Academic review of UK higher education
Introduction
A Subject provision and overall aims
B Academic standards Intended learning outcomes
Intended learning outcomes
Curricula
Assessment
Student achievementC Quality of learning opportunities
Teaching and learning
Student progression
Learning resourcesD Maintenance and enhancement of quality and standards
Summary of the main review
Subject provision and the overall aims
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (the QAA) helps to provide public assurance that the quality and standards of higher education are being safeguarded and enhanced by conducting academic reviews of higher education provision.
In developing its method for academic review, the QAA has published a wide range of materials designed to provide a background against which the reviews can take place. These are:
The QAA carries out reviews of individual subjects through service level agreements with the main higher education funding bodies. It also carries out institutional reviews of higher education institutions. The judgements made by the subject reviewers can contribute substantially to institutional review.
Subject review is a peer review process. It starts when institutions evaluate their provision in a subject in a self-evaluation document. This document is submitted to the QAA for use by a team of reviewers who gather evidence to enable them to report their judgements on the academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities. Review activities include meeting staff and students, scrutinising students' assessed work, reading relevant documents, and examining learning resources. Full details of the process of subject review can be found in the Handbook for academic review, QAA, 2000.
The range of judgements that reviewers may utilise when they have completed a subject review are summarised below.
To reach this judgement, reviewers look at:
Reviewers make one of the following judgements for each of three aspects of learning opportunities:
The three aspects of quality of learning opportunities are:
Reviewers also report the degree of confidence they have in the institution's ability to maintain and enhance quality and standards in the subject under review.
1. This report presents the findings of a review of the academic standards achieved, and the quality of the learning opportunities provided, in law programmes at the University of Dundee. The review was completed in the academic year 2001-02.
2. Provision in law and related subjects at the University is the responsibility of two units operating within the Faculty of Law and Accountancy. The Department of Law offers a range of undergraduate programmes in law and a postgraduate diploma in Legal Practice. The Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) offers a range of postgraduate programmes focused on law and policy related to the international energy and natural resources sectors.
3. The main aims of the Department of Law are:
4. The Department offers the following programmes:
All degrees are offered with or without honours.
5. The major aim of the CEPMLP is to prepare participants for managerial, advisory and academic positions in the private sector and government in the international energy and natural resources sector.
6. This provision is through the following taught programmes:
7. In 2000-01 there were 453 full-time equivalent students on the programmes within the Department of Law and the CEPMLP.
8. The Department's undergraduate provision is clearly set out in its self-evaluation document (SED) and programme specifications. The learning outcomes are designed to produce graduates who are well equipped for professional legal practice or a wider employment market. The aims constitute an appropriate balance between the demands of professional accreditation and a law degree that meets the intellectual objectives of a liberal humanities degree. Programme aims and learning outcomes appropriately incorporate the relevant Subject benchmark statements and meet the professional body's requirements for the qualifying law degree in both Scotland and England. The Law Society of Scotland sets the aims and objectives of the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice.
9. The Department employs a variety of methods to inform students of its expectations of them. All paper-based documents were made available in October 2001, in CD-ROM format. The Department also makes use of a well-designed intranet. Given that the Department rates the course guide as the most important of these documents, it may wish to ensure that they all meet the same consistently high standard.
10. Allowing for the introduction of the new level 1 structure, both first and second-year students are clear about what they can expect. Students in years three and four fully understand that as they progress, the Department's demands on them become more exacting, and they appreciate the Department's efforts to manage their transition from ordinary to honours levels. Students undertaking the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice find the handbook, containing contact information, course expectations, workloads and regulations, to be helpful.
11. The learning outcomes map in the Programme Development Plan 2001, reveals some discrepancies in outcome statements. These are both formal and substantive in nature: formal in the sense that some continue to employ the language of aspiration rather than performance; substantive in that some state outcomes that are insufficiently demanding for the level to which they refer. Some course entries transpose learning outcomes and skills statements. As an aspect of its review of its new programme, the Department will wish to correct these matters. The skills coordinators will also wish to ensure that the skills statements display greater consistency in expressing the Department's stated aims.
12. The taught postgraduate provision is intended to develop students for senior employment within the international energy and resources sector. Their programme aims are common: to be industry relevant, to advance knowledge of the chosen sector, and to develop leadership skills. These aims, as well as the scheme-specific learning outcomes, are entirely consistent with the stated intention.
13. Until recently, information made available to postgraduate students through the CEPMLP has been confined to faculty regulations and marketing materials, and more recently to the CEPMLP's web site. There has been no formal communication of schemes' learning outcomes either to staff, students or external examiners. Reliance has instead been placed on individual course organisers, whose standards of information are, to quote the SED, 'highly variable in quality and nature'. The reviewers applaud the CEPMLP's self-awareness, and note that, from September 2001, specifications of aims and intended learning for programmes and modules were made available through the CEPMLP's Information Services Unit. The reviewers support the CEPMLP's move in fulfilling the essential task of addressing this information deficit.
