Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

Level 3 Modules

Level 4 Modules

Level 5 Modules

Level 6 Modules

Teaching and Assessment

Learning and Teaching Methods

Employer Engagement

Visiting Speakers 

There is an established guest lecture series in year 1 and year 3 of the course. These sessions appear on the student timetables and can be delivered on campus or online.  In year 2 we adopt ‘focus on’ weeks in the module Learning Through the Workplace.  The theme of year 1 guest lecture series is ‘Introduction to,’ and in year 3 is very much ‘Next steps.’ 

As a School, we have been closely associated with the Global Governance/Tomorrow Matters events and students have been invited to post-talk events with guests like Jack Straw and Charles Clarke, which allows them to make links with political and legal local and national context and their curriculum.  

Students at Blackburn University Centre are invited to join remotely and all speaker opportunities are made available to them. 

Volunteering 

Students are provided with many opportunities to volunteer throughout the degree programme.  Regular announcements are posted on the course organisation site and students are invited to sign up.   

Examples include; 

Thompsons’ Solicitors, Speed Networking Social Justice Event,   

National Pro-Bono week and volunteer opportunities 

Virtual volunteering opportunities with a Regional Employment Judge, 

ELIPS (Employment Tribunal Litigant in Person Scheme) 

Volunteering within LAC, StreetLaw project, collaboration with other Welsh Law Schools 

Shelter Cymru Volunteer Pathways Programme 

Age Cymru Independent Volunteer Advocates  

Cardiff Lawyers Care Homelessness Clinic  

LAC vacation and summer placements  

Students at Blackburn University Centre also have the same information, all students are enrolled on the LL.B course organisation site.  More local opportunities are published through Blackburn’s Moodle site.  

Fieldwork 

N/A 

Fieldtrips 

Trips have included the Legal London Walk, a trip to the Supreme Court, to the Senedd building in Cardiff.   

We hope to have opportunities to do more in the future.  

The Blackburn team has run trips that include a visit to Parliament.  

Work Placements 

We advertise work placement opportunities through course organisation sites and students are encouraged to apply.  

Examples include: 

Civil Service job opportunities in Wales 

Commonwealth Games opportunities for Law students, 

Slaughter and May vacation schemes  

Hugh James internships 

Students at Blackburn University Centre also have the same information, all students are enrolled on the LL.B course organisation site.  More local opportunities are published through Blackburn’s Moodle site.  

Work-based Learning 

There is a compulsory work-based learning module in Year 2 called Learning through the Workplace. The module consists of 70 hours of work placement. We work closely with students and the USW employability and placement team to match students with placements relevant to their career aspirations. 

Students at USW and Blackburn have liaised and engaged in whole group online classes and activities in this module.  Blackburn student placements are organised by the local support and the module leader. 

Sandwich Years 

No 

Other 

We make available through the course organisation sites information relating to opportunities within the local and national legal sector; 

Target Law jobs opportunities 

National Pupillage Fairs 

Lincoln’s Inn Open Days 

Inside City Law events  

Aspire Law events,  

Legal vacancies in local firms  

Grays Inn Scholarship Day 

BPP Diversity and Inclusion Series 

Shelter Cymru Conference – People and Homes 

University Advocacy Day, Legal Virtual Events with SRA changes to legal education  

Young Legal Aid Lawyers Cymru events,  

The annual Legal Wales Conference with networking opportunities 

Ministry of Justice mentoring programme 

Free webinars at Fragomen’s UK Immigration School,  

Employment Lawyers Association Pastoral Committee on emotional care as an employment advisor  

Free online LawWorks training sessions on cv writing, applying for training contracts.  

Students at Blackburn University Centre also have the same information, all students are enrolled on the LL.B course organisation site.  More local opportunities are published through Blackburn’s Moodle site.  

Means of Assessment

Observational Journal Self-reflective Assessment Student Choice Oral Assessment Project Output Essay Poster Presentation Portfolio Examination Time Constrained Assessment Case Study

Learning Support

Induction 

All first-year students will be given a full induction to the LL.B in their first week, enabling them to adjust to university life, get to know the teaching team, meet their PAC tutor and their peers, plan their studies, and understand how the University works. The induction will include a full explanation of the course handbook and the student charter, a tour of Blackboard and its resources, and team-building activities to help foster a sense of cohort and course identity among new and existing students. 

Induction activities will extend into the first weeks of term where appropriate like the library tour and meet the librarian/career advisor talks.   

Induction for returning students will be held in the form of two half day sessions during induction week and will serve as an introduction to the new level of study, curriculum, teaching teams, assessment diary and skills development.  Induction activities will also extend into the first few weeks of term like sessions delivered by the study skills team and library refreshers. 

