The Scholars’ Committee has weighed in on a consultation process ongoing between the Visitors and College Board on the conditional decision to introduce a quota system for the Trinity’s Foundation Scholarship exams (Schols).
The committee sent a list of arguments to the Visitors on December 7th illustrating why the system would not be compliant with the statutes.
On November 18th, College Board conditionally passed a proposal – based on a memorandum written by Senior Lecturer Kevin Mitchell – to introduce a quota system, which would limit the number of Scholars appointed per faculty.
The proposal, it decided, would be brought to the Visitors who would decide whether or not it contradicted the statutes.
Trinity has two Visitors – Chancellor Mary McAleese and Judiciary Chancellor Maureen Harding Clark – and, among a number of duties, they decide on appeals against College Board decisions.
The moves outraged representatives of the Scholars, who fear that the changes will damage the reputation of Schols, shift it away from it being centred around academics and “ensure that only the best cheaters are elected Scholars”.
Its submission – which was drafted alongside Prof Eoin O’Dell – argues that Board does not have the power to make rules for the elections to Scholarship, and that the statutes “expressly provide for a specific quota for Foundation Scholars, and therefore exclude a general quota”.
The committee also argues that there is a “significant jurisdictional flaw” with the proposal as consent of the University Council was “neither sought or obtained”, and that the policy arguments in favour of the quota system are “weak” and “irrelevant to the logically prior questions of whether Board has the power to introduce quotas, and whether that power has been validly exercised”.
In an email statement to The University Times, Mitchell – the main architect of the proposal – said: “Scholarship is one of the highest academic honours awarded by the University, recognising the highest level of academic achievement. Under ordinary circumstances, we determine this level of achievement in an implicitly comparative process by reference to our extensive history of performance on the scholarship examinations.”
“This year, no such pre-calibration is possible. The use of the online format may lead to a deviation from the normal range of marks awarded, including possible inflation of grades, as observed in the annual exams held online last academic year.”
“To protect against such an eventuality and to ensure the highest levels of academic rigour, Board has approved a proposal to introduce a quota system this year, such that the number of Scholarships awarded will be in line with the average from prior years.”
“This approval is subject to the Visitor ruling on whether it is in line with the Statutes. We have sent a ‘dubium’ to the Visitor requesting a ruling on that issue.”
In an email to Scholars, Camilla Persello, the Secretary to the Scholars, said: “As you have probably heard, on the 18th of November the College Board conditionally approved the introduction of a quota system for the 2020-21 Scholarship examinations and, in this context, requested a consultation to the Visitors in order confirm that such measure be compliant with the Statutes.”
“The Scholars’ Committee immediately sought – and obtained – permission to contribute its submissions to the Visitors as part of the consultation process. Later, the College requested and obtained permission to do the same.”
The submission argues that the statutes rule that “only matters of academic ability and learning may be relied upon to determine qualifications for Scholarship”, and therefore Board does not have the power to introduce a quota system.
Quotas, the submission states, “rather than aiding in the assessment of academic ability and learning, quotas come in after that assessment has been made and undercut it”.
The committee also argues that to combat grade inflation as a result of online exams – one of the reasons quotas have been discussed – College should instead rely on the “good sense and academic judgment of examiners”.
The committee says that College has not chosen to engage with the factors that lead to grade inflation, and instead “singled out Scholarship, and imposed a purported solution that does not address the causes of the problem”.
Schols exams have been moved to the week beginning January 25th.
At present, students going for Schols do three to four exam papers. Some 25 per cent of the overall mark must be general questions.
To win a scholarship, candidates must achieve an overall first-class result, 70 per cent in two out of three papers and no lower than 65 per cent in the remaining papers.
