Uni offers ‘seriously failing’ students second chance to pass

Students at Charles Sturt who score as low as 40 per cent in a subject will be given a second chance to pass in a strategy to stop students from dropping out. Academics,however,fear it will compromise standards.

The School of Social Work and Arts,which also teaches students from the education faculty,told staff on Wednesday about a new trial to allow those who finish a subject with a mark of between 40 and 49 to sit another assessment within 10 days.

At Charles Sturt,students who score as low as 40 per cent for their subject will be given another chance to pass.

At Charles Sturt,students who score as low as 40 per cent for their subject will be given another chance to pass.Robert Rough RNR

The aim was “to improve the retention and success of our students”,the Head of School,Sally Totman,wrote.

However,several academics have raised concerns that the university is lowering standards to keep fee-paying students. In an email to Totman,one questioned whether universities were still places of learning and teaching or had become businesses chasing money.

“As an institution,does CSU intend ensuring every graduate is competent and proficient to carry out the role their CSU qualification suggests they are? Or,do we just want to make sure they’re back on campus,adding to their HECS debt,next semester?” they wrote.

“The double speak of ‘retention and success’ only really refers to ‘retention’. There is no real ‘success’ if the university continues to accept potential students who are clearly not capable of successfully completing the subject/course.

“When I fail a student I actually mean it. It is not an easy thing to do. The pressure to pass students who don’t deserve it (to the detriment of those who work hard and have earned the honour) has passed endurance.”

Another,who also did not want to be identified,said many universities gave second chances to students who had failed by a mark or two. “When I give someone a 40,it is not a marginal fail,” they said. “It’s not even close. It is a very poor score.

“I don’t think the public wants people teaching at high school who have scored 40 per cent.”

Under new federal laws,students who fail to pass 50 per cent of their subjects now lose their Commonwealth funding. A spokesman for the university did not respond to a question about whether this was a factor that drove the decision,but said the sole purpose was to allow students to demonstrate they have met learning outcomes.

“The trial will be evaluated based on staff feedback,and the number of additional assessment tasks
issued and their outcomes,” he said.

Andrew Norton,a professor in the practice of higher education at the Australian National University,said students were often given the benefit of the doubt if they just missed the 50 per cent threshold for a pass,but extending it to 40,which was a “serious fail … seems likely an overly soft policy.

“One response to this will be that more people will get 39. It’s also,obviously,a lot of extra work for academics.”

However,Professor David Boud,the director of the Centre for Research in Assessment at Deakin University,said giving students an extra shot at passing was not uncommon,especially in the United Kingdom,where they were often allowed to re-sit examinations at the end of the summer break.

“If they get close to the boundary,they deserve another chance to have a go,” he said. “There’s almost no assessment anyone does in higher education that you can measure to any degree of precision. Five[marks] or so is within the bounds of error. I do think going all the way to 40 might be stretching it.”

Salvatore Babones,a Sydney University sociologist who has written extensively about language standards for international students in his role as a fellow for Centre for Independent studies,said Charles Sturt’s move could strengthen academic standards.

“Instead of pressuring academics to lower their standards and pass students through,they’re saying it’s okay to fail students,we then want them to improve their standards,” he said,pointing out that CSU students were more disadvantaged,and might juggle university with work and caring responsibilities.

“It’s very difficult to fail at the arts and social sciences at any of our universities. Failure is typically the result of non-completed work,rather than low performance.”

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Jordan Baker is Chief Reporter of The Sydney Morning Herald. She was previously Education Editor.

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