Bachelor of Commerce in Law

Purpose

The purpose of Bachelor of Commerce in Law (BCom Law) is to provide training to learners in the field of business, commerce, and law. It provides learners with broader perspectives on issues such as law, business, taxation, accounting, contracts and governance. One of the main aims of this qualification is to allow learners to attain the LLB Degree in two years instead of four years after completing the BCom Law.

This qualification design and offering allows learners to be flexible as it enables them to specialise in various fields such as economics, and accounting as alternatives to law only. BCom Law graduates will be equipped with detailed and integrated knowledge. They will be able to apply methodologies and problem solving techniques (including problems and processes set in unfamiliar and variable contexts) in various aspects of commerce such as business management and economics as well as some specialised areas of mercantile law and other general fields of law. Such learners will be able to independently develop further expertise in one or more of the areas covered in the qualification through self-directed and collaborative learning.

Rationale

This qualification aligns to the mission of the institution in that it addresses community, regional and national needs, while aiming at assimilating learners who are drawn largely from surrounding communities and the business sector, with a view to producing skilled and knowledgeable learners who are competent to contribute to the economy of the country.

The qualication provides learners with broader perspectives on issues such as taxation, accounting, contracts and governance. The qualification combines law subjects with business management, accounting and economics.

This allows learners to be flexible as it enables them to specialise in other fields such as economics, and accounting instead of law. Learners from this qualification may become professionals in the compliance and risk management and advisory industries or become commercial/corporate law specialists in both the public and private law sectors, especially after going on to complete the LLB.

The transdisciplinary design of the qualification enables learners to go on to specialise in either law or commerce, in careers that require both. Similarly, they can go on to pursue Postgraduate studies.

The dual focus on the CESM categories of Law on one hand and Business, Economics and Management Studies on the other enables graduates to have broader and diverse academic and career options. The focus on regulatory, compliance, management, economics ensures that ethical business practices will be followed. Learners can also enter industry aiming at middle management level in various sectors. Alternatively, such learners are capable of becoming entrepreneurs.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)

The assessment shall involve the process of collecting evidence and making judgments about the knowledge, skills and values that shall prove competence and shall articulate with the outcomes of a desired qualification. The assessment process shall abide by the assessment, moderation and reporting procedures that constitute the institution's rules and regulations for the assessment of learner learning.

Awarding RPL credit

Prospective learners with prior learning, however obtained, may apply to have their prior learning assessed against the learning outcomes for a specific qualification and/or module/course(s) as outlined in the Institution's RPL Policy for the following purpose(s):

Access into a particular qualification is when a learner can demonstrate, through appropriate assessment(s), the entry or exit outcomes of the qualification preceding that particular qualification. RPL applications for the purpose of access into a particular qualification may be submitted to the respective faculty throughout the year; however, the deadline for submission is 31 October proceeding the year of study. The period prior to registration shall allow the applicant sufficient time to gather evidence and to prepare for the RPL assessment. This period shall also allow for administrative procedures to be complied with prior to the successful RPL candidate being allowed to register.

Entry Requirements

The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is

• National Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4 granting access to a Bachelor's studies.

Or

• Senior Certificate, NQF Level 4 with endorsement.

Or

• National Certificate (Vocational), NQF Level 4 granting access to a Bachelor's studies.

This qualification consists of the following compulsory modules at National Qualifications Framework Levels 5, 6 and 7, totalling 428 Credits.

Compulsory Modules, Level 5, 200 Credits

• Introduction to Law, 16 Credits.
• Law of Persons 112, 12 Credits.
• Family Law 122, 12 Credits.
• General Accounting 1A&B, 32 Credits.
• English for Law Learners A &B, 32 Credits.
• Economics 1A&B, 32 Credits.
• Business Management, 32 Credits.
• Legal Skills 112, 8 Credits.
• Juridical Interpretation, 8 Credits.
• Life, Knowledge, Action, 16 Credits.

Compulsory Modules at Level 6,104 Credits

• Criminal Law A & B, 24 Credits.
• Marketing management, 16 Credits.
• Economics 2 A &B, 32 Credits.
• General Accounting 2A &B, 32 Credits.

Compulsory Modules at Level 7,124 Credits

• Individual Labour Law, 8 Credits.
• Collective Labour Law, 8 Credits.
• Contract A & B, 24 Credits.
• Constitutional Law, 212, 16 Credits.
• Administrative Law 222, 12 Credits.
• Business Entities A &B, 16 Credits.
• Financial Management, 16 Credits.
• Public Finance, 8 Credits.
• Economics 3A & B, 16 Credits.

• Demonstrate an ability to relate those evidential issues to broader, theoretical concerns - in particular those involving business, commerce and accounting;

And

• Apply basic logic to factual situations - the analysis of the facts, inferential reasoning etc;
• Develop ability to identify evidential issues in factual situations;
• Demonstrate a sound understanding and knowledge of substantial theory and practice in a specific area of specialisation.
• Improve procedural knowledge of the law and legal skills in the following areas:
• Apply basic logic to factual situations - the analysis of the facts, inferential reasoning etc.
• Identify evidential issues in factual situations;
• Relate evidential issues to broader, theoretical concerns - in particular those involving business, commerce and accounting;

And

• Develop advocacy skills.
• Compare the negotiable in terms of commercial usage, requirements and limitations.

Expository lectures, class- problem solving, class presentations, tests and take assignments.

Integrated Assessment

Assessment in Law has an integrated form as all law modules combine theory and practice. The integration of knowledge and skills in the assessment aligns to the overall qualification outcomes, which, as described above, are combined so that their application in the assessment context is transferrable to the working environment. The assessment techniques utilised vary, but are typically formative and summative in nature and are applied to a cross-section of individual and group work.

The formative assessment approach assists in providing a non-threatening medium through which learners can gain the knowledge expertise required prior to a summative assessment being conducted. Formative assessments, therefore provide a vehicle for learners to receive constructive feedback, which they can use to remedy any deficiencies in their academic activities.

The formative assessment activities, such as term tests and assignments, provide a means of determining an individual's level of competence to progress further in their area of interest or specialisation. The term tests also identify areas where the learners may be collectively experiencing difficulties, and these can be actioned through various intervention mechanisms with the guidance of the university's Academic Development Unit; the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC).

Final examinations (formative assessment), which constitute 50% of a learner's final grade of competence, are moderated internally for NQF-Level 5 and 6, and externally at exit level NQF-7 by a qualified peer located at another HEI in South Africa in conjunction with an internal moderator. Continuous evaluation is applied to various individual and group work and is assessed using both formative and summative assessment techniques.