Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The LSA's Plan towards the change to J.D./B.C.L.

I apologize for the delay. Here's what has happened and what's going to:

The issue has been addressed at the LSA meeting. The LSA President has confirmed that more progress will take place in the Winter semester. The proposal to change the degree name to J.D./B.C.L., however, might be officially reported to the the LSA Council before the end of this semester if time permits.

The LSA plans to set up a research group by February 2009 in order to study relevant impacts and approaches undertaken by other schools. The LSA President explained that the research is necessary and information collected from the research will facilitate the process, especially after the referendum is held and the issue is raised before the Dean. Without concrete backup information, the LSA is concerned that the Faculty might hesitate to accept the proposal in a timely manner despite student's approval through referendum.

The LSA estimated that a referendum be held within the Winter semester. Because holding a referendum is quite costly (approximately $600-$700), the LSA wants to take a bit of time to make sure that students are familiar with the issue, and that the referendum meets a quorum.

In short, the steps that should be taken from this point on are:
1) The proposal for the change is reported the LSA Council,
2) A research group is set up by Feb 2009,
3) A referendum is held within the next semester
4) If a sufficient number of students approve the proposal in the referendum, the proposal will be reported to the Faculty

The whole process will take some time but I think that it's important to let the LSA does its job so that the change happens in a legitimate and meaningful way. A student like me also has a right to collect names through a petition and demand a referendum but the involvement of the LSA will reflect a greater consensus of the student community as a whole. What students have to do is to just come out and vote next semester.

8 comments:

  1. can't wait to see what happens! I've applied to McGill so hopefully it'll change by the time I get admitted (if indeed I do get admitted into th program)

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  2. Thanks for your efforts, Manow!

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  3. Great job on changing to JD. I would never send my son or daughter to a law school that would give only a second bachelors degree. That's silly and an historical accident as England allows high school graduates to study law. The correct degree is the JD. If McGill does not change the degree then my kids would go to the University of Toronto to get their Canadian law degrees, if such is their desire. The U of T appropriately recognizes the fact that a second bachelors degree is nonsensical!

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  4. JD degree is the way to go! Excellent!!!

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  5. Are you aware that the MDs used to get an MB (Bachelors of Medicine) as high school graduates study medicine in England. Canada long ago switched to the more appropriate MD degree. It is a shame that it has taken this long to switch to the more appropriate JD.

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  6. Juris Doctor is most appropriate and not a SECOND bachelors degree. Anything that improves the reputation of the profession and gives the correct honor to the work done (i.e., post college not post high school) is best. I am very excited about the change to JD!

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  7. It's not even close the JD is most preferred! Great job in switching to JD!!!

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