THE RISE IN LLB NUMBERS AT LAW SCHOOLS

Something is occurring throughout the country's universities law faculties. While the number of students applying for and accepting undergraduate spots at UK institutions has decreased in general over the previous year — with substantial drops in nursing, history and philosophy, and European languages – the modest law degree is seeing the polar opposite trend. In 2017, the number of applicants for the LLB rose by 4% over the previous year, while the number of acceptances climbed by the same proportion. This rise is not attributable to all law schools. Aberdeen, BPP, and London Met all have lower enrolment rates. However, the numbers are up, and we mean really up, at seven faculties we've dubbed "mega law schools," which got acceptances from 500 or more new students last year.

THE MEGA LAW SCHOOLS

According to UCAS statistics, the list of the number of persons who accepted law school positions in 2017 shows a ready increase. This raises a concern about the potential impact that large year groups may have on undergraduate students' university experiences, particularly the quality of teaching and support they receive from faculty members.

Law school administrators from institutions other than the so-called "mega law schools" have pounced on similar issues to argue in favour of restricting the number of students admitted. Bumping up students to 500 or more may be excellent for boosting money for a university, but small-group teaching is better for students, and this may be compromised if the institution increases the number of students. What is worrying about admitting cohorts of 500 or more pupils?  Students are looking for a rewarding experience as well as a degree that will serve as a stepping stone to a successful job. This is not something that can be produced in large quantities. Is this, however, what the major law schools are doing?

We can not only concentrate on the members of the 500-club since there are 12 faculties that accepted more than 400 but less than 500 new law students last year, as well. They are as follows: Birmingham City, Birmingham, City, Coventry, De Montfort, Kent, Leeds, Liverpool John Moores, Portsmouth, Sheffield Hallam, UWE, and Westminster. Birmingham City, Birmingham, City, Coventry Twelve more were accepted between 300 and 400 points: Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Hertfordshire, Hull, Lincoln, Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan, Reading, Salford, and Swansea, for a total of thirty-two (300-400 points). There are 24 institutions with law school cohorts ranging between 200 and 300 students, 35 with cohorts ranging between 100 and 200 students, and 15 that admit a significant number of law students in the double digits.

QUALITY OF TEACHING

Students would argue the larger law schools, such as Exeter, which admitted 395 students last year, are similarly sceptical about the quality of instruction that can be provided by a large department. Students claim that although the lectures are well-regarded, the large number of students necessitated the creation of a correspondingly large number of seminar groups and tutors. Therefore, I had the impression that several of the seminar leaders were possibly little underqualified or lacking in prior expertise.

Responses have been provided by Professor Richard Edwards, dean and head of the University of Exeter Law School, who says the department's courses are carefully structured to provide students with the support they need to succeed in their studies, develop skills necessary for their future career, and also to foster a sense of community. The courses are led by world-renowned academics who are experienced and innovative teachers. According to one of the relatively fewer law students studying at Cumbria, law tutors are known so well and they know you. The students don't believe they would have improved as much if they hadn't had that assistance from them. A close association exists between law school size and student-to-faculty ratios, according to the law school rankings published by The Guardian.

The five law schools with the best (lowest) ratios all have cohorts of little more than 175 students every year, with the exception of Oxford and Cambridge, which each take on slightly more than 200 new law students. While other law schools have a student-to-staff ratio of 12 to 1, Northumbria's is 16 to 1 and Essex's is 18 to 1, according to the National Association of Law Schools. Nottingham Trent and Leicester City both have a 19:1 advantage. In Liverpool's case, the ratio is 26:1, while in Leeds Beckett's case, the ratio is 28:1. Having said that, there are numerous of smaller law schools with lower student-to-faculty ratios. According to Stirling, the student-to-faculty ratio is 36:1, and the university only accepted 155 students last year.

Despite the fact that you may get less help at certain bigger legal departments, it would be premature to conclude that a "mega law school" means "crap teaching" (and vice versa). There seems to be no relationship between the quality of classes and the size of the law school, at least according to the rankings.

POOREST LAW SCHOOLS

In accordance with The Guardian rankings, Westminster, London Metropolitan, and Brunel are the three law schools with the poorest reputations for law degree. They took on 435, 85, and 255 new aspiring lawyers, respectively, in the previous year. Cumbria, despite having a small cohort of just 20 students, fared as highly as Belfast (325) and Nottingham (290) in terms of instruction. While Bucks New University, which admitted just 15 new students last year, had the same performance as Queen Mary University of London, which admitted 285 new law students.

When it comes to Liverpool Law School, the largest undergraduate law institution in the nation, the school attributes its expanding department size to social mobility and inclusivity. Increased diversity has been made possible by taking on more students, as well as major investment in clinical legal education and co-curricular activities, according to the university. Big law schools putting their faith in themselves in this manner may not come as any surprise. However, the students enrolled in the massive legal classes have had nothing but positive things to say. 

According to a Liverpool law student, this is correct. Despite the fact that she acknowledges that there are "a few bad elements to being a member of a huge law school," such as tutorial courses of up to 30 students, she believes that generally, "it has been a wonderful experience!  I've made a lot of great friends, and I don't think exceptional law schools should be looked down upon. Their great legal student community is a highly good component of studying law, and they equip students with an amazing law student body."

THE US LAW SCHOOL

As a result, we shouldn't be too quick to underestimate the importance of large law schools. Just look at the top-rated law schools on the other side of the water. prestigious legal schools such as Harvard and New York University, which enrol around 560 and 430 students, respectively, and are widely regarded as among the finest in the world However, what this does not imply is that all large law schools are inevitably excellent in their particular fields. The attitude law schools have toward their students is critical. We have seen law schools that are really brilliant in terms of research.  Despite this, they just do not understand the student experience. That has absolutely nothing to do with their physical size.

THE RISE IN LLB NUMBERS AT LAW SCHOOLS

Several threads of dissatisfaction seem to be affecting many students' university experiences, regardless of the size of the law department. Insufficient study space is one example: according to a poll 79 percent of law students struggle to locate a study place in their university library throughout the school year. Another is the perception of being a low priority for legal teachers who are preoccupied with research. Incredibly, one student stated you feel like you are a member of a top institution, but at the same time, you feel like you are the most unimportant law student there is. This is despite the fact that there are only 200 new law students enrolled at her top-rated university.

Law students pay the same tuition as their peers studying other topics, yet their course is far less expensive to put on than other courses. This is due in part to the fact that contact hours are limited and that teaching law does not need the use of a specialised study room or expensive equipment. In this case, it is possible that the additional cash generated by course fees at larger law schools is being utilised to subsidise more costly courses offered elsewhere on campus. Ultimately, institutional policies and university structure, however veiled in secrecy, might play a significant role in determining whether to support or oppose the mega law school movement in a given situation.