First Year JD Curriculum Reform

Student Wellbeing Concerns

Out of concern for student wellbeing, the Committee is working on a short-term proposal to modify the first-year curriculum for the class entering in September 2023, while also working towards a broader review of the curriculum. A recent and comprehensive student wellbeing survey revealed the impact of what many consider to be an unmanageable first-year workload on student well-being. Students identified the second term of first year, when they have seven courses and when most of those courses are evaluated with 100% final exams in April, as having a particularly negative impact. Concern about this negative impact has led the Committee to produce a short-term proposal that, if passed through Faculty Council and Senate in time, could be implemented for next year.

Constraints

In producing this proposal, the Committee has been limited by several significant constraints that reduce the time available for considering changes and that restrict the options.

1. Student Information System

The University is in the process of moving to a new student information system – Workday Student. As part of the transition, any curriculum changes that are to take effect in time for next year (the 2023-2024 academic year) or the following year (the 2024-2025 academic year) must pass Senate by May 2023. In order to be ready in time for the Senate in May, the proposal will need to come to Faculty Council for a first reading in January 2023 and for a vote in February 2023.

The Committee has determined that it is not possible to undertake the needed consultation and study in order to recommend major curricular changes by the Senate deadlines.  As a result, the Committee will continue to work towards a proposal for broad-based curriculum reform, to be implemented for the 2025-26 academic year. In the meantime, it is focusing on preparing a short-term proposal to be introduced to Faculty Council in January 2023.

2. Credits

The Committee has determined that it is not possible, within the short window available, to alter the number of credits (32 credits) that are currently allocated to first year. Reducing the number of credits in first year would affect tuition revenue for the Law School and could have an impact on financial aid for students, both of which require longer term planning than is possible in the near future.

3. Scheduling

Teaching assignments and class schedules have already been set for 2023-24. The Committee has determined that it is not possible at this stage to make major changes that will affect the schedule.

Given the Committee’s sense of the need to act on student well-being concerns, the constraints on what is possible to implement for the 2023-24 academic year, and the need for broader consultation and study before proposing significant and long-term changes, the Committee is proposing the following short-term revisions to the first year JD curriculum to be implemented in September 2023:

• Remove LAW261 Transnational Law (2 credits) as a required first-year course.
• Insert LAWXXX Transnational Law (2 credits) as a required upper-year course.
• Create LAWXXX Advocacy (2 credits, Pass/Fail) as a required course in the first year, Term 2.

LAWXXX Advocacy will incorporate the existing first-year moot requirements which are currently taught in first-year as a non-credit add-on to one of the courses. The workload for students in this new course will be the same as the current first-year moot.

The Committee is proposing this curriculum change for the following reasons:

• Moving a course out of Term 2 responds directly to student concerns about the number of courses and its negative effect on well-being.
• Creating LAWXXX Advocacy to replace LAW261 Transnational Law maintains the existing number of credits in first year.
• Assigning credits to a new course (LAWXXX Advocacy) recognizes work that students are already doing and does not increase the workload.
• Inserting Transnational Law as a required course in the upper year curriculum retains the required content of the existing JD program.
• Moving Transnational Law into the upper year curriculum instead of other courses (notably the other 2-credit courses: LAW281 Legal Research & Writing and LAW291 Aboriginal & Treaty Rights) is least the disruptive to the scheduling and structure of the existing curriculum.

The Curriculum Committee is introducing this proposal as a short-term measure. It is the Committee’s view that adopting this proposal is not committing the Faculty to it in the long term. These changes, along with the curriculum as it currently exists, will be reviewed as part of the Committee’s work to produce a long-term proposal. 

The Committee envisions consultation will occur in many ways. For Fall 2022, the Committee has created an online survey and will hold in-person and virtual consultation sessions to explain the short-term proposal and to hear feedback and comments from students and faculty.  We anticipate undertaking further consultation with a broader range of stakeholders on longer-term reform in the new year.

Student Consultations re Short-Term Proposal Coordinated through the LSS

• Wednesday, November 16, 2022 @ 12:30 location TBD
• Wednesday, November 24, 2022 @ 12:30 location TBD

Faculty Consultations re Short-Term Proposal

• Tuesday, November 15, 2022 @ 12:30-2:00pm in Allard Hall room 111 & via Zoom
• Wednesday, November 23, 2022 @ 12:30-2:00pm in Allard Hall room 114 & via Zoom

Written comments or feedback to the Curriculum Committee can be sent to Co-Chairs Doug Harris and Debra Parkes.

2022-2023 Committee members are:

• Professor Debra Parkes (co-chair)
• Professor Doug Harris (co-chair)
• Associate Dean Isabel Grant
• Associate Professor of Teaching Nikos Harris
• Associate Professor Jie Cheng
• Assistant Professor Robert Clifford
• Ryan Sissons, LSS Representative
• Vaibrav Aggarwal, LSS Representative
• Kaila Mikkelsen, Assistant Dean, Students
• Susan Morin, Director, Academic Services
• Janice DeSouza-Vas (Administrative Support)