School of Law likely to continue mostly remote learning through spring semester
The UCLA School of Law will most likely continue its fall remote learning system for its spring 2021 semester, according to an email sent by the school’s dean to law students. However, if COVID-19 infection rates drop, the school will try to plan more in-person activities that abide by public health guidelines. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Shruti Iyer
Oct. 15, 2020 3:18 p.m.
This article was updated Oct. 18 at 6:36 p.m.
The UCLA School of Law will likely operate mostly online through spring 2021, a school official said.
The school will likely operate mostly online through its spring 2021 semester because of uncertainty surrounding the development of COVID-19 pandemic around Los Angeles County, said Jennifer Mnookin, the School of Law dean, in an email sent to law students.
The School of Law runs on a semester-based system, a fall semester beginning late August and a spring semester beginning in January. It also has a January term, during which it offers specialized courses that can be counted toward course credit for the spring semester.
In the fall, the school offered mostly remote classes, except for limited in-person classes for live-client clinics and an on-campus interview week in January.
Mnookin said the school hopes to experiment with in-person classes under the guidelines and plan more socially distanced in-person activities for students but added that an expansion of in-person courses would require LA County to loosen its higher education guidelines.
Guidelines for higher education may be loosened if infection rates lower and LA County moves from having more than seven new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents and a more than 8% positive test rate, to four to seven new cases and a 5% to 8% positive test rate under California Department of Public Health guidelines, Mnookin said.
The school will have greater clarity of the situation before spring enrollment begins in November, Mnookin said.
She added students will have the option of working remotely for the entire academic year and will have access to most of the curriculum through Panopto recordings or Zoom sessions. However, if the school offers more in-person classes, those courses may be unavailable to students who are working remotely, Mnookin added.
