University of Wollongong's Law Students' Society president Jessica Dawson. Picture: DAVE TEASE
The University of Wollongong Law Students' Society is working with the Dean of the Law Faculty to entice a private provider to deliver the Professional Legal Training course on campus.
Law Dean Professor Warwick Gullett said he was "in discussions" with three potential private providers including The College of Law, Sydney, and the Australian National University Legal Workshop.
He said while it was "a great shame" that the university's own award-winning course (PLT) would cease after this semester, a private provider could offer a great alternative to those students wishing to continue their training in Wollongong.
"While the PLT course at the University of Wollongong is an excellent program with its focus on face-to-face teaching, it has been running at a significant loss for a number of years," he said.
The PLT course, needed by graduates wishing to practise law, has been offered by the university for 15 years.
UOW Law Students' Society president Jessica Dawson said law students had been devastated by the announcement late last year that the course would cease.
She said students, and the student representative body, had not been consulted prior to the decision.
"The university's PLT course was very unique due to its face-to-face component - most external providers have a mixed delivery model where a large component is done online," she said.
Ms Dawson said she was liaising with Prof Gullett to ensure some level of local access to the training.
"If we can get one of the external providers to provide the face-to-face component of the course at Wollongong, and then students can do the rest online, then it means students don't have to travel to Sydney or further afield," she said.
Prof Gullett said he hoped to announce a provider by the end of March.
