University of Sheffield faces criticism over charging exam re-sit fees in the middle of a pandemic

Other unis have removed the charge for this year


The University of Sheffield is facing criticism over students still being expected to pay fees for Summer term examination re-sits, despite being in the middle of a global pandemic.

With lockdown causing a disruptive end to the final term, some fear that students from poorer backgrounds will be hardest hit from being forced to pay out to re-take.

What makes matters worse is the fact that these ‘summer’ module re-sits will still be issued in a form of online assessments as invigilated exams are still disallowed.

This means students will be paying for exam re-sit fees even though they will complete the assessment from home.

The neighbouring University of Leeds and also Reading University have both decided to remove their re-sit fees due to the unprecedented circumstances that students are currently facing.

On the University of Reading’s webpage, it reads: “As an exceptional measure the University has agreed that there will be no charge for resits taking place in the Summer Term 2020 or the August-September 2020 resit period.”

This is in consideration of coronavirus and the wellbeing of their students.

The Sheffield Tab asked the University of Sheffield why they still thought it was appropriate to charge students for re-sits in the middle of a pandemic. They said that the issue is “currently in discussion”.

Re-assessment fees at the University of Sheffield range widely in price. In the 19/20 academic year, for a 5 credit module, it would cost a student £18 to re-sit, whereas a 50 credit module would set students back £175.

Medicine and Dentistry students could be paying up to £126 for a module re-sit.

Reassessment applications opened at 2pm on 21st July 2020, with under-grads and post-grads now able to apply for resits. International students’ re-sits have currently been suspended until further notice.

The only exception the uni has made to paying re-sit fees is if the student received an NA (not assessed) mark. Only students who receive this grade will be automatically put forward for a resit uncapped and free of charge.

Other stories recommended by this writer:

• Sheffield students return back to their halls to find missing items and rooms wrecked

• This list will accurately determine what your fav Sheff clubs and pubs say about you

 We asked Sheff students spending lockdown in the US what it’s really like