 16. Most services projects will be from 9:00 a.m. to noon, but some will be full-day projects. We hope your Community Service Day will be the most rewarding activity of orientation week. Details will be posted in early July.
Case-Briefing Assignment for Orientation
Will be posted in mid-July.
Computer Help Day – August 12
Monday, August 12, will be a computer "help" day for new students at the Brandeis School of Law. The IT staff will be available to help you connect your laptop to
- The University's wireless network
- SkyDrive, on which every student has storage space
- The School of Law's dedicated laptop printers
Please review our laptop recommendations at www.law.louisville.edu/it.
Attendance
The academic year for first year law students begins with orientation. For fall 2013, orientation begins the week of August 12. Students should be moved in by the start of orientation.
Classes will begin on August 19. Students should not plan major activities, events, or travel the weekend before as they will need time to read before classes begin. Attendance at orientation is required for all incoming students. Be sure to take your family vacations before the week of August 12. You will report to the Law School Lobby at the beginning of each day to register and get your materials.
Getting to Orientation
Wilson W. Wyatt Hall (the Law School) is located at 2301 South Third Street, at the picturesque "oval" on the Belknap Campus. The School's physical address is: 2301 South Third Street, Louisville, KY 40208. On the Belknap Campus map, http://louisville.edu/geography/campus-maps/belknap-campus.html, the Law School is numbered 19. Driving directions are posted at http://www.law.louisville.edu/driving-directions.
Students should park in the GREEN parking lot off of Third Street and across from the Reynolds Lofts during orientation week to avoid being ticketed. The parking lot is next to the Engineering Graphics building, which is numbered 37 on the campus map.
If you scroll down to the very bottom, you will find helpful information about campus resources and campus dining. See attachments.
Your Class Schedule
All full-time students will receive their course/section assignments via email on or before August 6. When you receive your section assignment, you must then register for your courses on ULINK. Information on how to register for your courses will be provided. You may then purchase your textbooks.Reading Assignments
Your law school professors will post reading assignments for the first day or week of class in advance. Those assignments will be available on the School of Law web site at http://www.law.louisville.edu/academics/assignments. This is a private page, so you must log in with your ULink credentials. Professors will post their assignments themselves, so if you do not see an assignment right away, check back often until it is there.
Assignments will not be posted until August.
Before You Arrive
Read Codes of Honor and Conduct
During orientation, all students will participate in an Honor Code oath signing ceremony on Thursday, August 15. During the ceremony, a guest speaker will administer the UofL Brandeis School of Law pledge, which includes a statement that you pledge to support and defend the Codes of Honor and Conduct of the Law School and the University. The School of Law's Honor Code also incorporates by reference the University's Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Please read these codes before you come to orientation. Be especially familiar with the School of Law's Honor Code. The School of Law treats compliance with the Honor Code as each student's most serious obligation. See the Student Handbook, http://www.law.louisville.edu/students/student-handbook, pages 36 through 53.
Log In to Law School Web site
All entering students should go to the law school Web site (www.law.louisville.edu) and log in with their ULink credentials. Logging in will create an account that the IT Department can then assign to the student role. Students who log in before orientation will begin receiving The Docket and Student Orgs e-mails. The IT Department will then be able to show you how to update your student directory profile.
Transcripts
If you have not already done so, please have two copies of your official transcript confirming receipt of your bachelor’s degree from your undergraduate institution sent to:University of Louisville
Brandeis School of Law
Office of Admissions
2301 South Third Street
Louisville, KY 40208
You will NOT be able to register if we have not received the two copies of your official transcript from your undergraduate school. LSDAS reports are not official.
Students with Disabilities
The University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law has a diverse population of students, including many students with disabilities ranging from learning disabilities to mobility impairments. In order to ensure that appropriate accommodations are provided both at orientation and during law school, please visit the University of Louisville's Disability Resource Center website to determine the process for making a request for accommodations.
Please call (502) 852-6938 or email Cathy Patus, Director, at cathy.patus@louisville.edu to set up an appointment. Since no accommodations will be provided before you are certified through the Disability Resource Center, please make arrangements to meet with DRC before the beginning of classes. For more information, please visit DRC’s website at http://louisville.edu/disability.
As not all disabilities will require accommodation through the Disability Resource Center, please also notify Kimberly Ballard, Assistant Dean for Student Life, as soon as possible indicating generally what accommodations you might need. Do not assume that because a disability was identified in the admission process that Dean Ballard will have that information.
Parking
Parking permits for the 2013-2014 academic year will be on sale beginning August 1, 2013. Permits must be picked up in the University Parking Office on the Belknap Campus. The Parking Office is located in the Floyd Street Parking Garage located at 2126 S. Floyd St., Suite 100. Law students may purchase a GREEN parking permit. To review the parking office policies and pricing, please visit: http://louisville.edu/parking/about.
If you attended the University of Louisville as an undergraduate, you will be able to purchase your parking permit online beginning July 15, 2013. The University Parking Office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Parking Office number is 852-7275.