14. The Department offers a broad curriculum. In its first two years, the undergraduate curriculum largely rests on the professional core for qualifying degrees. Students pursuing the standard pathways then move to greater choice in a structure that aims to consolidate and build upon previous years' learning. Successive levels impose increasing demands, particularly marked in the progression from ordinary to honours. Course choice is, therefore, somewhat limited until the third year (level 3). The two-year honours programme and the compulsory dissertation at level 4 permits a more varied choice and the opportunity to specialise.
15. The Department has sought to balance a number of subject-specific and academic factors. Provision at levels 1 and 2 delivers a combination of core knowledge and fundamental skills. Students are given early opportunities to practise research and oral skills. These are reinforced for those students who study Evidence at level 3, where performance is summatively assessed. At subsequent levels some courses offer students the chance to practise real world skills. The Department's aim for levels 3 and 4, that students become progressively more reflective and independent in their learning, is largely fulfilled. The compulsory level 4 dissertation is a first-class vehicle for developing a range of benchmark skills. Students appreciate the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to undertake independent research and show well-motivated choices of topic.
16. The Department has undertaken a rolling programme of review and amendment of its undergraduate curriculum structure. Staff have been engaged in a sequence of curriculum reviews culminating in the Programme Development Plan 2001. The Department has adopted a number of good practices which encourage staff to be focused on relevant outcome indicators; for example, the level coordinators' review of the Department's achievement of its stated outcomes, peer review of course guides, and the Quality Assurance Committee's dissemination of guidance notes.
17. The Department is conducting a mapping exercise for all its courses in order to evaluate the extent to which the curriculum enables students to achieve the stated intended learning outcomes. This mapping exercise specifies discrete skills, learning outcomes and assessment methods. There is a coordinator for each level who ensures that the learning outcomes are appropriately informed and suitable for the level of study, that successive levels reinforce the skills embedded in earlier learning, and that outcomes and skills are suitably assessed. The reviewers understand that the coordinators also intend to map teaching activities.
18. The reviewers are fully satisfied that the Department has created a structure capable of meeting its objectives and inspiring confidence that this is so. The learning outcomes map is a valuable resource which, if it were transposed to a database, would provide a means whereby the Department could be confident that whatever route they take, students will be able to achieve its stated outcomes. It would also be possible to audit the impact of deletions, amendments or additions to the course catalogue.
19. In postgraduate programmes within the CEPMLP, each student pursues a sequence of core and elective courses dictated by the chosen specialisation, followed by a dissertation or employment placement. LLM and MSc students first complete an induction course; MBA students arrive having completed a core business course at Heriot-Watt University. The specialisations are determined first by field of study (for example, water, or oil and gas), and second, by the student's discipline (for example, law or economics). The menu of courses comprises a variety of subject-specific learning outcomes, which may be appropriate to more than one combination of field of study and discipline. Depending on the student, they may be core or elective, which can impact on progression where a core course can only be taken in the second term. The dissertation demands masters level research, usually of an applied nature. Students who complete a placement are required to submit an analytical report reflecting their practice-based learning.
20. The CEPMLP recognises that the development of its scheme of programmes has largely been evolutionary rather than the product of strategic planning. A detailed mapping of intended learning outcomes within CEPMLP provision has yet to be made. As a consequence, there is inconsistency in the statements of intended learning outcomes at module and programme levels. The reviewers encourage the completion of this exercise as soon as possible, as it will help to pinpoint such discrepancies between the schemes where they otherwise appear to make common provision. For example, under the heading, 'knowledge and understanding', both the MBA and the LLM organise their learning outcomes under three sub-headings: 'general'; 'organisation' and 'the environment'; the second is absent from the equivalent section of the MSc. A second example is that while the three schemes share common learning outcomes under the sub-heading 'general', there is an additional entry for the LLM. The question arises whether these organisational and specific differences in their learning outcome statements are appropriate, given the schemes' overall aims.
21. The reviewers sampled a number of course guides at each level. In general, curricula are appropriate to the subject, comprehensive, considered and demanding. Curricula are directly informed by a range of external indicators such as professional expectations, students', external examiners' and employers' comments, and by the staff's discipline awareness. The course guides sampled were up to date and alert to key legal developments. In a few, the curriculum design and content does not clarify how the stated outcomes would be met. Overall, curricula are appropriate for the attainment of the stated learning outcomes.
