Student choice enhances and personalises Law projects

In LAW3019 (European and International Human Rights Law) assessment is by coursework. The first essay (40%) is a set question analysing technical aspects of treaty law. The remainder of the assessment is a research project split into an individual presentation (20%) and an essay (40%).

Students are free to choose their topic, as long as it broadly relates to a current human rights issue. This year, students covered a diverse range of topics including Australian asylum policy and law, extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects, forced marriage, and discrimination on the grounds of sexuality.

The feedback from the students has been positive as this allows them to research a topic of particular interest to them, sometimes linking into other modules studied, sometimes to outside interests and future career plans. The external examiner has commented at last year’s exam board and in her report on the creative and topical nature of the assessment. In terms of key skills, the assessment facilitates the development of higher level skills in relation to research, analysis, and written and oral communication.

For more information about this assessment, please contact Kirstie Best, Subject Leader in Law (Kirstie.Best@northampton.ac.uk)

This case study is taken from the Institute of Learning and Teaching’s 2015 publication ‘Outside the Box Assessment and Feedback Practices’, available from the University’s Assessment and Feedback portal.