Student evaluation and the quality of legal education

The reconstruction of students as consumers of educational products and services has led to changes in the ways in which universities operate. Part of this process has been the solicitation of the views of students with regard to numerous aspects of university provision. The profile of student evaluation as a measure of the effectiveness of university provision has been raised in recent years: the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the government, and the National Union of Students (NUS) in particular have given special prominence to this, culminating in the National Student Survey. These bodies appear to regard the opinions of students as a valuable indicator of the quality of university provision and thus as a source of useful information for stakeholders, especially prospective students. This article examines the concept of student evaluation, rather than any particular manifestation of it, and explores some of its implications for legal education. 1 An earlier version was given at t...