We, the undersigned students, would like to respectfully request that the School of Informatics & IT review this year's EHIP examination. Our concerns are about the exam's difficulty, fairness, assessment format, and its impact on students' academic performance.

We understand that examinations are meant to challenge students and assess our understanding of the module. We are not asking for an easier exam or lower academic standards. However, many students who attended lessons regularly, completed the practice exercises, and prepared for the exam still found it extremely difficult to complete.

We hope the school will consider the following concerns.

1. Exam Difficulty
Many students felt that this year's paper was much harder than expected. While we understand that exams should be challenging, they should also reflect the learning outcomes and what has been taught throughout the semester.

When a large number of well-prepared students struggle to finish the paper, it raises concerns about whether the exam accurately measured our understanding of the module.

2. Difference Between Practice and Exam Environment
Throughout the semester, students prepared using the practice environment and mock tests provided by the school. During the actual exam, however, the WordPress environment behaved differently because it was hosted differently from the practice version.

Although this may not have been a technical fault, the differences affected how some functions worked. Many students had to spend valuable exam time figuring out these differences instead of focusing on completing the tasks.

We hope future practice environments can better match the actual examination environment.

3. Unequal Advantage Due to Prior Competition Experience
Some students who participated in WorldSkills had prior exposure to similar tasks, tools, and workflows that were assessed during the examination. This naturally gave them an advantage in terms of familiarity and experience.

We fully respect the effort and commitment required to participate in WorldSkills, and this petition is not intended to diminish their achievements. However, we believe that a core module assessment should provide an equal opportunity for all students to demonstrate what they have learned through the curriculum.

When an examination relies heavily on skills or experiences that extend beyond what was taught and practised in class, students without those opportunities may be placed at a disadvantage despite putting in similar effort to prepare.

We hope future assessments can be designed so that success depends primarily on the module's intended learning outcomes rather than prior exposure through external competitions or specialised training.

4. Similar Feedback from Previous Cohorts
After speaking to seniors, we found that concerns about the EHIP exam being unusually difficult have been raised by previous batches as well.

If similar feedback has been given over multiple years, we believe it would be worthwhile to review whether the exam's design and difficulty are aligned with the module's intended learning outcomes.

5. Changes in the Exam Format
We were informed that this year's exam would be conducted as a closed-book assessment, whereas previous batches had taken it as an open-book exam.

We understand that assessment methods can change, but such a major change significantly affects how students prepare. We hope future changes can either be implemented consistently or students can be given sufficient preparation beforehand.

6. Comparison with Other Polytechnics
We understand that different institutions have different assessment methods. However, students are aware that similar cybersecurity modules in other polytechnics, such as Singapore Polytechnic and Republic Polytechnic, allow students to refer to notes or reference materials during assessments.

While we respect each institution's approach, these differences have led many students to question whether the current assessment method best reflects students' understanding.

7. Impact on Students' GPA
For many students, this examination carries a significant weight in the overall module grade.

A poor result in this single exam could have a major impact on GPA, affecting internship opportunities, scholarships, university applications, and future academic plans. Many students feel that their final grade may not accurately reflect the effort they put into preparing for the module.

8. Fairness for the Current Cohort
If improvements are only made for future batches, the current cohort will continue to be affected by an exam that many students felt was unusually difficult.

We appreciate any future improvements, but we also hope the school will consider students who have already taken this year's examination.

9. Looking Ahead
We hope future EHIP examinations can continue to maintain high academic standards while remaining fair and aligned with the module's learning outcomes.

If the school concludes that this year's paper was more difficult than intended, we hope consideration can also be given to the current cohort rather than only future batches. This would help ensure that all students are treated fairly.

Our Request
We respectfully ask the school to consider:

Reviewing this year's EHIP examination.
Checking whether the exam difficulty was appropriate and aligned with the module learning outcomes.
Reviewing whether the practice environment was sufficiently similar to the examination environment.
Reviewing the marking scheme and moderation process.
Considering moderation or scaling if appropriate.
This petition is not intended to lower academic standards or make the examination easier.

Instead, we hope the assessment fairly reflects the knowledge and skills that students have learned throughout the semester. We believe examinations should primarily assess students' understanding of the module, rather than their ability to adapt to unexpected changes during the exam.

We sincerely hope the School of Informatics & IT will consider our concerns and review the examination accordingly.

Thank you.