The next generation of lawyers is wagging school. Low levels of attendance at lectures has universities worried about whether graduates will be properly prepared to enter a demanding profession.
Last week Victoria University of Wellington announced that, in light of dwindling student numbers on campus, it would make attendance at second year law classes compulsory from 2023. Students have decried the decision, claiming it is "regressive", "narrow-minded" and will create "a barrier to education". The move could also be described as a courageous attempt to address a growing crisis in legal education that is affecting many law schools both here and across the ditch.
The University of Auckland, similarly to VUW, has seen student attendance levels at law lectures hit an all-time low. There are times when fewer than a third of students show up to class and it is now regarded by many academics as very good if half of the class turns up.
The low student turn-out is most likely due to students becoming used to not being on campus during the pandemic, the university requiring lecturers to release recordings of all of our lectures online and students needing to work more to meet rising living costs.
Unquestionably many students are in a financially precarious position and many face difficulties in balancing work and study commitments. There will also always be students who, for health, disability or personal reasons, cannot attend lectures, and universities need to remain committed to making arrangements for them to access recordings and other materials.
However, it is deeply concerning that very large numbers of students are failing to attend classes instead relying on lecture recordings to try and navigate their courses. Significant numbers of these students struggle to remain motivated and fall behind in listening to recordings. Some do not listen to the recordings at all, instead relying on the inaccurate transcripts generated from those recordings.
Law is a discipline that requires students to learn how to reason in particular ways, analyse and distinguish arguments and articulate ideas lucidly. Essentially a law degree should develop a person’s ability to navigate difficult texts, reason, advocate for a position in the face of opposition and communicate effectively.
Most law lectures are designed to be interactive to develop these skills and allow students to raise questions and test arguments. Students also have the opportunity in class to develop their confidence to speak up in front of others, and to get things wrong as an important part of the learning process.
The passive delivery of technical information through listening to lecture recordings (or worse still, reading the inaccurate transcripts from those recordings) does not adequately prepare students for what is an extremely difficult and demanding profession.
There are also resourcing issues – staff who are teaching, for example, 500 students are in a position to respond to questions students ask in class discussion. They are simply not resourced to respond to individual emails from the hundreds of students who have listened to the lecture recordings, have not understood them and want individual clarification on difficult points.
Failing to attend classes also means that students miss out on many of the benefits of forming relationships with others and becoming part of a community.
It is well established that students who have inter-personal relationships in a course are more likely to stay engaged and succeed in that course. These students have peers to form study groups with and to teach and learn from, and who will also incentivise them to stay up to date with the materials.
They are aware that they are not alone in facing particular challenges and hurdles. The pandemic saw a steep rise in mental health issues among student populations worldwide and we are aware that significant numbers of students are continuing to struggle with their mental health and wellbeing.
The isolation and disconnection of not being on campus may exacerbate some of these struggles. While being on campus is not a cure-all for the myriad, often very serious, mental health difficulties some students face, lecturers have noted the positive difference it has made to the general wellbeing of some students when they have ventured back.
Missing out on the opportunity to form relationships with other students is also likely to have a long-term impact on students’ careers as the people students connect with at law school are key links into the profession. These people will become part of a professional support network for years to come.
Draconian measures are not appropriate but we do need to make some changes to the status quo - taking into account the challenges the current student body faces and the need to find solutions that account for the realities of their lives. Our legal education system is reaching a crisis point and we will only be doing a disservice to this generation of students and the future health of the legal profession (including the communities it services) if we don't. VUW is to be applauded for its leadership in trying something different.
By Professor Julia Tolmie, Professor Mark Henaghan, Associate Professor Claire Charters, Associate Professor Treasa Dunworth, Associate Professor Nicole Roughan, Dr Anna Hood, Dr Jane Norton, Dr Arie Rosen, Dr Fleur Te Aho, Dr Edward Willis, Dylan Asafo and Tracey Whare
