General transferable skills: Lancaster University

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

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Strategy and target group (academic)

Students are encouraged to think about the skills that they have and the extent to which they are developing those skills through all courses offered by the law department. Legal skills and more general skills are viewed as being interchangeable, there being no real distinction between the two. As such all courses within the department incorporate a common skills objective in relation to intellectual, communication and learning skills.

Specific skills module or integration of skills?

Skills are promoted through all courses. Skills development is promoted through the teaching committee, as well as tutors taking the initiative through their own courses.

Students are provided with the opportunity to practice a wide range of transferable skills among all courses offered by the law department. Lancaster has drawn up a list of intellectual, communication and learning skills that are common throughout all courses.

Learning support

There are several opportunities for students to support each other in their learning or rely on the academic support provided by personal tutors.

In the first instance there is a legal methods foundation course, which includes introducing students to research skills and problems.

In some circumstances students are also provided with assessment criteria sheets so that they have an understanding of what is expected of them.

Teamwork allows students to provide feedback to others establishing some form of peer group learning.

Students can assess their own performances from video feedback. Students are also provided with academic tutor support.

Specific courses

Legal Foundations

The Legal Foundations course is taken by all students on the LLB programme. Skills are the main element of the course and include research, reading and analysing (legally specific) and presentation with strong emphasis on the use of legal materials and legal procedures.

Common Law 1

Another core subject organised around a programme of student centred learning which requires students to work in groups. Skills developed including working with others in a team, negotiation and presentation skills (both oral and written).

Full and half dissertation units

Students are provided with the opportunity to work independently through the full and half dissertation units, developing their own time and data management skills, research skills and presentation skills.

European Institutions

Through comparative legal analysis students are encouraged to be sensitive to the different cultural and political context of continental jurisdictions. Language skills and adapting analytical skills to the particular cultural context.

Last Modified: 30 June 2010