We are in the middle of incredibly unprecidented times. We as students across the country believe that it is now essential to seriously consider the wellbeing of everyone at the University of Wolverhampton, and what measures can be put in place in order to combat additional stress and anxiety. We are calling for the University to cancel all remaining assessments and exams for the 2020 academic year and calculate grades off of previously achieved grades. If this isn't possible, we are asking at the very least for the University to impose a 'no detriment policy' similar to what Southampton University and other Universities across the nation have done.

 

We acknowledge that some measures have already been put into place, but believe more can be done not only to benefit our wellbeing, but to ensure that grades aren't negatively impacted. We have gathered the main points of our petition;

 

1. Examinations sat at home are too problematic

The implementation of a system where exams are sat at home leads to a plethora of difficulties. Sitting an exam in a home setting could encourage cheating by some students. Many students will be at a disadvantage as their home setting cannot provide appropriate exam settings and will be too distracting for a student to perform well.

2. We are not performing to the best of our ability

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. Whether we're key workers, looking after at-risk family members, or just incredibly anxious about the entire situation, we are absolutely not in the right mindset to be producing our best work. Many students have fallen behind, are demotivated and struggling.

3. Student and Staff Wellbeing 

In the face of a global pandemic, students are already experiencing increased stress and anxiety. Having assessments and exams on top of this will inevitably lead to some students developing mental health issues relating to stress such as depression and insomnia. 

Furthermore, changing the method of examination with set deadlines would also pose a huge amount of stress on staff. Cancelling these exams would reduce the workload on already overworked staff, increasing staff wellbeing as well.

This is not just a University of Wolverhampton issue, but a nationwide issue with many students voices not being heard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Credit to Molly Rose Carpenter - https://www.change.org/p/university-of-portsmouth-cancel-all-remaining-assessments-or-impose-no-detriment-policy?recruited_by_id=a54cb620-703f-11ea-9a8a-35e1f097ac94&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial