Wales partnership possible

AAU negotiations with British university could bring validation of Legal Studies

By Lucia Udvardyová
Staff Writer

Diplomas received in AAU's legal studies program may soon be validated by the University of Wales, a British institution of higher learning that has campuses in Swansea and elsewhere.

Participants in the legal studies program would actually receive their diplomas from the University of Wales. The degrees would thus be recognized worldwide. Students also could continue their studies toward a postgraduate degree at the British institution.

Mitchell Young, vice president for academic affairs, said negotiations with the British university are moving "very quickly."

Validation, as opposed to the accreditation given by the Czech Ministry of Education, is accreditation granted by another educational institution.

Young said being backed by a well-established foreign institution would simplify the route to the Czech accreditation, which could take another year or more.

AAU's humanities and business schools were accredited by the Czech Ministry of Education in 2001, leaving the School of Legal Studies program as the only one without state accreditation.

The University of Wales will require AAU to provide a financial supplement for each student. That would result in a tuition increase for those in the program, but Michael Kodua, chairman of the legal studies department, said the hike would not be "unreasonable."

The number of applicants for the legal studies program should rise significantly following validation, said Kodua.

The School of Legal Studies will have to adjust its syllabi to the British undergraduate university system in order to meet the requirements for the validation,Young said. This would mean a slight modification in the American undergraduate system. While lecturers and the courses offered would stay the same, the British classification system would replace the American letter grading system. The classes offered in the legal studies program would correspond to those of the British "honors" system, said Young.

It is unclear whether students who already have begun their legal studies at AAU will be included in the University of Wales program, said Young.


--Lucia Udvardyova can be reached at LCIA8K@hotmail.com.

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