Final years demand academic leniency in open letter to University amid coronavirus uncertainty

By Maddy Russell, News Editor

Students have called for final exams and essays to be made optional.

In an open letter to Vice Chancellor Hugh Brady, students have called for the implementation of ‘emergency policies’ amid disruption to studies following the outbreak of Covid-19.

The letter, which has 828 signatures at the time of writing, calls for the Vice Chancellor to make final exams and essays optional to all final year students and to give them the opportunity to accept their mark ‘as is’.

Other suggested amendments include extending deadlines for dissertation submission, providing further leniency for students who rely on physical resources and providing further assistance to students who may be undertaking data-based research.

The letter also suggests refunding all students the equivalent amount of at least four weeks of tuition, due to the teaching time missed as a result of the recent UCU strike action and the disruption to teaching caused by coronavirus.

The letter is believed to be a copy of a similar document which was written by a student at the University of Edinburgh.

A link to the letter can be found here.

Featured Image: Epigram / Ollie Smith

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