LAWYERS NEW TO HIGHER EDUCATION

SCHEDULE

This is a self-study course that is intended to be paced in accordance with your personal schedule.  Consult the self-study syllabus to determine a plan that works for your schedule.  Dates and times for the Networking Circles, Meet the Experts sessions, and any other forums will be announced in the Fall.

Introduction and Practical Advice for New Campus Counsel

  • Welcome and brief overview of NACUA 
  • Brief overview of legal issues unique to higher education
  • Practical advice on transitioning to the practice of higher education law

Meet the Faculty

  • Faculty tenure and employment relationships
  • Faculty duties, performance management and discipline
  • Academic Freedom/ First Amendment
  • Practical issues and problem solving

The FUNdamentals of FUNdamental FERPA

  • An overview of the FERPA framework and its key definitions
  • The principal disclosure exceptions
  • The often forgotten “inspect and review” and “seek amendment” rights
  • Saving the best for last: FERPA’s enforcement mechanism

Introduction to Sexual Misconduct Issues: Title IX, Title VII, and the Courts

Federal Antidiscrimination Law

  • Encountering and Addressing Anti-Discrimination Matters in Higher Education (e.g., Title VI, Title VII, Title IX, ADA)
  • Race, Color, Religion & National
  • Origin - Discrimination and Harassment
  • Sex Discrimination and Related Legal Issues
  • Retaliation
  • Free Speech, Diversity, and Inclusion

Wheels Up! – Navigating University International Programs

  • Understand different frameworks for evaluating international initiatives
  • Review select U.S. and foreign law compliance issues and discuss recent trends and hot topics – e.g., international employment; foreign taxation; export controls; foreign influence; international student recruitment; online and remote learning; global data privacy; and international student health and safety concerns.
  • Share unique contract terms, tips, and strategies to negotiate cross-border contracts

Free Speech on Public and Private Campuses: Key Considerations and Current Issues

  • Policies and speech codes
  • Bias incidents and the intersection of protected speech and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts
  • Managing campus protests
  • Employee speech

Research Compliance, Intellectual Property, and Technology Transfer

  • Federally sponsored university research: the regulatory regime
  • Compliance: common financial, administrative, and scientific/bioethics compliance issues in research
  • Intellectual property: ownership and use of employee, student and third party IP
  • Tech transfer: considerations for innovation and commercialization

College Athletics

  • NCAA structure and enforcement
  • Athletics contracts
  • Title IX and intercollegiate athletics
  • Wages, benefits, and the use of name, image, and likeness
  • Trending topics

Contract Administration

  • Unique issues related to contract administration on college and university campuses
  • The role of counsel in contract administration
  • Who is entering into contracts at your university?  Signature authority and policies related to contract administration
  • Key contractual provisions
  • Practical take-aways related to contract review

Student Discipline and the Role of Legal Counsel

  • Key foundational concepts and legal obligations: due process and contractual obligations, public versus private colleges and universities
  • Academic versus conduct problems, graduate and professional programs, disability and Title IX cases
  • Litigation lessons for policy development and practice
  • The many changing dynamics on campus and student life trends - what these mean for campus lawyers

Student Disability Law Issues – Microsession

  • Academic accommodation issues in higher education context
  • Emotional support animal issues
  • Threat to self and/or threat to others issues
  • Leave and withdrawal issues
  • Web accessibility issues

Quickly and Clearly Clery: Introduction to the Campus Crime Reporting Law – Microsession

  • Introduction to the Clery Act, including the history, developments along the way, enforcement, and more.
  • Discussion of the main components of Clery compliance, including reporting and disclosure of crime statistics in the ASR, the crime log, timely warnings and emergency notifications, and the fire log.
  • Exploration of the Clery Handbook—What is it, how is it used in practice, and does it contain the answer to my question?
  • Overview of enforcement actions, program reviews, and fines.

An Introduction to Higher Education Counsel’s Office: Ethical Issues

  • General principles of ethics for college and university attorneys
  • Representing an institutional client – ethical issues and practical strategies
  • Attorney-client privilege – elements, exceptions, and waivers
  • Special challenges taking on non-legal roles