Higher Education Law and Policy (Mian)
Faculty
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| Lubna Mian Adjunct Professor of Law lubnamian@gmail.com |
Additional Information
Experiential CourseYes
Skills Training
Drafting Legal Documents
Expository Writing
Grading
30% Participation,
70% Other (The class will be comprised of two written assignments (two policy oriented, one an opinion or writing piece) comprising 70% of the grade. 30% of the grade will be comprised of class participation, which reflects attendance, preparation, and curious and thoughtful engagement with the material. )
No
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. If you are absent due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can send you an email with instructions for accessing the recording for the class session(s) you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
W 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Tanenbaum Hall 345
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Professor Mian
This course links legal precedents that apply to some of our oldest and most powerful institutions with discussion of the most critical policy issues of our day. The influence that universities and colleges have upon democracy, rights of students and faculty, and the interplay between higher education and access to economic resources and political power have dominated political debates for decades. Recent media coverage has focused on free speech rights in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict and critical race theory bans, and access through the Harvard and UNC admissions litigation decided by the Supreme Court last year. While the course provides a foundation in constitutional and policy precedents, every year, current events are threaded in as they unfold. We will explore the relationship between universities and the state, academic freedom, faculty employment, student rights and speech, campus speech codes, research innovation and conflicts, and access and antidiscrimination law. The course will cover Brown v. Board of Education, Bakke, SFFA v. UNC/Harvard and other major education law cases as well as lower court opinions that shed light on timeless issues and tensions within universities and colleges. The course is of interest to those interested in learning the body of law that applies to colleges and universities, students interested in a career in higher education, or those pursuing a policy-making role. For students whose primary discipline is not law, familiarity with civil procedure or the first year law curriculum is not expected. Students from varying backgrounds are encouraged to take the class.
There are two written assignments to be completed by the end of the term (a model policy and an opinion piece), and the class fulfills the Law School’s requirements for an experiential course.
Learning outcomes: Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the basics of policy drafting and legal essay writing, and to analyze and communicate effectively on constitutional, employment, and equity and inclusion topics.
Skills Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of the individual course skill; Demonstrate the ability to receive and implement feedback; Demonstrate an understanding of how and when the individual course skill is employed in practice.
Constitutional Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of constitutional law; Perform legal analysis in the context of constitutional law; Communicate effectively on topics related to constitutional law; Demonstrate an understanding of constitutional law affects other areas of law.
Employment Law and Employee Benefits Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of employment law and employee benefits; Perform legal analysis in the context of employment law and employee benefits; Communicate effectively on topics related to employment law and employee benefits; Demonstrate an understanding of how employment law and employee benefits affect other areas of law.
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Equity and Inclusion Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Perform legal analysis in the context of topics related to equity and inclusion; Communicate effectively on the legal aspects of equity and inclusion; Demonstrate an understanding of how equity and inclusion are connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.
Textbooks
"The Law and Higher Education: Cases and Materials on Colleges in Court " by Michael A. Olivas, Amy Gajda |