FAQ

Frequently asked questions. If you have questions not answered here, please don’t hesitate to contact Stephen Rispoli at 254-710-3927 or Stephen Rispoli.

Cancellation and Withdrawal

If the course offerings change or there are other significant changes to the program, these changes will be announced on the program's website, and students already enrolled in the program will be offered an opportunity to withdraw. After the announcement, a student will have two weeks to give Baylor notice of his/her wish to withdraw from the program. Should the student choose to withdraw, any and all money the student has already paid will be refunded within 20 days.

The program will be canceled due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen events that make travel to or stay in St Andrews, Scotland, unreasonably dangerous to faculty or students. Should the program be canceled before it begins, Baylor Law will refund any and all deposits, as well as any and all tuition paid by the students within 20 days. Should it become necessary to cancel the program, students will be informed via email and on the program website. In addition, Baylor Law will contact other law schools hosting summer study programs in the United Kingdom during the same or similar time period and inquire whether students originally enrolled in Baylor Law's program could participate. Baylor Law will, by email, inform students originally enrolled in its program about the availability of similar programs. Should the program be canceled after it has commenced, students will be refunded all tuition and fees paid and refunded all money paid for housing, except for money paid for days the students have already stayed in New Hall at the time of cancellation.

Course Materials

We will be sending you the course materials about a month before we leave for St Andrews. We will not charge you for these materials, and you will not need to purchase any textbooks, casebooks, or the like.

A laptop might be helpful but one is certainly not required. You may use the St Andrews library computer facilities, which are very close to our classroom. You will, of course, need something to write on and write with. If you don’t want to pack your favorite office supplies, they can be purchased in St Andrews. There is an office supply store a short walk from our classrooms.

Credit Cards and Passports

Before you leave for Scotland, we recommend calling your credit and debit card companies to notify them of your upcoming travel plans. Sometimes credit card companies will see a charge coming from out of the country and suspend the card for security reasons because they believe it has been stolen. Letting them know about your travel plans ahead of time will avoid this inconvenience.

We also recommend making a copy of your passport and keeping it in a safe location. Having this information will be very useful in the event you lose your passport and need to get a new one.

Credits

Students who successfully complete the School of the Appeal, School of the Trial, or Advanced School of the Trial in the Academy of the Advocate at St Andrews will be eligible to receive five (5) quarter hours of credit (equivalent to three (3) semester hours) for their work. The credit hour calculation is based on the criteria specified by the ABA Criteria for Approval of Foreign Summer and Intersession Programs. For more information about this calculation, please contact Stephen Rispoli. For questions about the conversion of quarter hours to semester hours, please contact Jerri Cunningham.

Dress Code for the Program

During the Edinburgh trip to Scottish legal institutions, we will likely be visiting with a sitting judge and attending court. As such, you need to bring a suit with you to wear to the Scottish courts. On a normal class day, we simply ask you to dress in clothes in which you would feel comfortable speaking in front of others in a professional environment (e.g., jeans are fine, but let’s avoid beach sandals, cutoff shorts, and tattered t-shirts.) For exercises (e.g., opening statement or oral argument), you do not need to wear a suit. Instead, we ask that you wear “business casual” clothing.

Flights

We recommend that you begin booking your flight over to Scotland as soon as possible. In my experience, as we get closer to July, the flights appear to be getting more expensive. The closest airport to St Andrews is the airport in Edinburgh (airport code EDI).

You’re welcome to book a flight individually, but one option is grouping together to get a better rate. Our initial discussions with travel agencies indicated that a group rate may be better than individual rates. Please keep in mind that flights to Europe in the summer are expensive, and tend to get more expensive the closer we get to summer. So, book your flight as soon as possible.

