College will elect a maximum of 60 Scholars this year, after University Council today approved a contentious quota system for the number of scholarships awarded.
The system is a major departure from the norm, and was passed at an acrimonious University Council meeting this afternoon, which involved clashes between members of Council and the Provost.
The proposal has stirred up controversy among the Scholars community, many of whom consider it to be an attack on the academic integrity of the Foundation Scholarship. After passing the proposal, College Board decided to send the proposal to the Visitors for approval.
The quota system was introduced in the wake of fears that online exams would cause grade inflation and by extension a spike in the number of scholarships awarded.
In an email statement to The University Times, Senior Lecturer Kevin Mitchell said that “following approval from the Council today, College will introduce a quota system for the Scholarship exams this year such that the number of Scholarships awarded will be in line with the average from prior years”.
“Scholarship exams recognise the highest level of academic achievement at the University. 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”, Mitchell said. “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.”
“The quota system will protect against such an eventuality and safeguard against any devaluation of the institution of Scholarship.”
The health sciences faculty may award up to 17 scholarships, STEM up to 21 and arts, humanities and social sciences 22.
Yesterday, The University Times reported that the Visitors – who decide on appeals against College Board decisions – ruled that the proposal did not breach the statutes.
Board, they said, had the power to set a limit on the number of Scholars elected, and that there is no “express power in relation to quotas”.
“We do not believe that an express power is required in circumstances where the Board already has an express power to determine the conditions that must be satisfied by a Student of the College in order to be elected as a Scholar”, they added.
Schols exams begin next week, and have switched to an online format due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
