A series of planned changes to the structure of undergraduate law degree programmes have been deferred until next year, after opposition from second-year students.
The school notified students in October that the Law School’s Undergraduate Studies Committee had accepted in principle changes that would lead to a more strict distinction between the modules that students could take in third year and which ones could be taken in fourth year. Initially, all modules in third and fourth year could be taken by either third or fourth-year law students. These changes will bring the law school in line with the norm in most other faculties in Trinity.
Concerns were raised due to the effects such a system would have on law students who choose to study abroad for a semester or full year. Erasmus and international exchange opportunities are available in all law degree courses. However, a year abroad is mandatory for students of both the law and French and law and German courses. They expressed concern that their choices will be limited on their return.
In response to a series of questions sent by email by The University Times, Head of the School of Law, Dr Oran Doyle, described the changes to the degree structure as allowing “for more advanced modules to be taught to senior sophister students. It also provides a framework that allows for the development of modules in the future with a focus on graduate attributes.”
Calling the decision to defer the changes for a year “appropriate”, Doyle commented: “The implementation has been deferred to allow students get used to the new system, particularly before they decide whether to go on an exchange in their third year.”
Doyle added that the deferral “will allow for a fine-tuning of details in consultation with students and others”.
Following discussion with student representatives, a number of changes were made to the proposals. The proposal was then discussed again at the school committee earlier this month, with further changes made in response to student concerns. It was following this that the decision was made to defer the changes for a year.
Speaking to The University Times, Conn McCarrick, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Convenor for the School of Law, praised the deferral: “I do think it’s a good thing that they’ve deferred it just for a year because it was going to impact quite heavily on the senior freshman students. We had to choose about Erasmus, and module choices, and that was all coming up in the next few weeks.”
Second-year students also welcomed the decision of the law school to defer the changes. Speaking to The University Times, Chloe O’Reilly, the second-year class representative for law and French, said: “It’s an amazing thing that they have done, where they actually listened to what students thought.” O’Reilly put the success down to the fact that “students got together and were really unhappy about it, and made that known, and the people in charge listened, and sort of updated their plans to accommodate students more, and that was a great thing to happen”.
Jessica O’Neill, class representative for second-year law, expressed relief at the school’s decision, telling The University Times over the phone: “It’s very satisfying to see the law school has listened to the concerns of senior freshman, and have accounted for them in the application of the new scheme.” She also acknowledged that “there are obvious benefits with the proposal, but I think students were hesitant simply because the proposals are being implemented midway through the degree”.
However current first-year students, who will be the first to experience the changes to the degree structure, have expressed concern about how the changes will affect them. Speaking to The University Times, Caoimhe Cotter, first-year class representative for law and German, said: “We just think it would be a much fairer option to bring it in for incoming first years because then they can make a more informed decision about the progression of their degree.”
Cotter rejected the idea that a year’s deferral will benefit first-year students: “We’ll have more time to choose which ones we will take, but we’re still being denied access to some modules”.
Luke Gibbons, first-year class representative for law, noted the impact the decision would make on students who would be hoping to study abroad in their third year. Speaking to The University Times, Gibbons emphasised the detrimental impact on students who are planning on going on Erasmus: “They are quite disappointed that now, when they return from Erasmus, their choice of subjects will be significantly affected, due to the new proposed changes”.
Summing up the core concerns of law students, Gibbons said students “understand what the law school are trying to get at, in making a more distinguished degree, but we feel it’s a bit unfair that they’re starting to change it mid-degree, and also that second years, due to that, were able to postpone it for a year. We feel that we should be given the same courtesy.”
McCarrick called for first-year students to engage in a dialogue and consult with the Law School, encouraging students to “bring their concerns towards class reps, and voice them at the upcoming committee meetings. Implementation is still up for discussion at the next meeting … none of that has been decided on as of yet.” He continued: “Use the class reps as a vehicle for that, that’s how the second years got their change.”