Grading Requirements

The students that attend the Baylor Law Academy of the Advocate at St Andrews will be graded in the same manner in which our on-campus students are graded. Here at Baylor Law, we have an extensive trial and appellate advocacy program. In this program, students are graded on their written advocacy and their oral advocacy during trial or oral arguments. These same standards and grading methods will be used when grading the students who attend the Baylor Law Academy of the Advocate at St Andrews.

Medical Care and Emergency Information

Emergency Medical Care
St Andrews Community Hospital & Health Centre
Largo Road
St Andrews
KY16 8AR
Tel: +44 1334 465656

There is also a pharmacy located next to this hospital and also a pharmacy in Boots, located centrally on Market Street in St Andrews.

Your program fee covers health insurance while you're in the program. Please visit Baylor's Center for Global Engagement website for more information about health and safety while abroad. We also recommend that you download the "Smart Traveler" app from the U.S. State Department for your smartphone before departing for Scotland.

Orientation, First Class, and Sample Class Schedule

The first class session is a mandatory online pre-departure orientation session, and it will be held on Thursday, July 6, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. CST. Students registered for the Academy will be sent information about how to access the mandatory online pre-departure orientation session. 

A second orientation session on the ground in Scotland will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 23, 2023, and will take place in Parliament Hall, in St Andrews. Your first regular class will begin immediately following the second orientation. Attendance at this on-the-ground orientation and the first regular class is mandatory. Parliament Hall is approximately a 15-to-20-minute walk from your residence hall. For a walking route from David Russell Apartments to Parliament Hall, click here. 

Below is a sample schedule for the program. This schedule is subject to change, but it should give you a good idea of what your day-to-day experience during the Academy will be like.

 

Relationship with the University of St Andrews

The University of St Andrews only provides facilities, housing, and event support for the Academy of the Advocate. Baylor Law is responsible for all curriculum and instruction in the Academy. All students attending the Academy are enrolled as Baylor Law students. Successful completion of Academy coursework will result in students receiving academic credit from Baylor Law, not the University of St Andrews. 

Things to do in Scotland/Restaurants in St Andrews

Click here for a list of things to do in the Fife region (the area surrounding St Andrews) and Edinburgh. We’ve also attached a list of a few restaurants. The list is not exhaustive, but it will get you started exploring the many fine St Andrews restaurants and cafes.

Transportation

The easiest way to get to David Russell Apartments in St Andrews is to rent a taxi. We recommend:

Golf City Taxis
+44 1334 467955 or +44 1334 477788
golfcitytaxis@yahoo.com
http://golfcitytaxis.com/

G & A Taxis
+44 1334 871030
standrewstravel@yahoo.co.uk
https://www.standrewstaxis.co.uk/

If you're planning on taking public transportation from the Edinburgh airport to David Russell Apartments, google maps has pretty good directions and instructions, which you can find here. It also allows you to get up-to-date information on train/bus timetables.

Travel Advisory

There are no current travel advisories for Scotland, but for general information about the current state of affairs in Scotland please visit the U.S. Dept. of State - Bureau of Consular Affairs, United Kingdom Travel Information.

Travel from Residence Hall to Classroom

Classes will be held in Parliament Hall and the surrounding buildings. You can walk from David Russell Apartments to Parliament Hall in approximately 15 minutes. You can also take a bus. The bus picks you up near David Russell Apartments and drops you off right in front of Parliament Hall. For these options, click here.

Weather

Weather in St Andrews during late July and early August varies greatly. It can be warm and sunny in the 80s, to cold and rainy in the 40s. Extreme heat and bitter cold would be highly unusual for this time of year, but it is not unusual for it to be moderately warm in the afternoons and a bit chilly in the evening. And, since this is Scotland, you can bet on rain every once in a while. You should pack a light jacket and an umbrella. The weather is probably a bit cool, especially in the evenings, for you to feel comfortable in shorts. You might also feel out of place in shorts, as the Scots don’t typically wear them.

 

The Baylor Law Academy of the Advocate at St Andrews has been approved by the American Bar Association Accreditation Committee.