St Andrews students sign open letter over exams

The letter asks the University of St Andrews to ‘reconsider its decision to go ahead with the final examinations’, which are due to be held in May.

Instead, the university is asked to continue with online teaching, but focus on other forms of continuous assessment.

It notes that students have returned to their homes around the world, and that some might not have the same access to devices and the internet as others, putting them at a disadvantage.

The letter adds: “In such trying times for everyone, the pressure on students could not be higher. Psychological stresses for students struggling with the changing situations at home will conflict with the added strain provided by having to sit new and confusing online examinations.

“Students are in a varied set of situations, with some placing care for their loved ones and family members above revision. It is unfair to expect students in such unknown sets of conditions to sit the same final examinations amid this pandemic.”

Responding to the letter, vice principal education professor Clare Peddie said that, while the university understands the stress students are going through, it can not withdraw from its ‘commitment to students’.

She added: “In many cases examinations have been cancelled or replaced with alternative forms of assessment. Many exam papers have been revised to make them a better fit for remote delivery and the open book style in which they will now be taken. Students will receive communication about the tailored plans for each of their modules by the end of this week.

“Students will be informed by the tutors in the weeks ahead how they can best prepare for these assessments. In addition to these measures, the Schools and the Deans’ Office will carefully review the grade distributions for every module and compare them to data from previous years to see if there are any marked deviations. At this point, we can intervene to prevent detrimental outcomes for whole groups of students.

“Finally, as you will have seen, we have put in place new regulations concerning progression to Honours and Honours Classification, which should give every student more peace of mind.

“All of this means that I believe that you and all the signatories can be confident that your tutors and markers will be sensitive to the profound disruption of everyone’s studies this semester.”