The Law Teacher 

About: The Law Teacher is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Legal education & Legal profession. It has an ISSN identifier of 0306-9400. Over the lifetime, 813 publications have been published receiving 3195 citations.

The National Student Survey

Abstract: 2007 SEES the third National Student Survey (NSS). At the time of writing the results have only just been published, and so this is an initial rather than a measured comment. The results this year echo the pattern of the previous two surveys, with law maintaining its position as a subject in which students are neither the most nor the least satisfied with their course, in a general environment of overall satisfaction across the sector. Indeed, the headline in the Times Higher announcing the most recent results (14/9/ 07 \"Students: yes, we're satisfied\") is almost identical to that which greeted the publication of the results of the first survey in 2005 (9/9/05 \"Students satisfied—official\"). Levels of satisfaction also seem to be rising, which we may take at face value or, more sceptically, view as law schools succeeding in engaging with the exercise in ways that encourage a positive response. But whilst it provides copy for the Times Higher, more fundamental questions arise as to what the object of the exercise is and what is the survey telling us as law teachers? As to the first, we may wonder why it is necessary to undertake such an exercise at all. Student evaluation of all manner of university provision, whether academic relating to individual modules or courses, or of other activities as diverse as library and catering services, is, these days, not only commonplace but is, in some cases, required. The days when students were seen but not heard have long gone. Universities have mechanisms for engaging with students on a range of matters, and whilst some of the informality of staff-student dialogue may have gone with the onset of mass higher education, channels exist whereby the views of students become known. If this is correct, then the results of the NSS should not have come as a surprise to any law school, as there will already be knowledge of the views of students. The major difference that the NSS brings to the process of the expression of student views is that its results are made public. It has been clear from the outset, when the NSS was first mooted, that it was intended to provide information to stakeholders, primarily prospective students, about institutions in order to help them to determine where they might like to go. In this, the NSS is strongly supported by the NUS, HEFCE and the government. This, then, leads to consideration of what the survey is telling those to whom it is addressed.

Book Review, J Chuah's Law of International Trade: Cross-Border Commercial Transactions

Abstract: Chuah has established himself as a veritable expert in international trade law, and since the first edition of this book was published some 15 years ago, his treatise has become one of the leading ...

Employment law: Employment rights of lecturers seconded abroad:Dr G Williamsv.The University of Nottingham[2007] UKEAT/0124/07/RN

Abstract: IN SEPTEMBER 2000, Nottingham University opened the first genuine branch campus of a UK university: the University of Nottingham in Malaysia (\"UNMC\"). Since that time, a number of other universities have entered into branch campus arrangements, and the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education suggests that this trend is set to continue. There are a number of advantages in such arrangements for these universities; in particular they give institutions with a commitment to international provision greater corporate control than many other partnership arrangements with local institutions. Such branch campus arrangements also offer new and challenging pathways for academics to enhance their careers. However, lecturers should be aware that following the recent decision of the Employment Appeals Tribunal in Dr G Williams v. The University of Nottingham, the employment status of lecturers posted overseas in this way is far from clear. Indeed, it is possible that lecturers seconded to a branch campus abroad may not be able to take advantage of UK employment protection and may have to rely on the local enforcement of their employment rights.