CoL launches online GDL
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The College of Law (CoL) has fired another shot in the battle to become the UK’s top legal education provider by launching a new fast-track part-time Graduate Diploma in Law (GDL).
The school has launched an online part-time GDL, which has a January start date and allows students to complete the course in 18 months rather than the usual two years.
CoL’s director of vocational programmes Scott Slorach said: “We anticipate most students choosing this mode will have work or family commitments. It gives them a better work/life/study balance by allowing them to choose their own study times and also reduces the travel and accommodation costs that students undertaking the traditional part-time courses may have to meet.”
The course combines e-learning techniques with one-to-one tutor supervision via email. But although the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has set out guidelines that say students still need to attend some face-to-face sessions, the majority of the course is run online.
The news comes after CoL introduced a new online version of its LPC earlier this month, called the ‘Supervised Mode’ (S-Mode).
Under the S-Mode most of the learning is achieved through i-tutorials and online demonstrations, while the supervision itself is delivered on a personal basis by emails to and from tutors.
BPP Law School will be watching the move closely as it too announced earlier this month that it would be offering a GDL that can be studied from January.
BPP has also been approved by the SRA to introduce a new online LPC from September 2010.
Readers' comments (9)
IHateBPP | 21-Jan-2010 12:36 pm
Makes sense. I did one module of the GDL but didn't bother turning up to any of the classes and tutorials as private study was more than enough to get me through it.
Makes you wonder why you pay eight grand for a reading list and a library card.
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Anonymous | 21-Jan-2010 1:48 pm
This must do wonders for the students advocacy skills.
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NottsLawIsBest | 21-Jan-2010 5:25 pm
Absolute farce. Part time is a bad idea as it is, I know people who have failed because of too little face time and general involvement on the course. The GDL is intended to be an intensive course, you need to fully immerse yourself in the law for a year. You can't just sit on a PC for a few nights a week and learn it. If you do manage to pass like this though, I predict you'll have a pretty sloppy grasp of the law when it comes to the LPC/BVC and ultimately practice.
Finally, BPP and CoL should stop coming up with these gimmicky variations on the GDL. If you didn't do a law degree you should be able to commit to an intensive year of learning the law to get on the same level as Law grads. It's just another half baked money making scheme. But then hey if people are willing to pay, who cares if they're going to make good lawyers or not eh?
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flexy | 22-Jan-2010 3:15 pm
This is just another step in the slow and constant watering-down of the standard of UK law grads. In comparison to our continental and transatlantic neighbours, graduates coming out with an LLB or GDL are far behing their peers when it comes to substantive legal knowledge. Commercial awerness is over hyped and the vast majority of NQ and trainees have little or no idea how to solve complex legal issues.
However all is not lost, thankfully barristers are there to toe the line and ensure that legal problem-solving stil flurishes.
But working in an international department (IA) at a leading firm I can't say that it surprises me when the international associates in the team (german, french, american, dutch, japanese ..) prefer giving the substantive issues to the international trainees and leaving the UK grads with the more rudimentary tasks.
An 'online' law degree will not help to alleviate this.
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Beth | 22-Jan-2010 5:07 pm
@Notts -- why do you say the part time GDL is a bad idea? That's how I studied and am now studying the BVC part time. I seem to have a much better grasp of things like contract and negligence than many on my course who did traditional LLBs.
That said, I would not have done well on a mostly/wholly online course. I needed the regular contact with tutors and peers. And I live in London, so my travel/accommodation costs were nil. But I'm sure there are people who would benefit from more flexible learning options.
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IHateBPP | 23-Jan-2010 6:17 pm
The problem with UK lawyers is that too many of them studied Basket Weaving and such then the GDL, they just don't have the academics to solve anything more complex than a jammed printer. Which they wouldn't do anyway as they're too stuck up.
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Old Bailey | 25-Jan-2010 4:28 pm
Is it true that the College of Law is one of the trraining centres for jihadists? see darren G's comment from times newspaper (Sunday)
:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6999865.ece
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Anonymous | 26-Jan-2010 6:28 am
One subject of the GDL must have been really strenuous for you IHateBPP. How about you keep your comments to yourself until you have actually completed the course in full. Then you may be able to add something constructive to the commentary on this site.
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Callylupatra | 24-May-2010 11:12 pm
Why is it that they don't open this kind law schools 4 us her I south africa,i mean I'm interested in doing law I'm currently doing commercial law at Intec college its a distance learning college I cnt cope I just finished my 12 grade in 2009 n I passed with an admission to diploma ,so I could go to varsity coz they accept those who qualify for a degree n most colleges are distance learning we need full time colleges dat offer law diploma!
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