Cardiff Law School GDL 2014 / 2015 – Part Time Course, Year 1
Enrolment and Course Information
Please take time to read this note and if you have any queries don’t hesitate to get in
touch, either by emailing law-gdl@cf.ac.uk or by phoning 02920 879021.
The course begins on Monday 1 September 2014 and School registration also takes
place on that day. Before that date you need to:
-
enrol online as a student with Cardiff University – see below; and
-
buy your copy of “Unlocking the English Legal System” (see accompanying
email) and do as much as you can of the preparatory reading described in the
“pre-reading” note attached to this email. All other textbooks and materials
will be provided on the course.
Online enrolment
You should have completed online enrolment before 1 September 2014. The
University Registry will send you an email containing all the information you need for
this, including a username and password. If you were a student at Cardiff last year
you should use your existing name and password. There is more information at
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/enrolment and if you have any queries please contact
Enrolment@cardiff.ac.uk or ring 029 2087 6211. For information on payment of
course fees, see page 4 of this note.
School registration on 1 September 2014
This will take place Room 0.22 on the ground floor of the Law Building, Park Place.
A location plan of the University is at http://www.cf.ac.uk/locations/maps/index.html.
The Law Building is map ref. 28. Registration will be organised by surname initial, so
please arrive at the right time for your name as set out below.
Surnames beginning with…
A–H
Time
9 am
I–Q
9.30 am – 10 am
R–Z
10am
– 9.30 am
– 10.30 am
Provided you have already completed online registration you do not need to provide
us with anything on 1st September, although you may wish to bring a bag as you will
be given some materials to take away. Following registration there will be a talk to
welcome you to the course and the law library and in the afternoon you will be
introduced in groups to the University IT network. Teaching on the English & Welsh
Legal System begins the next day.
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GDL overall structure: part time course commencing September 2014
The table below shows the modules you will be studying in each term of Years 1 and
2, and when each module will be assessed.
Year 1
Modules taught in this term
Summative
assessments
Credits
assessed, etc
Term 1
September English & Welsh Legal System Test in September Non credit
-December
bearing, but
2014
must pass by
the end of
Term 1.
Term 2
January June 2015
Contract Law
(teaching continues in
Term 2)
Submit
coursework early
January 2015
Contract is a
30 credit module.
Coursework
contributes 30%
of overall mark.
Equity and Trusts Law
Exam Jan 2015
20 credits
Public Law
Examination
– May/Jun 2015
20 credits
Contract Law – remaining
sessions
Examination
– May/Jun 2015
Exam contributes
70% of overall
Contract mark.
Extended Essay (introductory
sessions only)
(assessed Year 2)
Year 2
Term 1
September Criminal Law
-December
2015
EU Law
Term 2
January June 2016
Examination
-January 2016
20 credits
Examination
-January 2016
20 credits
Land Law
Examination
-May/Jun 2016
20 credits
Tort Law
Examination
-May/Jun 2016
20 credits
Extended Essay
Submit essay in
June 2016
10 credits
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More information about Term 1 of Year 1
Timetables will be distributed when you arrive on the course; however, here is some
information about term dates and what you will be studying each term.
Weeks 1 and 2 (1st to 12th September):
General introductory sessions plus teaching on the English and Welsh Legal
System (EWLS)
This initial period mostly involves intensive teaching and study of the English and
Welsh Legal System (EWLS) plus lectures and other sessions to introduce you to the
study of law and the other modules you will be studying in Term 1. During this period
you should expect to attend the Law School on a more or less full time basis
although, due to traffic restrictions in central Cardiff resulting from the NATO
conference on 4th and 5th September 2014, those two days will involve self-study with
no requirement to travel into Cardiff.
English and Welsh Legal System (EWLS)
To get the most out of the EWLS teaching in the first two weeks and to ensure you
pass the test at the first attempt it is important to do as much as you can of the
preparatory reading from the “Unlocking” textbook before you arrive – please see
accompanying document, “EWLS - pre-reading note”.
Week 3 onwards: 15th September to 12th December 2014
The test on the English and Welsh Legal System is provisionally scheduled for Friday
19th September. There is also likely to be a live lecture for you to attend on that day.
