2024-2025 WCL Catalog 
    
    Dec 03, 2024  
2024-2025 WCL Catalog

Student Services


Services

 

The Office of Career and Professional Development (OCPD) guides WCL’s students into the legal profession.  OCPD provides all students with professional development training on topics such as legal resume and cover letter drafting, networking, interviewing, conducting a legal job search, and more.  OCPD’s career counselors then work with every student individually to identify their career goals and to develop a plan for landing internships, externships, and post-graduation jobs that will help them achieve their dreams.  Counselors provide students with one-on-one feedback on resumes and cover letters, help students identify employers and programs that will build their legal skills and networks, and stay in close contact until they land that all-important first job after graduation.  OCPD’s Employer Relations team invites employers to network with WCL’s students at receptions and career panels, organizes job fairs, and hosts on-campus interviewing (OCI) and resume collection opportunities.  OCPD also maintains an extensive database of jobs, many of which are sent in by alumni looking to hire the next generation of WCL students and graduates.  OCPD is dedicated to fostering diversity in our community and the legal profession as a whole and collaborates with students, staff, and faculty to ensure that everyone finds their home in the law. 

Office of Academic Excellence (OAE) empowers students to make informed decisions to succeed in law school and prepare for the bar exam and legal practice. Advisors counsel on academic planning, course selection, law school skills, and bar exam success through individual appointments, online resources, information sessions, and workshops. Appointments can be made at http://bookwithoae.com.

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, receive treatment 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 website 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 website at www.american.edu/ocl/kay/.

The Center for Well-Being and Psychological Services, located primarily in Mary Graydon Center 214, combines the staff and services that were previously part of two centers: the Counseling Center and the Health Promotion and Advocacy Center (HPAC). Through the Well-Being Center, you can find a full range of wellness-related services, including individual psychotherapy, group psychotherapy, victim/survivor advocacy services, crisis intervention (through AUProtoCall Services at 202-885-7979), alcohol and other drug education, consultations, and other wellness-related programming. Psychotherapy services are confidential and free of charge for current AU students. For more information, please call 202-885-3500.

Disability Support:  AUWCL is committed to promoting access for individuals with disabilities within the university’s diverse community.  To receive disability accommodations for the first time, students must register with AU’s Academic Support and Access Center (ASAC).  As accommodations are not retroactive, timely notification at the beginning of the semester or as early as possible is strongly encouraged.  For information about registration and priority deadlines for accommodations, please visit www.american.edu/provost/academic-access/washington-college-of-law.cfm .  For questions or further information, please contact disability@wcl.american.edu or call the ASAC main office at 202.885.3360.