Information without context? Projections of law and legal education on law school

websites

Graeme Broadbent and Pamela Sellman

Kingston University

Law school websites

• Variety of style and emphasis

• Aimed at number of stakeholders

• Large amounts of material available

• Material  fragmented – often lack of links from law pages to university/faculty pages

• Navigation not always easy

• Tension between providing information and marketing

• Selection of material significant and not consistent across institutions; not always up to date

• Limited interactivity though increasing reference to social media

• Some use of graphics, videos etc

“Most universities’ websites don’t show you information you want to know, they just show you the information that they want you to know. That’s quite stupid really.”

(Sixth former quoted in Times Higher Education19 August 2010)

• Oakleigh Consulting/ Staffordshire University Report: Understanding the information needs of users of public information about higher education (2010)

• Browne Review: Securing a sustainable future for higher education (2010)

• BIS White PaperHigher Education: Students at the Heart of the System Cm 8122 (2011)

• HEFCE, Universities UK and GuildHE Provision of information about higher education (2011)

Key Information Sets

Course information

student satisfaction:

a. Overall satisfaction with quality of course

b. Staff are good at explaining things

c. Staff have made the subject interesting

d. Sufficient advice and support with studies

e. Feedback on work has been prompt

f. Feedback on work has clarified things

g. The library resources are good enough to meet needs

h. Access general IT resources when needed

Proportion of time spent in different learning and teaching activities – by year of study

Different assessment methods used – by year of study

Professional bodies that recognise the course

Costs

Accommodation costs

Tuition charges

Bursaries, scholarships and other financial support

Employment

Destinations of students six months after completing their course (e.g. employment or further study)

Proportion of students employed in a full-time ‘graduate’ job six months after completing course

Salary for course six months after graduating

Salary for that subject across all institutions six months after graduating

Salary for that subject across all institutions forty months after graduating

The students’ union

Impact students’ union has had on time as a student

Some issues

• Selections• Assumptions• Inequalities• Focus• Omissions