Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) of The University of Law October 2017 Contents About this review ..................................................................................................... 1 Key findings .............................................................................................................. 2 Judgements .......................................................................................................................... 2 Good practice ....................................................................................................................... 2 Affirmation of action being taken ........................................................................................... 2 About the provider ................................................................................................... 3 Explanation of findings ............................................................................................ 5 1 Judgement: The setting and maintenance of the academic standards of awards ........... 5 2 Judgement: The quality of student learning opportunities ............................................. 15 3 Judgement: The quality of the information about learning opportunities ....................... 38 4 Judgement: The enhancement of student learning opportunities .................................. 41 Glossary .................................................................................................................. 45 The University of Law About this review This is a report of a Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) conducted by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) at The University of Law. The review took place from 2 - 5 October 2017 and was conducted by a team of four reviewers, as follows: • Michael Byde • Sabine Spangenberg • Denis Wright • Rebekah Osborne (student reviewer). The main purpose of the review was to investigate the higher education provision and to make judgements as to whether or not academic standards and quality meet UK expectations. These expectations are the statements in the UK Quality Code for Higher Education (the Quality Code)1 setting out what all UK higher education providers expect of themselves and of each other, and what the general public can therefore expect of them. In Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers) the QAA review team: • makes judgements on - the setting and maintenance of academic standards - the quality of student learning opportunities - the information provided about higher education provision - the enhancement of student learning opportunities • makes recommendations • identifies features of good practice • affirms action that the provider is taking or plans to take. The QAA website gives more information about QAA2 and explains the method for Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers).3 For an explanation of terms see the glossary at the end of this report. 1 The UK Quality Code for Higher Education is published at: www.qaa.ac.uk/quality-code. 2 QAA website: www.qaa.ac.uk. 3 Higher Education Review (Alternative Providers): www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews-and-reports/how-we-review-higher-education. 1 The University of Law Key findings Judgements The QAA review team formed the following judgements about the higher education provision. • The setting and maintenance of the academic standards of awards meets UK expectations. • The quality of student learning opportunities meets UK expectations. • The quality of the information about learning opportunities meets UK expectations. • The enhancement of student learning opportunities is commended. Good practice The QAA review team identified the following features of good practice. • The use of consistent and comprehensive data, which enables the University to effectively manage the delivery of programmes across locations (Expectations B8, Enhancement). • The University's engagement with employers to enhance learning opportunities for students (Enhancement). • The strategic approach to enhancement across the University's delivery sites, which promotes innovation and evaluates the impact on student learning opportunities (Enhancement). Affirmation of action being taken The QAA review team affirms the following actions already being taken to make academic standards secure and/or improve the educational provision offered to students: • the steps being taken to provide individual feedback to students on all summative assessments (Expectation B6). 2 The University of Law About the provider The University of Law is a private university owned by Global University Systems (GUS). Its mission is to provide market-leading education that meets the needs of diverse student communities and promotes access to professional careers. The University's strategic aims focus on further growth in programme offerings, diversification of its academic portfolio into business and subjects aligned to law, and on an increased emphasis on internationalisation. The University currently has 6,598 students; 585 are enrolled on undergraduate and 6,013 on postgraduate programmes. The origins of the University can be traced back to the law tutorial firm, Gibson and Weldon, founded in 1876. In 1962, the Law Society of England and Wales created The College of Law, by merging its own School of Law and Gibson and Weldon. The College of Law obtained its Royal Charter in 1975 and was registered as a charity in 1976 with the aim 'to promote the advancement of legal education and the study of law in all its branches'. It became the major provider of, and examining body for, the Solicitors' Final Examination and a conversion course for non-law graduates, the Common Professional Examination (CPE); this is now commonly known as the Graduate Diploma in Law (GDP). The skills-based Legal Practice Course (LPC) replaced the Solicitors' Final Examination from 1993. When the Council of Legal Education lost its monopoly of provision of training for intending barristers, the University began to offer the Bar Vocational Course, currently the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) for aspiring barristers. In 2006 the College became the first independent institution to be granted degree awarding powers by the Privy Council, leading to the development of its degree programmes. The online LLM was introduced in 2008 and the LLB undergraduate degree programme was launched in 2012. In the same year the College was awarded full university status and its name was changed to The University of Law. The University currently has eight centres: Birmingham, Bristol, Chester, Guildford, Leeds, Manchester, and Bloomsbury and Moorgate in London. The University also has arrangements with the Universities of Exeter and Reading for the delivery of some of its programmes. The LLB is delivered in two and three-year versions at seven of the University's centres, with the exception of Moorgate. A four-year part-time version is delivered at Chester and Bloomsbury. All centres deliver the LPC and GDL and the BPTC is being delivered in Birmingham, Bloomsbury and Leeds. The LPC is also delivered as a core element in two alternative master's awards: the MSc in Law, Business and Management, and the LLM in Professional Legal Practice. In each case, the LPC element is augmented by supplemental modules specific to the named award. The GDL and LPC programmes are also delivered at the Universities of Exeter and Reading. The launch of the online LLM (i-LLM) in 2008 marked the beginning of the delivery of a range of online law offerings. The University's portfolio now includes online versions of the GDL (i-GDL) from 2009, the LPC (i-LPC) from 2012, and the LLB (i-LLB) from 2016, which are managed and delivered from Chester. Derivative programmes using modules from the i-LLM have also been developed, leading to MScs in Law, Governance, Risk and Compliance from 2015, and Law and Financial Crime Compliance from 2017. The University has fully addressed all recommendations from the 2011 QAA Institutional Audit. The University has introduced a revised awards structure which is regularly reviewed. At the same time a new Assessment Policy was developed. Responsibility for both programme design and delivery now lies with the programme team and the University has used a large number and wide range of external contributors in programme approvals. The institutional approach to quality enhancement has been refocused and strengthened 3 The University of Law with the introduction of a new senior academic role of Vice-Provost, Academic Enhancement. Since the last audit the University has also implemented a new governance, comprising the University of Law Board and the Executive Management Board to ensure a clear separation of commercial and academic decision making. It also reviewed its academic policies and supporting protocols. Student representation on key academic committees was introduced in 2013 and the University has also increased the range of opportunities for students to engage in quality assurance and enhancement, culminating in the establishment of the Student Association in 2015. In 2016 the University appointed a Pro Vice-Chancellor, International Development to assist with the development of international partnerships and a draft International Strategy was published in 2017. Since 2012 the University has had a partnership with IE University in Spain, with which it awards a dual degree. The University developed a strategy to diversify its offering, taking advantage of its synergies with the world of business. As a result,