University of Portsmouth vice-chancellor confirms assessment process will take place despite student petition
The university of Portsmouth’s vice-chancellor has said examinations and assessments will take place this year but has reassured students that ‘no student will be disadvantaged’ by the disruption caused by the cornavirus pandemic.
The university has moved to clarify the situation following a student petition signed by more than 5,600 people to cancel this year’s examinations and assessments due to the closure of face to face teaching and the ‘stress and anxiety’ caused by the disruption.
Petition organiser and University of Portsmouth student, Molly Rose Carpenter, stated: ‘We as students believe that it’s now vital to seriously consider the wellbeing of everyone at the university and what measures can reasonably be put in place in order to combat additional stress and anxiety.
‘We are calling for the University of Portsmouth to cancel all remaining assessments and exams and calculate grades off of previously achieved grades.’
Vice-chancellor Professor Graham Galbraith, said an assessment process will take place but that the process will be fair.
Professor Galbraith said: ‘I know and understand why some students have raised questions and are anxious about our approach to assessments and examinations in response to this unprecedented situation.
‘The university has developed a comprehensive and supportive approach to providing a fair assessment for all our students, to ensure that no student is disadvantaged by the current exceptional circumstances.’
The vice-chancellor has vowed to consider individual circumstances which could have compromised a student’s performance but believes an assessment process is important to ensure the ‘integrity of the qualification a student achieves is not compromised’.
Professor Galbraith added: ‘We are very much aware of how challenging this situation is for our students and will ensure that individual circumstances, where appropriate, are fully considered.
‘It’s vitally important that students continue to engage actively with their learning and assessments. We are confident our approach will enable our students to achieve the qualification their hard work, talent and dedication deserves and have the credibility in future years to enable them to compete with those who graduated in normal times.’
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Students supporting the petition believed outcomes should have been calculated based on a ‘no detriment policy’ which has been adopted by some other universities. The policy acts as a ‘safety net’ to ensure students obtain at least their average grade achieved so far based on already submitted assessments.
It was a stance supported by the University of Portsmouth Student Union.
Speaking before the university’s decision, Student Union president, Helena Schofield, said: ‘The officer team have been considering the option of a no detriment policy prior to seeing this petition and we are happy to see that so many students share our views.
‘We urge the university to follow the example of Exeter and Southampton Universities and implement a no detriment policy‘ to better support our students during this difficult and unprecedented time.’