‘Complaints go through a robust, credible and independent procedure of review to ensure a satisfactory conclusion is reached’, says law school in statement
The Junior Lawyers Division of the Law Society (JLD) has weighed in to the growing dispute between a group of Legal Practice Course (LPC) students and BPP University Law School, over the legal education giant’s alleged “failures” over the quality of teaching and assessment during the lockdown period.
In a letter (embedded in full below) addressed to BPP’s vice-chancellor Professor Tim Stewart, the JLD repeats a number of concerns made last month by a group of anonymous students. These include issues with class sizes, IT problems and lack of hard copy course materials.
The JLD says the pandemic has caused “unprecedented challenges and difficulties for everyone”, but claims students at other LPC providers have faced similar problems which “have been amicably dealt with”.
The letter continues:
“Further we understand that, despite all students now receiving the same service, including large class sizes, inconsistent allocation of tutors and all courses being delivered online, the fee disparity between those ‘attending’ a London site and those outside of London have remained. This has meant students paying significantly more for the same service, a premium that the JLD is not clear that can be justified.”
The JLD — which represents LPC students across England and Wales, as well as junior lawyers — urges Stewart to “take the time to talk with the group” and handle their concerns moving forward.
A spokesperson for BPP University Law School told Legal Cheek:
“We take official complaints raised by students extremely seriously. We cannot comment on individual cases, but all complaints go through a robust, credible and independent procedure of review to ensure a satisfactory conclusion is reached.”
Read the JLD’s letter in full:
