Two major regulatory changes are affecting the provision of undergraduate legal education in England and Wales. On the one hand, the Qualifying Law Degree is being deregulated, meaning law schools are free to make significant changes to how and what they teach. On the other hand, higher education in England has seen a significant overhaul through the creation of the Office for Students, which treats students as consumers. Now more than ever, law schools need to ask themselves existential questions which will not only test their continued relevance or indeed viability within the ‘market’ for higher education, but also the status of the discipline of law as a whole. The regulatory landscape may indeed present a significant threat, but it is also an opportunity to reflect on what law schools are for, and consequently what changes could result from the academic freedom that comes with deregulation. Whilst different law schools will interpret their mission differently, they should caution against either generalised inertia or succumbing to an outcomes-oriented provision that simply prepares students for the new Solicitors Qualifying Examination. Instead, law schools will find their proper purpose in critical reflection and academic self-grounding, providing undergraduate students with a ‘question everything’ mentality, and showing them that law is something to be experienced and not merely learnt.

中文翻译：

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法律学位的监管威胁：律师资格考试和法学院的目的

两个主要的监管变化正在影响英格兰和威尔士本科法律教育的提供。一方面，合格法学学位正在放松管制，这意味着法学院可以自由地对其教学方式和内容进行重大改变。另一方面，英国的高等教育通过建立学生办公室进行了重大改革，学生办公室将学生视为消费者。现在，法学院比以往任何时候都更需要问自己存在的问题，这不仅将测试它们在高等教育“市场”中的持续相关性或可行性，而且还将测试整个法律学科的地位。监管格局确实可能构成重大威胁，但这也是反思法学院的目的的机会，因此，放松管制带来的学术自由会带来哪些变化。虽然不同的法学院会以不同的方式解释他们的使命，但他们应该警告不要普遍惯性或屈服于以结果为导向的规定，只是让学生为新的律师资格考试做好准备。取而代之的是，法学院将在批判性反思和学术自我扎根中找到自己的正确目的，为本科生提供“质疑一切”的心态，并向他们展示法律是一种需要体验而不仅仅是学习的东西。他们应该告诫不要普遍的惯性或屈服于只为学生准备新的律师资格考试而以结果为导向的规定。取而代之的是，法学院将在批判性反思和学术自我扎根中找到自己的正确目的，为本科生提供“质疑一切”的心态，并向他们展示法律是一种需要体验而不仅仅是学习的东西。他们应该告诫不要普遍的惯性或屈服于只为学生准备新的律师资格考试而以结果为导向的规定。取而代之的是，法学院将在批判性反思和学术自我扎根中找到自己的正确目的，为本科生提供“质疑一切”的心态，并向他们展示法律是需要体验的，而不仅仅是学习的。