10. The Legal Professions

This chapter explains what the legal professions are, what they do, and how to qualify as a member of the professions. It examines the rules governing practice as a member of the professions and, in particular, the issue of ethical behaviour. There are three principal branches to the legal profession in England and Wales. The first consists of barristers, the second of solicitors, and the third of chartered legal executives. The routes to qualification vary for each of the branches, but broadly speaking all involve an academic stage and work-based training. When considering the current routes to qualification for each of the branches of the profession, the chapter also explores potential qualification reforms, in particular those proposed by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority with the introduction of the Solicitors’ Qualifying Exam (SQE). Diversity within each branch of the profession is also explored in relation to gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds.

The role of entry exams on higher education: a case study on reforming qualifier exam policies to improve student success while maintaining program quality

PurposeSome degree programs in colleges and universities utilize entrance exams to ensure that students pursuing a given degree have mastered foundational concepts needed for that program. However, often these exams become a barrier to student success. The purpose of this study is to discuss the impact of policies governing an undergraduate Computer Science (CS) entry/qualifying exam at a large public university in the United States on overall student success in the program. This case study focuses on whether reforming program policies impacts students' time-to-degree, graduation and mastery in CS core skills.Design/methodology/approachThis case study describes how the CS student success was improved by updating program policies based on institutional data and the input of course instructors. The policy changes include introducing a maximum limit to attempt the exam, changing the exam requirements as well as the structure of the exam itself.FindingsThe pass rates of students taking this qualifying exam were significantly and consistently low over the years. Students who were potentially a better fit for programs other than CS delayed their start in those other programs by taking and failing to pass the CS qualifying exam multiple times. As a result of implementing new CS program policies, many more students attempted the exam at an appropriate time. Also, they graduated on time in the years 2016–2018.Originality/valueThis paper presents a case study in which the graduation rates and time to degree of a CS program with a qualifying exam were improved after a policy intervention. The results demonstrate that simple policy changes can improve student success. Findings from this study may guide other programs with similar characteristics to improve their student success.

Computer science qualifying exam: a case study on improving student success and program quality

Las instituciones de educación superior tradicionalmente miden el éxito de los estudiantes y la calidad de un programa académico mediante métricas estándar, como el tiempo que tarda un estudiante en obtener un título, las tasas de graduación y las tasas de retención. Además, algunos programas han instituido un "examen de calificación" como una forma alternativa de medir la calidad de un programa académico y evaluar el dominio del estudiante en los conceptos básicos. El programa de Ciencias de la Computación (CS) de la Universidad de Florida Central implementó un examen de calificación "Examen básico" en 1998 con el propósito de evaluar el dominio de los estudiantes de los conceptos básicos de CS y controlar la calidad del programa. Sin embargo, las tasas de aprobación de los estudiantes que tomaron este examen de calificación fueron significativamente bajas a lo largo de los años. Además, algunos estudiantes retrasaron sistemáticamente la realización de este examen por temor a reprobar. Para reflejar las credenciales de conocimiento que necesita la industria, promover el dominio de los conceptos básicos de informática y ayudar a los estudiantes a graduarse de manera oportuna, se implementaron recomendaciones de mejora basadas en datos en 2016. Después de que se realizaron las mejoras, muchos más estudiantes intentaron el examen a tiempo y progresaron en su título en los años 2016-2018. Los detalles de estas mejoras y su impacto se presentan en este documento.

10. The Legal Professions

This chapter explains what the legal professions are, what they do, and how to qualify as a member of the professions. It examines the rules governing practice as a member of the professions and, in particular, the issue of ethical behaviour. There are three principal branches to the legal profession in England and Wales. The first consists of barristers, the second of solicitors, and the third of chartered legal executives. The routes to qualification vary for each of the branches, but broadly speaking all involve an academic stage and work-based training. When considering the current routes to qualification for each of the branches of the profession, the chapter also explores potential qualification reforms, in particular those proposed by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority with the introduction of the Solicitors’ Qualifying Exam (SQE). Diversity within each branch of the profession is also explored in relation to gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Independent Assessment of Qualifications: The Approbation Is to Be Continued

The practical questions of application of the federal law «On the independent evaluation of qualifications», which came into force on January 1, 2017 are considered. The analysis of independent assessment of the qualifications of employees, types and forms of independent evaluation, assessment tools, ways of confirming professional experience during the qualifying exam is carried out. It is proposed at the level of the federal law to clarify the organizational and legal form of the qualification assessment center, criteria for the independence of the assessment of qualifications; to clarify the initiatives of the legislator, in particular, regarding the organizational and legal form and requirements for the personnel of the evaluation centers.