2023–24 sessional dates approved and the return of the legal process requirement looms
Dean Jutta Brunnée kicked off the February 8, 2023, Faculty Council Meeting announcing that the Faculty of Law has started the academic planning process. She plans to engage students, faculty, and alumni in identifying challenges, opportunities, and priorities for the Faculty over the next five years. The Faculty plans to publish a five-year academic plan by the end of the 2023–24 academic year. The Faculty previously published a 2017–22 Academic Plan.
Dean Brunnée said she had three broad priorities when she became Dean: energize and strengthen the community, encourage inclusive excellence, and promote genuine institutional leadership on local and global problems. She said she is continuing to pursue these priorities and that she wants the Faculty to hold bi-annual conferences to help grapple with law in a changing world. The first of these conferences will be on the climate crisis over March 2–3, 2023 in the Jackman Law Building. She encouraged students and faculty to attend.
Dean Brunnée announced the next J’s Java’s will be on February 28, 2023, and Justice Rosalie Silberman Abella, the Faculty’s Jurist in Residence, will be in attendance.
As the first order of business, the minutes of the January 11, 2023, Faculty Council meeting were approved.
Students’ Law Society (SLS) President Meaza Damte (3L) said that the SLS has been focused on building community in the law school for the past month. She voiced the students’ appreciation for the February 7, 2023 lunch with Justice Abella and Professor John Borrows’ January 25, 2023 lecture, “Voicing Identity: Cultural Appropriation and Indigenous Issues.” Damte said the SLS planned a group trip to the ROM After Dark, a Medical Malpractice Mixer with the U of T Medical School, and a Valentine’s Day message board. Damte also revealed that the SLS is working on a study tips video with the Academic Success Program and encouraged students and faculty to share any study tips they have.
Associate Dean, JD Program Christopher Essert presented the Curriculum Committee’s Interim Report and the proposed 2023–24 sessional dates. Associate Dean Essert said the Curriculum Committee has not decided what to do regarding the “problem with legal process.” Faculty Council previously voted to replace the mandatory 1L Legal Process course in the winter semester with the mandatory Indigenous Peoples and the Law course.
Associate Dean Essert said the Curriculum Committee has not made a final decision but is leaning towards recommending the introduction of an upper-year legal process course requirement. The legal process requirement would require current 1Ls and future JD students to take a legal process course, such as Criminal Procedure, Civil Procedure, or a general legal process course to graduate. He said the Curriculum Committee would likely come back to the next Faculty Council Meeting to seek adoption of this recommendation.
Associate Dean Essert said the proposed 2023–24 sessional dates are very similar to the 2022–23 sessional dates but noted three key differences. First, there will be no upper-year classes on days with on-campus interviews (OCIs). Previously, only upper-year classes before 5pm were cancelled on days with OCIs. Second, the exam period in December 2023 will be shortened by one day to allow more time for administrative tasks such as collecting papers and distributing them to professors. Third, winter semester classes will start on January 8, instead of January 2, giving students a longer winter break but shortening the April 2024 exam period.
Assistant Dean, Academic Sara Faherty suggested the Faculty Council discuss how long the add/drop period should be. Traditionally, it has been roughly two weeks, which is longer than most other faculties. Assistant Dean Faherty and SLS representatives said they got an unusually high number of complaints this year from students that the Add/Drop period was too long. A longer Add/Drop period gives students more time to “try out” classes, but students need to wait longer to have certainty over what their final schedule will be.
Associate Dean Essert and SLS representatives both suggested that the unusually low number of courses offered this academic year contributed to long wait lists for courses, which delayed students getting into their preferred courses. However, Associate Dean Essert caveated that many of the courses that were not offered this year had small class sizes and the Faculty expects to offer more upper-year courses in the next academic year.
Faculty Council voted to adopt the proposed sessional dates with one modification: they shortened the Winter 2024 add/drop deadline to January 26 at 5pm, making the period two weeks.
Professor Larissa Katz presented the Graduate Program Admissions Report. She said admissions statistics have been consistent over the last several years. Professor Katz said the Faculty admitted 156 new graduate students in Fall 2022, totalling 191 graduate students. 69 percent of the 2022–23 LLM students chose the Coursework stream, as opposed to the Theses streams. 71 percent of the 2022–23 GPLLM students chose the Canadian Law in a Global Context concentration.
Professor Katz highlighted the financial aid the Faculty provides to LLM and SJD students. Domestic LLM students receive an average award of $5,850, which represents 53 percent of their tuition, and international LLM students receive an average award of $16,176, which represents 33 percent of their tuition. The Faculty guarantees SJD students a stipend of $17,500 per year and many SJD students secure external funding.
The Faculty distributes financial support to LLM and SJD students based on financial need and academic excellence. Financial support for JD students is awarded based only on financial need. GPLLM students do not receive financial aid from the Faculty.
The next Faculty Council Meeting is scheduled for March 22, 2023. Dean Brunnée said she expects it to be a busy meeting with many voting items.
