CPLED Licensing Based on Completing Evaluations

By Trevor Clarke, Managing Director, CPLED Alberta

Recent revisions to the CPLED program mean that the licensing function of the CPLED Program will now be based solely on successful completion of the eight competency evaluations. The most significant change to the CPLED Program approved by the Benchers in October 2008 is that the 15 assignments will no longer be graded. Any student submitting an answer to an assignment will receive "rich" or meaningful feedback.

The following shows the results of these changes on the outcomes of Module five, the first full online module that incorporated the changes.

The results for Competency Evaluation Five (CE5) are as follows:

# of Assignments Completed	# of Students (/184)	Grade of CD *	Grade of CNYD **
3	136 (74%)	134	2
2	30 (16%)	28	2
1	7 (4%)	7	0
0	11 (6%)	9	2

These results show that 98% (134 of 136) of the students who submitted all three assignments received a grade of CD. Of the students who did not submit all three of the assignments, 92% (44 of 48) received a grade of CNYD. A student who did not

complete all three of the assignments was therefore more than 5.5 times likely to receive a CD than a student who completed all of the assignments!

During informal discussions with CPLED staff, it appears that most of the nine students who received a grade of CD and who didn't do the assignments cited either lack of time or already having practical experience on the subject as reasons. These students all agreed that they should take the time to compete the assignments unless they have had significant practical experience on the subject matter.

Some of the nine students followed a deliberate strategy of simply reviewing the assignments without submitting them. They then spent more time completing Competency Evaluation Five than they would have if they had completed all three of the assignments. This approach therefore allows them to gain some flexibility in terms of their time. All of these students emphasized the importance of the CPLED materials in completing the competency evaluation. While all of these students received a grade of CD for Competency Evaluation Five, it should be pointed out that a disadvantage of this approach is that the students do not receive any feedback, as they do not submit answers for their assignments.

The conclusion to be drawn from the above analysis is that, for most CPLED students, the surest way to receive a grade of CD on a competency evaluation is to complete all of the related assignments.

The analysis is based on the results of a single competency evaluation. CPLED staff will be tracking the results of the recent changes to the CPLED Program.

Grande Prairie Legal Guidance Clinic Opens

Pro Bono Law Alberta (PBLA) is pleased to announce the opening of a new legal clinic that will offer free legal guidance to individuals living on low income in Grande Prairie and surrounding communities. Grande Prairie Legal Guidance (GPLG) is a non-profit joint initiative between PBLA, the Community Village and Grande Prairie lawyers.

The new pro bono legal clinic will operate out of the Community Village in Grande Prairie and be staffed by a part-time program coordinator, Bianca Cooper.

"While pro bono programs can never replace an effective and properly funded legal aid system, they are an effective means to complement the existing services for low income individuals. This new clinic is an exciting way to help ensure that people who cannot afford the services of a lawyer are given a means of accessing the justice system," stated Rod Jerke Q.C., President of Pro Bono Law Alberta and a Law Society of Alberta bencher.

According to Derek Van Tassell, a local lawyer on the PBLA organization committee, there has been a great response from the legal community to the opening of the clinic, with several lawyers already offering their assistance.

"This clinic will provide a foundation of equality and justice for members of the greater Grande Prairie community. It is a means for lawyers to give back to those who need their services the most and I am positive that Grande Prairie Legal Guidance will become a cornerstone of our growing community in the years to come," concluded Van Tassel.

Grande Prairie Legal Guidance is modeled after other successful pro bono programs from across Alberta and will offer clinics twice-monthly.