The package of mitigation measures for this year’s examinations has been updated to include eight potential options for Faculties and Departments to change examination or coursework requirements.

This follows yesterday’s announcement (15/02) of general mitigation measures, including: automatic progression for first and second year students, a system of ‘cohort equity’ based on examination results for previous years’ students, and ‘impact statements’ of Covid-19 related disruption. 

The options available to Faculties and Departments allow for potential major changes to exam assessment, such as: making an element of assessment pass/fail for the whole cohort or excluding the lowest mark achieved for an element of assessment. In either case this would mean the element of assessment would not contribute to the calculation of the class for that student.

Alongside this, the scope of assessment could also be changed by increasing the choice of optional questions or reducing the number of required questions in an examination.

Faculties and Departments could also make changes to dissertations and coursework. This includes: changing titles, structure, or content, replacing dissertations with extended essays, and moving exams to coursework.

The adoption of specific measures from the options available will have to be negotiated by the 26th February and communicated by the end of Lent Term at the latest.

In his announcement, Graham Virgo stressed that “Faculties and Departments will consider, in consultation with student representatives, possible adaptations to examination or coursework requirements”. 

Cambridge SU reiterated this, highlighting how the package of measures is a list of potential changes to examination or coursework requirements that are not guaranteed. 

The SU note they “will be supporting students and academic reps throughout this process to ensure that they are properly consulted, and that appropriate modifications are locally adopted in every Faculty and Department”.

Cambridge SU commented on the news, saying that following the University’s refusal to implement a no detriment policy, the mitigation measures are  “ testament to the hard work of students and student representatives, who have spent the past few weeks pushing for a set of measures that acknowledges the unique disruption that they have suffered this academic year.”

The SU added: “Though it’s not everything we pushed for, together we have brought the University to the negotiating table and secured a package of measures which is a vast improvement on original proposals. We believe all faculties and departments should work collaboratively with academic reps to adopt the most appropriate exam modifications from the list of options provided.”