Thursday 08-12-2022 - 16:10

It’s no secret that the pandemic changed academic life for students rapidly and radically at Durham. As this is the first academic year with next to no covid regulation since 2019 before the pandemic, there was a big question of when, and whether, teaching and assessment should return to ‘normal’.  

It was my belief starting this role that there was no need to rush any changes, and any transition back to ‘normal’ would have to be inclusive of the unique experiences that this cohort of students has had. I did not believe a rush to complete in person exams would be justified or fair. Through Provost Board and Education Committee I pushed for a pragmatic solution. 24-hour online exams with open books were never perfect, and it is entirely true that for different departments it showed different suitability.  

Despite this, it remains the format that most students at the university are used to and comfortable with. Working with Tony Fawcett (Acting PVC Education) and others on Provost and Senate, we pushed for a policy in which online exams would remain the default for most students, whilst also allowing individual departments to make recommendations as to why they ought to be treated differently. The two primary departments who requested a different format were Physics and Modern Languages (MLAC), who had concerns about the integrity of the process and how students coped with such a lengthy exam window.  

The course reps for each department conducted extensive consultation with their cohort and found conclusively that these were not popular proposals. Students were rightly worried that they haven’t sat in person exams since, potentially, 2018. Whilst I am empathetic to the concerns of the departments and am convinced their proposals were made with the best possible intent, it cannot be argued that they were in the interests of students.  

With the fantastic work of the course reps, I really pleased to say I managed to negotiate a U-turn in Modern Languages! This was not easy, and I am grateful to the department for what must have been a tough decision. I’m also really grateful to the course reps who helped gather the information and consequently push the departments into making this decision. This is a huge victory for the course reps and a win for student voice moreover.  

Unfortunately, the same wasn’t possible for physics. This is not the outcome I campaigned for but I will work to make the transition to an in-person format is as easy as possible for Physics students. I have already had conversations regarding mitigations and exam preparation and am in contact with course reps for this department too.  

Exams are an inherently scary process, and it is my responsibility as your UG Academic Officer to ease this worry as much as I can. As always, I welcome any feedback or advice from students directly affected by this decision.