Curriculum Information

Document Version

QAA Benchmarks

Educational Aim

Learning Outcomes

Course Structure

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Means of Assessment

• Portfolio

• Presentation

• Essay

• Onsite Examination

• Time Constrained Assessment

• Poster

• Case Study

• Student Choice

• Oral Assessment

Learning Support

Induction
All first-year students will be given a full induction 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.

Personal Academic Coach
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.

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.

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.

Tutorials
Tutorials will be scheduled for some modules. 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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Course Exit Points

Progression Route

Graduates of the LLB Law and Criminology programme will typically progress on to graduate careers or postgraduate study.

In Law there are clearly defined postgraduate study routes; having completed the traditional ‘academic stage of training,’ students typically progress to obtain qualifying work experience and complete the Bar Training Course to become a barrister or sit the SQE exams to qualify as a solicitor.

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.

DBS Check

Not necessary, unless students choose to undertake Public Legal Education as an optional module. The students will be responsible for arranging and paying for the DBS check.

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