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CoL makes first foray into LLB market

24 January 2011 | By Laura Manning

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The College of Law (CoL) is to follow in the foot steps of arch rival BPP Law School by rolling out a two-year law degree.

The course will cost £18,000 in total, compared to BPP’s course, which is set at just under £10,000, and will not be supported by any Governmental Higher Education funding as student enrolling on the course will not be eligible for state-subsidised student loans.

The CoL is however planning to partner with certain banks to provide a tailor-made loan scheme and is also looking to create some student-priced accommodation.

CoL chief Nigel Savage said: “I’ve said consistently that the undergraduate law degree is no longer fit for purpose and should be more in line with medical degrees by combining the right amount of law with the right amount of context.”

“This is our way of addressing a real problem for students coming through from studying a law degree who are not motivated or do not understand basic key issues,” added Savage.

BPP launched its two-year degree around three years ago, followed by an online version of the LLB to give students some flexibility in the way they study.

The CoL believes its course will boost students’ employment prospects and practical legal skills by breaking down the division between academic and professional training.

Savage adds that the course will focus on the legal profession rather than being overly academic, giving a much wider perspective of what life is like in practice.

Director of design and production Scott Slorach said: “The majority of undergraduate courses look at law in terms of its historical development and debate. We are however looking at how it applies today.”

The LLB will feature 11 hours of face-to-face teaching per week over about 40 to 42 weeks, and will be mainly exam-based with examinations taking place at the end of each term.

The programme is to be launched in three centres initially; Birmingham, Chester and London in September 2012, with the hope of an initial intake of around 200 students.

The UCAS points required are to be pitched at 320, the same level that firms ask for in order to continue its drive on employability.

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Readers' comments (20)

  • Dissatisfied LPC student | 24-Jan-2011 3:19 pm

    So the cost of this two year LLB (£18,000) add the cost of the LPC (£11,000) add the cost of accomodation for three years (circa £12,000 at least) and a student is looking at finishing their legal studies with around £40,000 of debt. This is excluding living/socialising or travelling expenses.

    The starting salary at a top city law firm is between £35-40k. At regional firms it is about 40% and at smaller and high street firms the salary is ALOT lower. It begs the question- is it all really worth it? Even if you do get an MC training contract- with all that debt!!!

    I assume the Nigel Savage and the College of Law are going to be responsibly informing potential students of this course and their LPC's of the hugely competitive odds of securing a training contract? Ha- not likely.

    Nigel Savage likes to harp on about diversity, tailoring legal education to suit todays needs blah blah blah but at this cost it is absolutely ridiculous!

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  • deja vu | 24-Jan-2011 4:29 pm

    @ Dissatisfied LPC student | 24-Jan-2011 3:19 pm

    bleet bleet bleet. Poor me. Stop blaming others for your wrong choice of career. do your own research and don’t expect someone else to wipe your bottom for you.

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  • Anonymous | 24-Jan-2011 5:38 pm

    @ deja vu | 24-Jan-2011 4:29 pm:

    I am not blaming anybody for my choice of career. In fact, I secured a training contract, and the funding for my LPC a year before I embarked upon the course.

    What concerns me, is that the College of Law, and particularly Nigel Savage are massive hypocrits. On the one hand they promote diversity debates, reviews of legal education and critiques of the current system yet on the other hand decide to implement a new LLB course that (together with the LPC) either only the rich will be able to afford, or some poor student who gets themselves into £40k of debt. The College of Law, an institution who actively market and sell their courses to students online, face-to-face at universities and in popular student media have a responsibility of which they do not seem to adhere to.

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  • Beth | 24-Jan-2011 6:01 pm

    I think Dissatisfied LPC student has a point. If you strip out everything that makes an LLB an academic degree (focust on theory, essay writing, research), you churn out graduates whose only option is a career in a law firm.

    I have plenty of friends who decided after LLBs that law wasn't for them. They have senior management jobs in the civil service, work as journalists or went on to get PhDs and teach. If they had done this CoL LLB, they would have had a hard time getting their current employers to take them seriously as graduates.

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  • Anonymous | 25-Jan-2011 0:07 am

    I'd be amazed if any decent firms took on students with College of Law LLBs over decent Russell Group candidates ... irrespective of the 'great practical experience' etc etc that the CoL course will allegedly give.

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  • Anonymous | 25-Jan-2011 11:18 am

    This wont overly worry places like UCL and the LSE but lesser universities now face a serious challenge.

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  • Anonymous | 25-Jan-2011 11:40 am

    I personally think this is crazy. I have had to find the money myself so that I can commence my LPC in September - which took a hug amount of effort. Coming from an average income-based background (barely given any grant etc) it has been feasible thus far, however, my fear is not only for those with a deprived background but for anyone who does not come from a high net worth background. £40,000 is a ridiculous amount of money at 22 years old.

    I fail to see taking all things into consideration, how this will be beneficial to the majority of students.

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  • Anonymous | 25-Jan-2011 1:52 pm

    I don't care what background you came from. My parents earn well, but have two divorces behind then and I have 4 brothers / sisters. They can't afford to chuck to 40k at my uni experience and people shouldn't be assessed on their parents wealth. We are all adults after all - the sooner we realise this and take responsibility the better. If you want to be a lawyer, you take the hit, regardless of what grant you got. Simple.

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  • Mr | 25-Jan-2011 7:39 pm

    That is precisely the problem with Law - some people (i.e those more privileged) are ABLE to take the hit with ease whereas many who would love to become lawyers just cannot deal with that amount of debt.

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  • Ashley Balls | 25-Jan-2011 9:00 pm

    Nigel's comment about the traditional LLB being fit for purpose is spot on BUT only in so far as it used as a vector to a career in professional legal services. The concept of making a degree dovetail in with professional training makes good sense. In time measuring its value will be simple as the metrics will be there for all to see. It is a pity this idea wasn't started at a time of high demand for lawyers.

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