22. A range of assessment strategies is used to facilitate attainment of the learning outcomes. Formative assessment is used to encourage intellectual and skills development, and includes drafting, internet exercises and group presentations. The policy of the Department is that most courses should have an element of assessed coursework which contributes to the final mark for the course. The assessment regime represents a traditional approach to the balance of coursework and examinations, with heavy reliance on examinations as summative assessments. Examinations usually account for 75 per cent of the final mark in a course. Within the Postgraduate Diploma of Legal Practice, a wider range of methods is used to facilitate the assessment of skills such as oral communication skills and teamwork. In the other postgraduate programmes assessment is mainly by research paper. In the postgraduate programmes offered by CEPMLP, assessment is mainly by research paper.
23. For the most part, assessments test students' understanding of the curriculum, in some instances by the use of imaginative and thoughtful questions. In a few cases, the single instruction, to discuss a relatively simple proposition, did not adequately reflect the course-level outcomes.
24. In the undergraduate programmes, a standard form is used to provide feedback to students on assessed coursework. General criteria for the awarding of marks in the different classifications are publicised and communicated to students in booklets detailing the standard course requirements for the LLB degrees.
25. External examiners comment favourably on the rigour and fairness of the assessment procedures. The role of the external examiner is clearly defined, both by the University and by departmental policy, with external examiners briefed about their role and responsibilities and provided with comprehensive information.
26. The Department does not operate a system of second-marking or internal moderation of marks within the undergraduate programmes, relying instead on monitoring by the external examiners. In order that external examiners may fulfill this role, they are appointed for all courses at all levels. Samples of scripts are sent to the external examiners, but they may scrutinise all scripts on request.
27. The Department may wish to consider introducing some form of internal moderation in relation to the assessment of dissertations, in order to ensure fairness and consistency, which is not apparent in the current system whereby the dissertation is marked internally only by the supervisor. As the dissertations are not all seen by a single external examiner there is currently no overview of the students' work across subject areas.
28. A system of internal moderation of assessed work has been implemented by the CEPMLP in relation to its postgraduate programme provision. In order to ensure consistency, a standard mark sheet is used by internal markers. Marked work is reviewed internally prior to being sent to external examiners.
29. Assessed student work showed that, at all levels, marks awarded are commensurate with the attainment of relevant standards. This view is endorsed by the external examiners, although some examiners commented that there is a reluctance to award a range of marks above the First-class threshold. The Department may wish to keep this under review in the light of the possible effects of averaging marks across subjects in order to reach a decision on a final classification.
30. Student work clearly showed evidence of current knowledge and practice. The achievements of students, as measured by assessment, are at least as good as those of students at comparable institutions of higher education. This is confirmed by the comments of the external examiners.
31. In many cases, assessed work demonstrated very high standards of achievement and high-quality work. Students achieve a good standard of subject knowledge and exhibit the necessary transferable skills. The attainment of undergraduate students more than matches that anticipated by the Subject benchmark statement for law at both honours and ordinary degree levels.
32. Progression rates are good across all of the undergraduate programmes. There is academic progression from level to level within programmes. A preponderance of graduates from the undergraduate LLB degree programmes progress to the Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice within the Department of Law.
33. Progression rates are less consistent in programmes within the CEPMLP. The Centre has identified that late completions are a problem and there are concerns about the number of students who leave without completing the dissertation. The reviewers recommend that the Centre continues with its efforts to remedy this problem.
34. With respect to academic standards, the reviewers conclude that:
35. For both the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, students are provided with an abundance of information relating to teaching and learning, including study guides and course guides. In addition, information is available to students through the departmental web site and presentations on, for example, learning at honours level. The Department has recently introduced changes to the curriculum, which are designed to enhance the learning experience: these changes are being monitored, and additional modifications may be introduced in the light of experience of the new structures.
36. Teaching methods within the Department emphasise skill-development, particularly in the area of oral communication. In the undergraduate programme, a substantial revision of the first-year curriculum is designed to instill, through the Legal Method and Skills course, a number of skills described as fundamental for law students. The CEPMLP provides students with detailed information relating to teaching and learning by means of induction, course descriptions and tutorial guidance. Teaching methods in the CEPMLP are innovative and include simulations, video-conferencing and the CEPMLP's own electronic journal based on its web site.
37. The Department and CEPMLP operate established programmes of peer review of teaching, and it is clear that teaching is supported by, and linked to, substantial research activity.
38. Within the Department, staff development linked to teaching and learning is actively promoted in various ways, including courses, mentoring of new staff, and the University personal review scheme. The CEPMLP is now considering how to enhance support and staff development for its part-time staff.
39. Students from the Department and the CEPMLP commented very favourably on the quality of the teaching and learning provision.
40. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of the intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
41. Academic support strategies are underpinned by clear handbooks for each programme of study, and by complementary student handbooks. The Department also produces a CD for students, and a 'Rough Guide to Honours' is distributed. Discussion with staff and students confirmed that these materials are effective in providing necessary information about course expectations, workloads, contact information, timetabling, resources, procedures, and other routine support functions. Students are clear about whom to approach about queries and problems.
