2021-2022 WCL Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 WCL Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Student Services


Services

Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) provides comprehensive career search assistance to students and alumni for summer, academic year, and post-graduate employment. OCPD specializes in career counseling, individualized review and critique of résumés and cover letters, mock interviews and comprehensive job-search strategy development. They also support student and alumni career success through extensive employer outreach and networks and systems to communicate opportunities on a timely and focused basis.

OCPD counselors help students identify their career interests, educate them on the many resources and contacts available to help pursue those interests, and provide coaching and guidance on how to secure career-enhancing opportunities. The office offers programs, workshops, and lectures designed to provide information about various practice areas, interviewing techniques, professionalism, networking skills, and the realities of practice. These events and programs are also designed to give students insight into many traditional and nontraditional careers, and to facilitate networking opportunities between students and hiring authorities.

OCPD coordinates two large-scale recruitment programs, one in the fall and the other in the spring. The Fall Recruitment Program typically attracts larger law firms and government agencies while the Spring Recruitment Program is designed more for smaller law firms, government agencies, and public interest organizations.  The office also participates in a number of regional and specialty practice-area recruitment programs throughout the year.

Career education and professional development is also presented through targeted programming designed to address the specific needs of students by class year. For example, OCPD offers a program for first-year students to  provide them with an overview of OCPD’s services, an introduction to various practice sectors, and the opportunity to develop professional relationships with alumni and other practitioners. They also sponsor a number of multi-part series, including one for graduating third and fourth year students.

Through OCPD, AUWCL is a member of the National Association for Law Placement, the Washington Area Legal Recruitment Administrators Association, and Equal Justice Works.

Office of Academic Advising provides academic advising for JD students throughout the year for academic planning and course selection questions. Appointments can be made online for individual counseling and several information sessions are offered throughout the year in preparation for registration.

Office of Academic Excellence provides resources and guidance on the necessary skills for law school and bar exam success. Through workshops and individual counseling focusing on building academic skills and preparation for the bar exam, the Office of Academic Excellence aims to help every student achieve their maximum level of academic and bar exam success.

Housing on the university’s campus is generally restricted to undergraduate students and their resident advisors. The university maintains information on non-university accommodations near campus. Listings can be accessed through the AU home page or at www.american.edu/ocl/housing/.

Health Services are available at the Student Health Center in the first floor of the McCabe Building on the AU campus. Students can obtain immunizations, be treated for acute illness or minor emergencies, receive gynecological care, or obtain a routine annual exam. For true medical emergencies, complex diagnostic procedures, or conditions that require treatment by a specialist, the center refers students to Sibley Memorial Hospital, 5255 Loughboro Road, NW, and to Suburban Hospital at 8600 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda. Free round trip transportation can be arranged through Public Safety. A health insurance plan, underwritten by United Health Care, is available to students to reduce the cost of medical treatment or hospitalization. For more information, call 202-885-3380 or check the Web site at www.american.edu/healthcenter.

Recreation. Opportunities for recreational activity at the university encompass a broad range of spectator and participatory sports, theater, music, lectures, discussion groups, and the normal complement of student union facilities. Courses in dance, exercise, sports, etc., are available and may be taken for credit or audited by law students with the permission of the offering department. Full-time students are not charged additional tuition as long as the total of law and non-law course credits does not exceed 17 credit hours in a semester. Charges for part-time students, and for all students during the summer session, are levied on a per-credit-hour basis.

Religious Groups. The Kay Spiritual Life Center, located on the north end of main campus, offers services to a rich array of faith communities and fosters a climate of interfaith understanding and cooperation. Chaplains from diverse faith traditions assist in organizing events and are available to students, faculty, and staff for programming, counseling, and advising on issues of faith and ethics. For more information, call 202-885-3321 or check the Web site at www.american.edu/ocl/kay/.

Counseling Center located in Mary Graydon Center 214, offers psychological counseling and support services for students at American University. Students are invited to make an appointment with a counselor, join a group, attend a workshop, get a referral to local mental health resources, use the self-help library, or seek additional information on the Web at www.american.edu/ocl/counseling/. All services are confidential and free of charge. For more information, please call 202-885-3500.

Academic Support and Access Center located in Mary Graydon Center 243, provides a range of learning services and disability accommodations for students at American University. Students can make an ocl/asac appointment with a counselor, attend a workshop, or seek information on the Web at www.american.edu/ocl/asac/. All services are confidential and available to full-time or part-time students at WCL. For more information, please call 202-885-3360.