Induction at Blackburn University Centre follows a similar structure with an experienced course team enabling an effective induction to each year of study.  

Personal Academic Coach11 

All Law students will be allocated a Personal Academic Coach (PAC). The role of the PAC will be to meet with their students periodically throughout the academic year to discuss their academic progress. Discussions will cover assessment feedback, module choices, and study skills development. Where appropriate, the PAC will point their students in the direction of the Advice Zone, the Student Development and Study Skills Service, or the Library for additional support. 

Where possible, and subject to staff availability, the PAC will remain consistent throughout a student’s progression on the course. 

Students at Blackburn University Centre are also assigned personal tutors to monitor progress.  There is also a student engagement officer assigned to each student and these will monitor engagement in the course. 

Learner Analytics  

Learner analytics will be used by module leaders, personal academic coaches and the course leader to identify students who may not be engaging on the course. The course leader will review the information and contact the student about individual modules or engagement across the course. Whether or not the issues relate to a single module or the course, the course leader will advise the student about the best course of action. In most cases, this will be to contact module leaders for academic support and the Advice Zone to discuss applications for extenuating circumstances and advice on appropriate support services.  

The same system is available to the team at Blackburn. 

Office hours 

There will be course leader and year tutor office hours made available per week.  In addition, each member of the course teaching team will have at least one scheduled office hour per teaching week on campus or online. These office hours will be drop-in sessions for which students will not need to book. 

Students will also be able to book an appointment to meet with members of the course team, as well as using online tools like the discussion forums on Blackboard. 

At Blackburn, office hours when teaching staff are available for individual student queries are indicated within module pages on Moodle. 

Tutorials 

Tutorials will be scheduled for some modules and align at Treforest and Blackburn. They will be used to discuss feedback on assessments or project- and portfolio-based coursework in progress. 

Seminars 

Seminars will be the bedrock of learning and teaching on the LL.B course. In seminars, students will be given the opportunity to discuss subjects and skills in depth. They may sometimes be asked to take the lead in running seminars. Students will be expected to prepare for the seminars by completing the reading and tasks set in advance of the classes. 

Formative Assessment 

Formative assessment will be scheduled for all modules. It may take the form of coursework plans or partial drafts on which the module team make comments before the final version is completed. Activities and tasks set in advance of seminars may also be classed as formative assessment; feedback on these will be given during seminar discussions. 

Progress meetings 

Student progress will be monitored through PAC meetings and tutorials. Students will also be invited to make appointments with their module leaders, year tutor or course leader to discuss progress at any time throughout the academic year. 

Students at Blackburn University Centre are also assigned personal tutors to monitor progress.  There is also a student engagement officer assigned to each student and these will monitor engagement in the course. 

Research Supervision 

A 20-credit research project in the final year will be compulsory but students will have the option to top up to 40 credits by using a module option.  The research project/dissertation will require a lot of independent research and the writing of a substantial piece of work. Students will therefore be allocated a supervisor with relevant research skills and knowledge. Students will meet regularly with their research supervisors. Students will not require research supervision on other modules. 

Online Resources 

Students will be able to access course materials, like the course handbook, course timetable, assessment diary, marking criteria, staff-student liaison meeting minutes and copies of course-level announcements, through the course organisation site on Blackboard. 

At a modular level, students will be able to access learning and teaching materials and tools via the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment. These will include the module programme, lesson plans, TalisList, recordings of lectures and seminars, module-specific resources, tools for producing and submitting coursework (like Turnitin), staff contact details, discussion boards, and copies of modular-level announcements. 

Most items for learning and teaching will be made available by the Library (through FindIt) or academic online resources. Students will also have access to the Student Development and Study Skills Service and USW Careers to help develop their skills. 

Students will be able to access online resources provided by the University through their UniLife dashboards. The course and module leaders will be able to monitor engagement on the course via the Learning Analytics tool. 

Blackburn students have access to the full use of library services and databases.   

Students studying at Blackburn are enrolled onto Blackboard sites with a B’Code, for ease of administration at exam boards and to avoid any confusion arising from Blackboard announcements directed at Treforest students.  

Module leaders in Treforest populate B codes with materials where this is requested by the module leader at Blackburn.  Materials can also be emailed to module leaders at Blackburn.   

Blackburn University Centre uses Moodle as the main repository for module materials. 

Advice Zone 

Advice Zones are the first point of contact for advice and information regarding university life. Advice Assistants offer confidential, impartial guidance and advice on a range of issues including extenuating circumstances. Advice Assistants are also able to answer and advise on queries, questions or concerns regarding booking appointments with specialist teams such as Counselling, Disability and Dyslexia, Money Advice and Progression Advice.? 

