Abstract:

Universitas Terbuka (UT), as an Open University in Indonesia, is a public university that implements open and distance educational system in the teaching-learning process. Currently, the study programs offered at the UT as much as 35 comprising 27 undergraduate programs, three diploma programs and five master programs. One of the undergraduate programs offered by Faculty of Law, Social and Political Science in UT is the Law Study Program, which was offered in 2013 and becomes one of the program which is favored by many students. However, some courses require practical aspects of the course competences and these become problems.

This article tries to see how far the public interest to follow the law science courses in UT, and also reviewing policies of UT, such as what has been done as an institution of higher education open and distance in giving students the competence to practice law? Does this policy may meet the competencies expected to be a legal scholar? What is the response of legal experts and practitioners with these policies? To obtain such information and documentation studies conducted in-depth interviews with relevant parties such as legal studies program providers, counselors, experts (prosecutors, judges, clerks), and the students themselves.

The results showed that students who enrolled in the Law Study Program in UT until the registration period 2018.1 are as many as 19.537 students. This amount is relatively more than the programs of study other recently opened. This means that public interest in the science of law study programs at higher distance education institution is quite high. The Law students felt that after following the practice of litigation experience they feel have acquired the knowledge and skills expected of a law degree candidate. Associated with competency interviews with experts from the district court and the counselors also showed that the subjects given practical experience of procedural models UT, UT law students will have the same competence with law students from face-to-face university.

Keywords:

Distance education, law study program, litigation practice experience.