Explained: Exeter Uni’s new Covid-19 assessment plan

Exeter Uni has released a plan explaining how changes will be made to grading in the face of the changing coronavirus situation.

Tim Quine, Exeter’s Deputy Vice Chancellor, sent the university’s plan to students via email on Thursday.

The key points include:

• The “No Detriment Policy” put in place last year has been officially revoked, aka, no more “Safety Net”. Tim Quine explained that this was due to the risk of “undermining our academic standards and the value of our degrees.”

• The self-certification mitigation policy has been extended to allow students to have increased influence over when they take their assessments. If students wish to extend or defer a deadline, they can do so without the need for certified excuses.

• Assessment marks will be double checked by APAC’s (Assessment, Progression and Awarding Committees) to ensure a fair and consistent distribution of marks. Also, exam boards continue to have authority to adjust marks for individual students should there be clear evidence of extenuating circumstances impacting academic success.

• End of year results will be based largely on work undertaken during the academic year when it is most relevant.

• There will be firmer scrutiny and calibration of module marks to ensure that they are consistent with previous years.

The email states that these changes have been made in order to maintain the academic standards and values of a University of Exeter degree, and concludes with a reminder that the board is committed to the students learning journey and wishes success on us all.

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