Blackburn students engage with the Treforest Advice Zone in the same way. 

Disability  

The Disability Service provides information, advice and guidance to and co-ordinates support for USW students who have disabilities, including physical, sensory, mental health or unseen disabilities, specific learning difficulties (e.g.,?dyslexia) and autism.?A confidential service where students can discuss their individual requirements. DDS can advise on what support is available and help students apply for it.? 

The Disability Service also has a key role in ensuring the University meets its commitment to providing an inclusive environment for disabled students. See?our?Policies and Equality Scheme.? 

Blackburn University Centre has local disability advisors. 

IT/Library 

The course team consists of a Law librarian, who provides excellent support to module leaders and students.   

José López Blanco is the Faculty Librarian for Law, Criminology, Humanities, Public Services, Sociology, Social Policy and Youth Work. He has responsibility for liaising with academic staff to support the learning, teaching and research activity of the Law Department with the help and expertise of other members of the Library Services team. He also supports students via group sessions and individual appointments. 

José is a chartered librarian and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is currently very involved in the British and Irish Association of Law Librarians (BIALL) through his work on the BIALL PR & Promotions Committee. He has recently completed the BIALL Legal Reference Materials course and continues to develop his knowledge of legal information through webinars and self-directed reading. 

Students are introduced to the law librarian during induction and signposted to them through course announcements, videos and guest lectures throughout the year.  

Module leaders work closely with the law librarian to provide ‘themed’ displays in some modules which align with delivery of certain topics like race and gender.  Students are signposted to the librarian as a resource in all years of study and research students in particular are required to book 1:1s with the law librarian throughout their final year of study. 

The Law Collection at Treforest is maintained in a separate sequence as per the requirements contained within the Society of Legal Scholars’ ‘Statement of Standards for University Law Library Provision’ and contains materials on the law of England and Wales and the European Union, there are also some overseas materials. There are, amongst other items, reference books, textbooks, journals, main works with supplements, loose-leaf publications, indexes and citators, practitioners’ works, procedural manuals, encyclopaedias and digests, as well as case reports and legislation.? There is also considerable information available online via the Library’s FINDit Databases page through services such as Heinonline, Lawtel UK, LexisNexis and Westlaw UK.  The Law collection in print and online form is accessible to all University of South Wales students.  

Students receive a library induction and workshop from the librarian to help them find information to support their studies. Ongoing help and guidance to use library services is available from the librarian and from staff at the Library Desk, in person, via telephone, e-mail, or instant message chat service and via the many guides available on our web pages. 

The Law Librarian is available to assist students at Blackburn via online meetings.  All guidance and recordings are made available to Blackburn students through course or module sites. 

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

Graduates of the LL.B programme will typically progress on to graduate careers or postgraduate study. From this new course students will be able to progress onto professional courses like SQE type courses and Bar Training Courses and train to become solicitors or barristers. There are also academic study options such as LLMs, MBAs and MA programmes. We currently offer the LPC and LL.M LPC and LL.M courses at USW and are in the process of validating new SQE style courses and an enhanced offering of LL.Ms.

Entry Requirements

Admission to the course is typically through the following qualifications:

Typical A-Level Offer 

BCC - CDD (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points). 

Typical Welsh BACC Offer 

Pass the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate Diploma with Grade C/D in the Skills Challenge Certificate and BC - CD at A Level (this is equivalent to 104-80 UCAS tariff points). 

Typical BTEC Offer 

BTEC Extended Diploma Distinction Merit Merit - Merit Merit Pass (this is equivalent to 112-80 UCAS tariff points). 

Typical IB Offer 

Pass the International Baccalaureate Diploma with a minimum score of 29 overall including 5 or above in English at standard level. 

Typical Access to HE Offer 

Pass the Access to HE Diploma and obtain a minimum of 80 UCAS tariff points. 

Additional Requirements 

GCSEs: The University normally requires a minimum 5 GCSEs including Mathematics/Numeracy and English at Grade C or Grade 4 or above, or their equivalent, but consideration is given to individual circumstances. 

Inclusive Curriculum Statement

The University of South Wales operates a policy of inclusive learning, teaching and assessment to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to fulfil their educational potential. Course teams will have considered ways of designing out any potentially disadvantageous element of courses during the course design process. However some specific needs may remain, details about how to apply to have your needs assessed can be found at: http://unilife.southwales.ac.uk/pages/3040-disability-and-dyslexia-service/

Addendum for Delivery at a Partner Institution

N/A