General transferable skills: Aston University

(Transcript of a section of the General transferable skills report, 1998)

Strategy and target group

The courses offered are a BSc Law with Legal Practice Management and a BSc Managerial and Administrative Studies (Law Stream).

In terms of skills the approach is to focus on learning rather than teaching. As law is learned through a management degree programme, the culture in Aston Business School influences the way in which these skills are approached.

Aston takes a holistic approach to skills, viewing them as being an interaction between a student’s practical, emotional, intellectual and general experience. While academic issues are important, they focus on the realities and practicalities of the modern working environment

Specific skills module or integration of skills?

Integration of skills throughout the degree programme emphasising the business/management side as well as the law. Students are drawn from a range of disciplines in certain law courses. For example, company law contains students from the accounting stream as well as the law stream. Exercises are developed to recognise this cross section of participants. This helps to develop student understanding of other functional areas in the management of companies.

Commercial law

Students participate in a ‘wheeler/dealer’ exercise which draws out their negotiation, intellectual, communication, presentation, team work and written skills. Students are involved in a role play exercise where two teams embark on a negotiation exercise which is recorded on video and later analysed by the students.

It is the analysis of the negotiation itself and the results of the negotiation in written form that are assessed. It requires students to be able to assess, acknowledge and learn from their own mistakes. Such role play exercises are also part of the contract course, as is the drafting of a contract throughout the academic year. Students are asked questions on this contract by way of written examination for assessment

Work placement

Students have the responsibility of finding their own work placement, though considerable assistance is given through the business school’s placements office. This helps to develop students’ skills, both written and oral, in applying for jobs and performing in interviews.

Tutorials

An experiment in 1996-97 involved tutorials being structured around a client interviewing and advising scenario. The tutor plays the part of the informed client. Students have to tease out the problem through a series of questions and then advise the client on that particular problem. Each member of the group, acting as a fee earner, is allocated a particular task and, as an incentive, is paid in marks.

Whilst full advantage is taken of the culture and thrust of the business school, students also have the opportunity to see law in the context of other countries, with foreign guest speakers producing video lectures which students are required to attend.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010