Backlash Over Peer-Assessed Teaching

Controversy has erupted over peer-assessed degree units after students were criticised for marking each other’s work too generously.

In an email sent to Mechanical Engineering students, their tutor complained it had taken him ‘longer than usual to go through all submissions’ as work had frequently been graded too highly.

Peer-assessed review is markedly unpopular amongst the student body. Frequently, students are expected to grapple with marking schemes, and offer their peers thorough feedback, with lecturers and researchers offering little to no input.

The email received by Mechanical Engineering students

Mechanical Engineering student Amanda Franklin noted, “It’s ridiculous they are surprised by this. What do they expect, when they’re asking us to mark our friends’ work?”

This is far from an isolated incident. One group of Physiology Freshers were reportedly told last week they would be marking their own work, as researchers were ‘too busy’. Others were offered a list of the ‘disadvantages’ of work being marked by a professional, seemingly as a means to placate students.

Whilst those in favour of peer-assessed review argue it encourages individuals to become more engaged with their course, others feel it deprives students of the expert feedback their fees entitle them to.

Photo: University of Bristol

Last year’s surge in tuition fees has seen Bristol supply many Freshers with textbooks free of charge, but there are doubts the standard of teaching has improved enough to justify the £9000-a-year courses.

In the past, Bristol has suffered in the university rankings for receiving notoriously bad scores for ‘student satisfaction’ with the quality of teaching. Feedback is often a significant factor.

Second year Physiology student Zoe Adams stated, “It’s a shame because Bristol’s position in the rankings will affect us in the long-term. But I’ll have no problem with scoring them badly on student satisfaction. They’re rubbish”.