Monday 27-02-2017 - 11:31

Read the summary report of student feedback here. 

With over 6000 of you completing my recent survey about term length changes, I know this is something many of you care about, so I wanted to update you on what I’ve done with your feedback so far.

There is a genuine need to extend the exam timetable from 2018 for a variety of reasons, including the relocation of Queen’s students and the important need to accommodate students with disabilities who require exams to be spread out over a longer period, which is currently becoming unfeasible. I believe it is possible to make these changes in a way that will positively impact students’ experience during exam season, but when the University came to make a decision I recognised the fundamental importance of getting student feedback and input before this happened. As a result of me insisting this is an issue that will impact on students, the University agreed to give me a few days to get this feedback from you. Needing to reach out to students quickly, we put together a brief survey and Durham students absolutely raised their voices! With over 6000 responses, this is something you definitely care about, and my job is to make sure your views are considered when the final decisions are made.

I have created a report for the University summarising the key themes of your feedback. You can read the report here. The highlights were:

• Pre-exam revision time is most important to students
• Keeping the length of the Easter holidays and keeping the post-exam period at three weeks was also extremely important to students 
• That you want things to be kept as similar as possible

 

Using both the qualitative and quantitative data from the survey, I also proposed three new options not considered by the University. These three options were informed by what you told me was most important to you.  

My hope is that the University will only make minor changes to the structure of the academic year – taking into account your views on pre-exam revision, holidays and the post exam period. However, if this isn’t that case, then I will express my frustration to the University that the views of students have not been used to inform the overall decision. I will also work with the Pro Vice Chancellor for Education to ensure that the University puts plans in place to mitigate potential negative impacts on students – e.g. if the year is extended so that students are required to pay for two more weeks of catered accommodation.