From week 3 onwards you will only need to attend the Law School on Fridays during
term time. Please note, however, that the January and May/June examinations are
set centrally by the University and may take place on any day of the week.
Schools half term week: week commencing 27th October
There are no tutorials scheduled for this week but there will be a formative exercise
on Contract which you will be asked to undertake during this period.
Week 4 and the remainder of Term 1
Tutorials begin in Contract and in Equity &Trusts. Equity and Trusts is taught entirely
in Term 1 and the summative examination in this module will take place in January
2015. Contract is a larger module and its teaching and assessment are spread over
Terms 1 and 2. Contract is assessed partly on a piece of coursework (2,000 words),
to be submitted at the end of Term 1/early January, and partly on a summative
examination in the May/June examination period. In addition to tutorials on Fridays,
there will be “live” lectures on some Fridays. Live lectures are also recorded for you
to listen to again in your own time. There will also be many lectures that are
“recorded only” which you will need to listen to in order to supplement your reading
and as part of your tutorial preparation.
Term 2 of Year 1: summary and dates
Term 2 tutorials will begin on Friday 30 January 2015. There will be no GDL tutorials
during the Easter weeks commencing 30 March and 6 April 2015, although you will
need to be studying during these periods. During this term you will be studying
Public law and the remainder of Contract. These two modules are examined during
the “Spring” exam period, which will run from 12 May to 13 June 2015.
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Payment of GDL course fees
For home/EU students the total course fee is £6,650 comprising £3,200 for each year
of study, plus a one-off materials fee of £250 represented by the deposit you should
already have paid. For overseas students the total fee is £13,950 comprising £6,850
per year of study, plus the one-off materials fee of £250 represented by your deposit.
If your fees are being paid by a sponsor, you will need to provide a letter from your
sponsor, on headed paper, confirming that it will be paying your tuition fees. Please
send that letter to: Finance Division, Income Section, 8th Floor, McKenzie House,
Cardiff University, 30-36 Newport Road, PO Box 497, Cardiff CF10 3XR, at least 7
working days before you are due to enrol online.
Otherwise, payment may be made by one of the three methods set out below.
(1)
By instalments paid by direct debit provided you have a UK bank account.
This is the preferred method of payment and the one which allows you the
most time to pay the first instalment. A mandate may be completed as part of
the online enrolment process. The instalment dates and amounts for this
method are:
1st instalment: £1,067 (home/EU) / £2,284 (overseas) - 14 November 2014.
2nd instalment: £1,067 (home/EU) / £2,283 (overseas) - 23 January 2015.
3rd instalment: £1,066 (home/EU) / £2,283 (overseas) - 23 April 2015.
(2)
By any major credit/debit card (but not American Express) either in full or
in the three instalments set out below, as part of online enrolment. Once
payment of the first instalment has been made, future payments may be
made via the SIMS Online page.
1st instalment: £1,067 (home/EU) / £2,284 (overseas) - due 7 working days
prior to going online to enrol.
2nd instalment: £1,067 (home/EU) / £2,283 (overseas) – due 23 January
2015.
3rd instalment: £1,066 (home/EU) / £2,283 (overseas) – due 23 April 2015.
(3)
By cheque or bank draft either in full (£3,200 or £6,850 as appropriate) or in
the three instalments and dates shown in (2) above. All cheques should
have your student name and number written on the reverse and be made
payable to “Cardiff University”. This payment method is not part of online
registration and cheques for the first instalment (or if paying in full) must be
received no later than 7 working days prior to registering online. If cheques
are being sent via an overseas agent to the International Office you will need
to allow extra time for the cheque to reach us. All cheques should be posted
to the Finance Division, Income Section, 8th Floor, McKenzie House, Cardiff
University, 30-36 Newport Road, PO Box 497, Cardiff CF10 3XR.
See http://www.cf.ac.uk/fince/students/postgraduate/index.html for further details.
Please note that if a payment is not received by the due date(s), the University
reserves the right to invoke the Senate Regulation: Procedure for Payment of Tuition
Fees and Other Monies (from the Academic Regulations Handbook). This states that
"if payment is not received in accordance with the required deadlines, the University
reserves the right to cancel your registration as a student forthwith. As such you
would no longer have access to the University, its teaching or facilities." With this in
mind, it is important to have your funding in place for the coming year.
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