Department of Laws – ‘LSB Consultation Paper’

Members of the Laws Studies Board have been given the below consultation paper which proposes changes to the teaching of AS Law lessons in the next academic year. Please email any opinions that you have on these proposals to lsb@peterjepson.com - by Sunday 30th January 2005 - and they will be published. Alternatively, see your LSB class representative.

Hayley Smith (A2): Keeping the Legal Personal module in January is better than taking all modules in June. Having taken AS law last year I obtained my highest mark in the January module as I could focus on it more as I had few exams in January. I think if I had taken it at the same time as my other exams my grade would have been lower. A majority of AS students have few exams in January and the Christmas holidays can be used for revision. This allows them to focus on the law exam perhaps more than if it was taken in June and the material has recently been covered and is fresh in their mind.
I would also suggest less revision during class time. Last year a lot more class time was spent revising Legal Personal than both other units. If the teaching of Machinery of Justice started straight away after Christmas this may allow more time to deliver the remaining two units.

Menh Hua (AS): Although difficult for me to comment because I haven't yet finished AS Law, and therfore don't know what to expect for the remaining two terms. I think that it will be a huge mistake to have all Law exams in June. Firstly, the first term is crucial as to helping the student settle down and getting used to how the law department operates (in-terms of its intranet site, homework expectations, additional work and so on). Secondly and most importantly, all the information of Legal Personnel is still fresh, and students can take advantage of the Christmas holidays, revise, and therefore obtain a decent grade. The current system will relieve students from a lot of additional pressure in June.

Pretest Singadia (AS): Following the proposals of changing the examinations for AS law. I feel that current layout is fine and there is no need for change. I feel that if I take all my examinations together I will not have enough time to revise and obtain the best possible mark in Law also noting that I have other exams in June not only law adding pressure to obtain a lower mark. Also, knowing the grade in March, from the January exam, would give me more time to prepare for a retake if needed. As Hayley Smith (A2) said I would 100% agree with her comments made.

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Department of Laws – ‘LSB Consultation Paper’

The purpose of this paper is to consult with student members of the Laws Studies Board about proposals for changes to AS Law. This issue/paper will be placed on the agenda of the next LSB for discussion.

Indeed, this paper sets out Laws staff proposals for changes to AS Law for the next academic year.  We believe these changes should make teaching and lessons more interesting – since there will be less examination demand and more opportunity for class discussion and activities (and less rush to complete the syllabus in the Spring term).

The basic proposal is simply that all AS Law students will undertake 2568 (Machinery of Justice), 2569 (Legal Personnel) and 2570 (Sources of Law) examinations in June 2006 (approx one-hour per examination). This means there will be no 2569 (Legal Personnel) examination in January.

Under our current methodology, we have in-class revision of around 10 weeks per year (5-6 weeks for the January examination and around 4 weeks for the June examinations), plus a week or so of student revision leave in June. This means that we are spending close to a third of the academic year on revision. It is felt that, with two extensive revision periods, we are duplicating some of the revision elements and that we could use some of the time more sensibly for curriculum development (Law Firms exercises etc). In making this change, there are a number of related changes …

• From October through to Easter (excepting holidays) we will give AS Law students just one 20-minute examination essay per week to write in class (students could produce a collective essay plan etc). This mini-exam will be undertaken in exam conditions and marked by student self-assessment in a collective fashion (essay depth/quality is important).
• This would enable the abandonment of the burdensome 13 essays over Christmas – which will be replaced with students undertaking a 2569 examination paper over the vacation (which Laws staff will mark).
• In addition, we will set an AS Law Mock Examination for 2568 in late January (after public exams - using student self-assessment marking).
• The formal revision period will start in the first week of March and continue until the examinations in May. This should provide around three weeks of intensive revision prior to Easter and a period after Easter to further cement depth of knowledge. This should provide plenty of time for both revision and curriculum delivery throughout the year.

We propose that these changes should commence in 2005-6 for AS Law only – with a continuance of January and June examinations for A2 Criminal Law students.  There will be no direct impact upon AS Citizenship by these changes.

Dr Peter Jepson.

Head of Department.

13th January 2004.