42. Formal induction activities are organised by the Department and the CEPMLP. The unanimous view of students is that the various induction activities, together with the admissions literature, foster clear expectations about university life and provide useful initial foundations.
43. Formative assessment is systematically embedded in provision and documentation compiled. Both the CEPMLP and the Department monitor student awareness of skills being acquired. In view of the extensiveness of the use of research reports as assessment instruments, and concerns expressed by students at student-staff consultative meetings, the CEPMLP should ensure that feedback to students is timely and sufficiently focused on published assessment criteria.
44. All students are assigned to an academic staff adviser, with whom they remain throughout their programme of study. Assignment of advisers takes account both of academic (specialist subject) and personal (gender, age) characteristics; for example, some advisers have particular experience in dealing with mature students. Students are overwhelmingly positive about the advice they receive, in terms of option choice, personal problems, and career possibilities. Staff are considered approachable and helpful. There is evidence from both the CEPMLP and Department of formal follow-up (by letter) of students who are falling short of formal requirements.
45. The CEPMLP and the Department systematically monitor and evaluate progression data within all of their programmes. The Department undertakes a particularly comprehensive analysis of graduate destinations. Although, within its SED, the CEPMLP draws attention to a relatively high number of students who request extensions to completion dates, this should be understood in the context of the nature of their typical student market (students from industry), and the inevitable pull of their career opportunities. The position is under close review by the CEPMLP.
46. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of the intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
47. It is clear that staff numbers are appropriate for the provision of the courses currently offered, although no specific figures for staff-student ratios were provided.
48. Courses are well provided for in terms of hard copy learning resources, such as books, reports and journals. Both the law library and the CEPMLP information service have dedicated staff, and the information retrieval systems, in particular for the CEPMLP, are impressive. There is abundant information provided for students on how to use the library resources. For the law library, there is extensive provision of texts, journals, law reports, statutes, and other material, and the provision is clearly appropriate for the study needs of students. Students confirm that there is adequate provision of study spaces within the library.
49. The University has a wide system of networked information technology (IT) facilities, and there is appropriate provision for all students in terms of remote databases such as Westlaw, and other on-line material. Students were complimentary about IT resources and the approachability of the support staff when problems arise.
50. The CEPMLP draws a number of its teaching staff directly from the sectors being studied. Full-time staff maintain consultancy and other contacts, which ensures currency in their curriculum design and delivery. There is also a wide range of external speakers who work in relevant industry, business and regulator sectors.
51. The provision contributes substantially to the achievement of the intended outcomes, with most elements demonstrating good practice.
52. Both the CEPMLP and the Department operate within well-established procedures for quality management. These include Faculty boards, local academic and examinations boards, and student-staff committees. The minutes of these various meetings give evidence of established cycles of meetings, and follow-up action on issues. Peer review of teaching is undertaken. The year coordinators in the Department take responsibility for ensuring vertical integration of developments in provision across successive years of study.
53. The Department has recently undergone a periodic review of its provision, the documentation from which indicates that this was a comprehensive exercise, with evidence of critical reflection on the part of staff. Faculty and external representation was involved in this review. The frank evaluation is complemented by a full departmental response in the form of a programme enhancement plan. It is understood that a corresponding review of provision within the CEPMLP is imminent.
54. Every course has an external examiner. Course organisers are required to send their external the course guide and consult on any changes they wish to make. There is likely to be close contact at honours level, where an external may be responsible only for a small number of courses. In their reports to the University, externals are required to confirm that they have been sent full documentation for the courses they examine.
55. The SED's provided by the CEPMLP and the Department stand as further evidence of the critically reflective approach to quality management and enhancement that is in operation in respect of provision of law at the University.
56. The University arrangements in place to maintain and enhance standards and quality are comprehensive and well documented. There are clear links between University, Faculty and Department responsibilities.
57. The quality assurance procedures give the reviewers confidence in the ability of the University to maintain and enhance academic standards.
Law programmes at the University of Dundee were reviewed in the academic year 2001-02. Judgements were made about the academic standards achieved and the quality of learning opportunities provided.
The review covered the following programmes:
Overall, the reviewers have confidence in the academic standards achieved by the programmes in law at the University of Dundee.
Strengths include:
The quality of teaching and learning is commendable:
The quality of student progression is commendable:
The quality of learning resources is commendable:
The University arrangements in place to maintain and enhance standards and quality are comprehensive and well documented. There are clear links between University, Faculty and Department responsibilities. Both The Centre for Energy, Petroleum, Mineral Law and Policy, and the Department of Law operate within well-established procedures for quality management. The quality assurance procedures give the reviewers confidence in the ability of the University to maintain and enhance academic standards.