University of Lincoln: Introduce a 'Safety Net' rule for all assignments post-March 2020.
University of Lincoln: Introduce a 'Safety Net' rule for all assignments post-March 2020.
The Issue
The COVID-19 outbreak announced to be a pandemic by the World Health Organisation as of the 12th of March 2020, has affected every student at the University of Lincoln. Throughout the timeline of the University of Lincoln campus having closed, the University of Lincoln Library being closed and the UK has gone into lock-down, students have undergone many stressful and tough decisions. Many University of Lincoln students having been struggling with the balancing of their university work, their health, their finances and with the vast array of circumstances that has caused issues for much of the student body.
Since the Government’s stringent new measures were introduced on the 23rd of March 2020, many students are now left without library books, a suitable place to work, seminars, practical sessions, WiFi and computer facilities. Some students' decisions regarding what to do in this difficult time, such as whether to live alone in Lincoln instead of with family, will be heavily influenced by the university work they still need to prioritise. Especially with online exams to consider, many do not have a suitable setup to be able to achieve their deserved grade.
In addition, many student may be unable to convey their true abilities, and many students' work will be hindered by illness of themselves or those around them. Similarly, many students' mental health is likely to be affected during this difficult time.
Therefore, I am asking University of Lincoln to consider using a mitigation system similar to that being used by the Universities of Exeter, Edinburgh and Southampton, in order to bring about fairer results for their final undergraduate students. At 9.40AM on the 25th of March 2020 the University of Exeter announced that student assessment would be mitigated through a "safety net" policy [1]. The Deputy Vice Chancellor wrote that:
"So long as [students] would qualify to progress/graduate based on [their] marks obtained this year ... then [the university] will ensure that [students'] final academic year average is the same as, or higher than, the average [they] have attained up to Sunday 15th March.
""If [students] achieve higher marks in assessments submitted and examinations undertaken after Sunday 15th March then [they] will be able to raise your mark for the year.
"In summary, "as long as you qualify to pass the year, completing the summer assessments can only help not hinder you because we will not let the extraordinary circumstances in which you are completing these assessments leave you with a mark below your current overall mark."
I believe using this type of mitigating system will aid in the goal of awarding fair degree classes for all students being assessed at the University of Lincoln. These measures allow students to achieve a grade which reflects their capabilities in normal circumstances, whilst still providing an incentive to do well in summer assessments and give students who did not achieve their desired grades last semester a chance to improve. It also allows those who become ill or lose a loved one to have time to prioritise their well being at this time.
This allows the University of Lincoln to assess students based upon the first semester of the Academic Year 2019/20, as well as the grades in previous years to fairly mitigate for a global crisis.
This action aligns with other Universities across the UK; Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff, Sheffield, UWE [University of the West of England] and Exeter specifically, have already announced their no detriment policies. This is clearly a policy which is acceptable for a leading university, and for high quality degree level courses.
Many other students are calling out for changes to be implemented including; University of Leeds, University of Manchester, Northumbria University, Newcastle University, University of York, Queen's University Belfast, University College London, Swansea University, Warwick University, University of Reading, Royal Holloway University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Portsmouth, University of Glasgow, Kings College London, Nottingham Trent University, Bath Spa University, University of Kent, University of Durham, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Northampton, Loughborough University, De Montford University, Plymouth College of Art, University of Nottingham, University of Bournmouth, University of Wolverhampton, University of Brunel, University of Westminster, University of Sussex, University of Reading, University of West London, Imperial College London and the University of Aberystwyth.
[Please see evidence for current university action in this manner through articles from the Tab, with excerpts from official university communications listed below.]
The Issue
The COVID-19 outbreak announced to be a pandemic by the World Health Organisation as of the 12th of March 2020, has affected every student at the University of Lincoln. Throughout the timeline of the University of Lincoln campus having closed, the University of Lincoln Library being closed and the UK has gone into lock-down, students have undergone many stressful and tough decisions. Many University of Lincoln students having been struggling with the balancing of their university work, their health, their finances and with the vast array of circumstances that has caused issues for much of the student body.
Since the Government’s stringent new measures were introduced on the 23rd of March 2020, many students are now left without library books, a suitable place to work, seminars, practical sessions, WiFi and computer facilities. Some students' decisions regarding what to do in this difficult time, such as whether to live alone in Lincoln instead of with family, will be heavily influenced by the university work they still need to prioritise. Especially with online exams to consider, many do not have a suitable setup to be able to achieve their deserved grade.
In addition, many student may be unable to convey their true abilities, and many students' work will be hindered by illness of themselves or those around them. Similarly, many students' mental health is likely to be affected during this difficult time.
Therefore, I am asking University of Lincoln to consider using a mitigation system similar to that being used by the Universities of Exeter, Edinburgh and Southampton, in order to bring about fairer results for their final undergraduate students. At 9.40AM on the 25th of March 2020 the University of Exeter announced that student assessment would be mitigated through a "safety net" policy [1]. The Deputy Vice Chancellor wrote that:
"So long as [students] would qualify to progress/graduate based on [their] marks obtained this year ... then [the university] will ensure that [students'] final academic year average is the same as, or higher than, the average [they] have attained up to Sunday 15th March.
""If [students] achieve higher marks in assessments submitted and examinations undertaken after Sunday 15th March then [they] will be able to raise your mark for the year.
"In summary, "as long as you qualify to pass the year, completing the summer assessments can only help not hinder you because we will not let the extraordinary circumstances in which you are completing these assessments leave you with a mark below your current overall mark."
I believe using this type of mitigating system will aid in the goal of awarding fair degree classes for all students being assessed at the University of Lincoln. These measures allow students to achieve a grade which reflects their capabilities in normal circumstances, whilst still providing an incentive to do well in summer assessments and give students who did not achieve their desired grades last semester a chance to improve. It also allows those who become ill or lose a loved one to have time to prioritise their well being at this time.
This allows the University of Lincoln to assess students based upon the first semester of the Academic Year 2019/20, as well as the grades in previous years to fairly mitigate for a global crisis.
This action aligns with other Universities across the UK; Edinburgh, Southampton, Cardiff, Sheffield, UWE [University of the West of England] and Exeter specifically, have already announced their no detriment policies. This is clearly a policy which is acceptable for a leading university, and for high quality degree level courses.
Many other students are calling out for changes to be implemented including; University of Leeds, University of Manchester, Northumbria University, Newcastle University, University of York, Queen's University Belfast, University College London, Swansea University, Warwick University, University of Reading, Royal Holloway University, Sheffield Hallam University, University of Portsmouth, University of Glasgow, Kings College London, Nottingham Trent University, Bath Spa University, University of Kent, University of Durham, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Northampton, Loughborough University, De Montford University, Plymouth College of Art, University of Nottingham, University of Bournmouth, University of Wolverhampton, University of Brunel, University of Westminster, University of Sussex, University of Reading, University of West London, Imperial College London and the University of Aberystwyth.
[Please see evidence for current university action in this manner through articles from the Tab, with excerpts from official university communications listed below.]
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Petition created on 28 March 2020