An early-stage proposal would remove pass by compensation and discontinue special examinations, better known as “super sups”, The University Times has learned, as part of changes under the Trinity Education Project.
The proposal, authored by the Senior Lecturer, Dr Gillian Martin, and seen by The University Times, was submitted to the College’s Undergraduate Studies Committee on Tuesday January 24th, by the Progression and Awards working group of the Trinity Education Project. The project is a university-wide reimagining of how Trinity’s undergraduates are taught, prepared and assessed, that first began as a review of the undergraduate curriculum during the 2012/13 academic year.
One of the most significant proposals would end pass by compensation, which is often used to allow students to pass a year on the strength of their average mark, despite having failed a module. It also allows students to pass a module, or in some cases, two modules, if they are the only modules failed. The proposal states that “all modules must be passed in all years. Compensation is not permitted”.
The proposal also recommends that special examinations, usually referred to as “super sups”, be discontinued. These exams are sat during the first weeks of Michaelmas term by students who have received approval to sit an exam after the first supplemental examination period. Students who receive “super sups” typically get them on medical grounds, or due to unforeseen, extraordinary circumstances where it was not possible for them to take their exam during the supplemental examinations period.
In an email statement to The University Times, Martin declined to answer specific questions on the nature of the proposals. She noted, however, that “a number of preliminary recommendations from the working group on progressions and awards were brought to [Undergraduate Studies Committee] for initial discussion and feedback”. Discussion will take place between the directors of undergraduate teaching and learning and other course committees, Martin said, and “further consultation with staff and students is being planned”.
Following discussion at working-group level, the proposals will then be submitted to the Trinity Education Project steering group, which is chaired by the Provost, before being sent out for consultation among staff and students. The working group that submitted the proposal will also consider the role and decision-making power of the Courts of Examiners, study abroad, appeals processes and transfers in the coming months, according to the document written by Martin.
Speaking to The University Times via email, Vice-Provost and project sponsor of the Trinity Education Project, Prof Chris Morash, explained the motivation behind the proposals: “At the moment, there is a maze of rules and regulations relating to the ways in which students progress through a degree from year to year, and the ways in which the final degree award is calculated.”
“The ultimate aim of these proposals is to make things simpler and more transparent for students trying to navigate their way through a degree”, Morash continued.
Speaking to The University Times, Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) Education Officer, Dale Whelehan, said he is “completely against” the proposal relating to the removal of pass by compensation. “So many students can pass by compensation in some years and go on to become academics in that field”, he argued. Whelehan sits on four of the five strands of the Trinity Education Project as a student representative and sits on the project’s steering committee. He also sits on the Undergraduate Studies Committee.
Speaking about the discontinuation of special examinations, Whelehan said that he “would have grave concerns if students are not given the opportunity to sit an examination as a result of extenuating circumstances”.
“I think we would be doing a disservice to students [in] our pastoral role”, Whelehan stated, referencing both the “financial implications” and “the actual welfare of the student” that would have to repeat a year. Whelehan continued that a student shouldn’t “be punished for not being able to sit an examination [if it is] outside of their control”.
However, the proposal does suggest that supplementals should be available in all years. Currently, unless specified otherwise by your course regulations, supplementals are not available in final year, and in the case of TSM, some third-year modules. Under the new proposal, those who pass their supplements in final year will have their degree award capped at Pass, the lowest mark you can receive.
The proposal outlined several other possible changes to Trinity’s procedures and rules for repeat exams and degree awards, including a restriction on how many times a student may repeat an academic year, the standardisation of progression regulations across College and the introduction of a universal marking scale.
Stricter and standardised regulations relating to repeating years are also outlined. The document suggests that the maximum number of years allowed to complete an undergraduate degree should be six years for a four-year programme and seven years for a five-year programme. Students should be allowed to repeat all years. However, a student should only be allowed to repeat any year once, which means that the total number of years a student may repeat is two.
It is also proposed that a year taken off-books would now be counted as a repeated year, in the same way that a year on-books does. Only up to 20 ECTS of failed modules may be taken either on-books or off-books.
According to the Senior Lecturer’s Reports for 2014/15 and 2015/16, a total of 430 undergraduate students were off‐books in 2014/15, compared to 420 the year before and 411 in 2012/13. The main reason given for allowing students to go off‐books in 2014/15 was medical, which accounted for 41 per cent of off‐books students. In 2013/14, medical grounds accounted for 38 per cent.
One proposed change is that a pass rate of 40 per cent should be standardised across College. The pass mark currently varies between 40 and 60 per cent across the university.
In addition to these proposals, the document says that rescheduled exams, for individuals who get permission to do so within exam sessions, should also be discontinued.
Other proposals include that for the first and second years of all undergraduate courses, students should receive an overall result of pass or fail only on their end-of-year transcripts.
Whelehan said that there is “an argument that we shouldn’t be putting pressure on students to receive a certain grade within their freshman years and we should be allowing them to broaden their education, learn their own learning style and not feel that they need to achieve a certain mark”.
“Then the other argument is that students want to know how they stand before they go into sophister years”, Whelehan noted.
The document outlines that progression should be regulated on an annual basis and that students should be allowed to carry failed modules from semester to semester, but not from year to year. Overall, the proposals would standardise regulations across all undergraduate programmes.
Morash said that “the recommendations were given a first airing at the [Undergraduate Studies Committee] in order to see if they might throw up any unintended consequences, and that process will welcome the views of students”.
