Hey everyone!
Today myself, Nate and Moc attended a special meeting of University Senate to discuss amendments to academic regulations because of the impact Covid-19 has had on teaching and learning this academic year. We are pleased to announce that after lengthy discussion between AberSU and Aberystwyth University, it was decided today that the University will adopt a safety-net approach to assessments this year.
AberSU are extremely thankful to the University for finalising this decision in students' best interests, as well as to you, the student body, for being proactive in voicing your opinions on the matter through academic reps, petitions, letters, and emails.
Although we understand that to some students this change may have been introduced later than hoped, we want to assure you that AberSU has believed in this approach for Aberystwyth University from the start. Covid-19 has proven to have had a detrimental impact on this year’s student body through no fault of anyone, and it is only right that adjustments be made to ensure our graduates have a fair shot at their degree. We believe that the approach taken by the University is the best and most innovative way of ensuring that students are able to achieve their best, while still leaving this institution with robust and well-earned qualifications.
This article will explain all the key points students should know as simplistically as possible; however it is important to note that you should always refer directly to the university’s communications and resources for certain clarifications. That being said, if you have questions about anything below, please feel free to get in contact with me at suacademic@aber.ac.uk, or our advice service union.advice@aber.ac.uk.
So, on to what you came here for: the safety-net adjustments.
In a normal academic year, a student would only be entitled to an uncapped re-sit on a failed assessment if they have submitted and been granted special circumstances by their department. This, however, is no normal academic year.
Here are the key points you should be aware of…
- Special circumstances forms are no longer required for the rest of this academic year, and is instead automatically applied to all students.
- All students will be granted an automatic uncapped re-sit opportunity on FAILED or non-submitted assessments.
- Depending on your current year of study, some students will also be eligible for an uncapped re-sit on PASSED assessments.
How will the re-sits work?
- If you are in the final year of your course (PGT, 3rd year UG, 4th year integrated masters etc.) when receiving your overall degree classification at the end of this academic year, you will be able to accept the mark as is or reject it and re-sit one or more assessments to improve your classification.
- If you are not in your final year, but your assessments will still count towards your overall degree (2nd year UG, 2nd & 3rd year integrated masters, etc.), you will have the opportunity to request to re-sit any assessment or module, pass or fail.
- For any assessments that will not count towards your final degree class (this is for you, freshers), an uncapped re-sit opportunity will only be available on failed or non-submitted assessments.
- Any mark achieved during a re-sit will only stand if higher than the original mark you achieved – if you don’t improve your mark the second time, it won’t count, and the original mark will stay.
- Students re-sitting a previously passed assessment will get ONE opportunity to do so in August 2021. You will only be able to re-sit at a later date than this if granted special circumstances at the time.
Well, that’s everything! We hope that this policy will give you the security you need to produce your best work and alleviate some of the worries you may be facing right now. A massive well done and thank you Aber students, the university, and the rest of the team at AberSU for your input on what I am claiming to be a massive win for students today.
Now, good luck on your results and future assessments; go and rock the rest of this year!
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to get in touch.
Signing off,
Chloe Wilkinson-Silk
Academic Affairs Officer