Attire
During orientation, you will be attending a variety of events that will vary in their degrees of formality. We request that you please dress in business attire for the following event:
- Oath Ceremony - Thursday, August 15, 2013
In addition, law school photos will be taken on Monday, August 12. The UofL Law online directory is a valuable and frequently used reference tool for students, faculty, and staff that is password protected. The photos will cut off at mid-torso, so you may wear casual pants and shoes, if you wish.
ULink Instructions
Below are instructions for becoming connected to the University of Louisville.
First, set up your ULink account using the student identification number found in your offer of admission. Second, set up your UofL Email.
ULink is the University of Louisville Information Network. ULink is the site for internal news and information and a point of access for employees and students to conduct university business. You will be able to do the following:
- Check the status of your financial aid application (what is missing from your folder, if your folder is complete)
- View your financial aid award letter
- View the budget that has been used to determine your awards
- Access your student account information at the Bursar’s Office (charges, aid and payments received)
- View your personal loan history (loans borrowed at the law school and other institutions)
- View student records (grades, transcripts)
- Access registration information (drop and add classes, look at your schedule)
- Update your address/telephone number, if you move
- Waive Health Insurance Fee. If you have health insurance, you will want to waive the $100 health insurance fee.
- Go to http://louisville.edu/userid and get your user ID using your Social Security Number (SSN) or student identification number and your date of birth. Your student identification number is provided on your offer of admission.
- Write your user ID and 7-digit student ID down or copy/paste them into a document to be used for the next steps.
- Go to ULink, our student portal, at http://louisville.edu/ulink.
- Type in your user ID from step 1 in the user ID box.
- Next will be your password. Your default password will be the following:
- First 2 letters of your first name and First 2 letters of your last name and an exclamation point (!) and the last 4 digits of your numerical student ID. For example: John Smith, with a numerical ID of 123456, has a default password of josm!3456.
- Click submit. If it's successful, you will receive a "Password expired" message. Don't worry, that just means it's time to set up your new UofL password. Follow the link to set up your new password. You will also be able to set up challenge questions, which will allow you to reset your password if you forget it.
- Once you re-set your ULINK password, you can begin using your UofL e-mail. Visit http://cardmail.louisville.edu to log in.
- To login please use your userID@cardmail.louisville.edu and your re-set password. Use the same password you used for ULINK.
- If you have been admitted to UofL, all critical information, including financial aid announcements and housing and orientation information will come to your UofL e-mail account. You will also log on to ULINK to register for your classes, and access your grades, your financial aid package, and tuition bill.
University Alert System
Please take a few moments to educate yourself on the University Alert System (link below). If there is a campus emergency or class schedules are affected, the University has systems in place.
Example: During a recent storm, the University activated the alert system to inform members of our community that the campus was flooded and classes were canceled.
We recommend that you sign up for text message alerts. The student handbook has the delayed weather schedule. http://louisville.edu/alerts/
Higher One Card
Many of you will receive a refund of loan monies after your tuition is paid. This money is refunded on a UofL OneCard. You will receive a UofL OneCard in mid-late July. The UofL OneCard will be mailed to your current home address on file with the university (which is why it is important for you to update your address with the University on ULINK). This card is required in the selection process to determine how you receive future refunds from U of L for residual funds.
To avoid a delay in receiving any money due to you, including financial aid residuals, please be sure to update your address online. Also, be sure to check your mail carefully. The Higher One card looks like a credit card. Do not accidentally throw away the card.
Please visit www.UofLOneCard.com for additional information.
Specific financial aid questions can be directed to: Student Financial Aid Office, 110 Houchens Building,University of Louisville,Louisville, KY 40292.Telephone: 502-852-5511
University Bookstore
Located in the first floor of the Student Activities Center (SAC W-101)
,
Phone 502-852-2096
Fax 502-852-5913
Email: SM253@bncollege.com
Web: www.louisville.bkstore.com
Fall Hours: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday -Thursday
8:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Friday
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM on Saturday
Closed on Sunday
The bookstore offers New and Used textbooks as well as Rental and E-books on select textbook titles. Rentals are for the semester and must be returned by the end of finals. Rentals cost less than 50% of a new textbook.
Textbooks can be pre-ordered with most orders filled by August 1. You can order via the Bookstore web site (www.louisville.bkstore.com) or you can access the ordering process by clicking the “order textbooks now” tab at the bottom of your schedule in ULink.
Once processed, your textbook order can be picked up in the bookstore during regular business hours. You may also choose to have your textbooks shipped to your home via UPS for an additional fee. During your Orientation Session on August 12, we will have additional bookstore staff on hand to help assist you in finding your textbooks. If you have not ordered your books prior to Orientation, please bring a copy of your class schedule with you and our staff will get them all rounded up for you.
Please see the Bookstore web site for additional information or give us a call if you have any questions or need any additional information.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Campus Resources.pdf | 138.95 KB |
| Campus Dining Map.pdf | 452.45 KB |
