Petition calls for safety net on marks

Students fearing for their future have launched a petition calling for Dundee University to introduce a “safety net” to protect their grades.

End-of-year assessments are due to take place but other universities have introduced a system in which students who fail to reach standards set earlier can rely on pre-lockdown results to make an average grade.

Although online lectures have been taking place since the university closed, Amber Woodward, who launched the petition, said the pandemic and earlier staff strikes have left students with “severely limited” access to teaching and resources.

Dundee University is working with a “no detriment” policy, meaning examiners will take the unusual circumstances into account when marking assessments.

Student Amber said: “The purpose of the safety net is to protect the grades that students have worked so hard to achieve.

“Students still have to participate in end-of-year assessments but provided they obtain the pass mark of 40%, their average will remain the same or higher than the average already attained.

“Introduction of a safety net will align Dundee with other premier universities in the UK, enabling graduates to compete in a level playing field in their future careers.”

Other universities using the safety net include Oxford, Warwick, Exeter and Edinburgh.

A university spokesperson said: “`The no detriment policy... ensures the impact of any disruption is taken into account by providing our examination boards with a number of tools to measure impact and put in place appropriate measures.”

Dundee University is being petitioned by students.