Surely the test of individual ability is not whether they can participate, but whether they can graduate? Of course, open admissions would result in a lot of washouts after the first semester, but since a good many of these will be self-selected they'll arguably be providing a small subsidy to the more capable students.
(edit: I wonder if rick888's view results from the popularity of 'grading on a curve' - ie, grade as a measure of class ranking, rather than objective ability? In that case, it makes more sense...but then I think GoaC is a bad idea to begin with)
I do find it a bit ironic that this proposal comes from the dean of Berkeley's law school, but doesn't address the question of teaching that subject online. Legal education is thought by many to be at a crossroads right now: the number of nationally accredited schools is increasing, costs are at a record high, but job prospects at a record low. Online instruction is considered anathema by many in the legal educational establishment - ie, schools accredited by the ABA - since it's incompatible with the traditional Case/Socratic method of teaching law (Q & A in class about study assignments rather than lecturing). Many law firms complain that this system is better at producing law school professors than lawyers, and a much-discussed 2007 report from the Carnegie Foundation seems to back up their claims (http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/sites/default/files/public...).
Of course, Boalt Hall (Berkeley's law school) regularly scores in the top 10 national rankings, and its graduates are correspondingly well-positioned for career success, so the dean has no economic incentive to mess with success as regards his own department. I don't mean to cast any negative aspersions here; I was just surprised to see him advancing the argument for distance learning in any context.
(Disclosure: I'm planning to study law, but don't have a strong pro or con feeling about any particular instruction method)
(edit: I wonder if rick888's view results from the popularity of 'grading on a curve' - ie, grade as a measure of class ranking, rather than objective ability? In that case, it makes more sense...but then I think GoaC is a bad idea to begin with)
I do find it a bit ironic that this proposal comes from the dean of Berkeley's law school, but doesn't address the question of teaching that subject online. Legal education is thought by many to be at a crossroads right now: the number of nationally accredited schools is increasing, costs are at a record high, but job prospects at a record low. Online instruction is considered anathema by many in the legal educational establishment - ie, schools accredited by the ABA - since it's incompatible with the traditional Case/Socratic method of teaching law (Q & A in class about study assignments rather than lecturing). Many law firms complain that this system is better at producing law school professors than lawyers, and a much-discussed 2007 report from the Carnegie Foundation seems to back up their claims (http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/sites/default/files/public...).
Of course, Boalt Hall (Berkeley's law school) regularly scores in the top 10 national rankings, and its graduates are correspondingly well-positioned for career success, so the dean has no economic incentive to mess with success as regards his own department. I don't mean to cast any negative aspersions here; I was just surprised to see him advancing the argument for distance learning in any context.
(Disclosure: I'm planning to study law, but don't have a strong pro or con feeling about any particular instruction method)