Heading towards year 3 exams (uni 2017)

[Xenia]

Continuation of www.mumsnet.com/Talk/higher_education/3538808-heading-towards-year-2-exams-uni-2017 as we have reached page 40.

Hard to believe they are all in year 3 now and many will finish university in June 2020.

I'm hoping they don't use year 2 results to work out a grade. DD had some issues in year 2, which meant she got lower grades than she should have. She has been working her socks off this year to try and raise her grade, so she can get on to her next course / job.

She should have assessment grades for this year though SMaCM? Those would help wouldn't they? Not ideal though, that's for sure.

Just that DD has been putting a lot of effort in this year to try and get a first....

There are a lot of students who significantly raise their game in the final year - it's a normal and quite healthy strategy. Going off previous years results also make a difference if the course is one which starts broad and then lets you focus on areas of special interest.

Bristol will be having exams and term will restart after Easter as far as my son has said anyone and they break up this coming Wednesday, a bit early.

Yes that's bound to be the case but it would have to be evidenced somehow and final year assessments would be the way to go. Much harder for the subjects which have no exams or assessments between first and final year though.

I'm interested in the idea of online exams - how would those work, esp for incredibly slow typers?

My son mentioned online exams. He said the lecturers had not yet decided what will be done or how it would work. He said perhaps it could be "open book". I don't see how it would be easy to stop cheating if people are in their bed room and could have all kinds of other people present to help them in a way they could not in a supervised exam hall.

Typing everything in wouldn't work for all subjects. Maths equations, diagrams...

Off the top of my head... clock starts from when you've fully downloaded the paper. Final step is to photograph any handwritten material, upload these back to the uni. Time limits would be increased.

I don't see how it would be easy to stop cheating if people are in their bed room and could have all kinds of other people present to help them in a way they could not in a supervised exam hall.

Would anyone other than either one of the other students sitting the exam at the same time or an academic from that course being able to actually help a 3rd year? I can't imagine anyone else being anything other than a hinderance.
Well, if students can't be trusted then make them do their exams with a camera set to record video?

Bristol have apparently just announced that they are reviewing graduation processes/requirements.

I assume there will be a certain amount of wait and see how things progress in the next couple of weeks .

In the meantime DD is tracking the progress of her friend on a year abroad in Spain. She has travelled a couple of hundred miles to an airport, then a flight to London and travel onwards tomorrow. Only a couple of days ago, DD was still hoping she would be able to visit at Easter.

The usual problem with open book exams is time, so that would be ok if the students were timed out after three hours or whatever - but that's where the problem with slow typing comes in.

Sorry Errol, I missed your post. Yes, all makes sense.

My dd is studying in Italy . Her University has halved the time available for the students to complete each exam paper ( so no time to look up answers ), and their laptop cameras are on to check the identity of the student completing the paper. Tough conditions.

Thanks for that info about Bristol sleep, I'll give DD a call.

I hope the late July graduations remain on track particularly as I have already paid for the hotel!!

Same Xenia. I booked two nights in Durham back in October, the day the dates for DS4 came out. I did pre-pay/ no cancellation to save 10% (still over £550 because the hotel nearly triples its prices for graduation days, along with freshers' drop off day - mine will be the cheapest price of anyone ).

Gonegrey31 I don't understand how halving the time makes sense?

Same here Xenia.

DD doesn’t have any exams actually, just big essays for the modules she chose and her diss. So I guess could be the same for the whole course though different modules assess differently

DD1 is not sure about her exams, but as she's meant to be doing an integrated Masters, her exams are not quite so critical this year. A decision is meant to be being made by 31st March.

I picked her up yesterday, which was what we arranged at the start of term. As the car was not very full, we rang DD2 whose lectures & labs have all been cancelled and picked her up too. I went from having just me & DH at home to both DDs last night, then I drove to Manchester to pick up my dad today so we can keep a proper eye on him. He's next door, but we will do all his shopping so he limits his contact with others. I suspect the person most likely to encounter the virus will be me as I'm still teaching. I don't want to sound uncharitable (especially as goodbyestranger's DD goes to the school) but I would be relieved if we could shut early for Easter.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for (mid) July graduation ceremony. I'd booked our hotel with free cancellation, so if it is cancelled, we shouldn't lose the money.

No exams for DS either, just a final practical piece which is almost done but has been a nightmare already due to flooding caused by the storms. He thinks the uni will close this week which will cause more problems because there is some expensive technical software he needs to use that is on campus.

Goodbyestranger
The shortened examination time is apparently so that students have to crack on with typing answers as soon as possible, with no spare time for researching answers /referring to notes etc . No time to reflect on your answers either . Dd found it pretty challenging but thinks it’s quite a fair way in circumstances where students can’t be supervised. But unfair on those who type slowly, that’s for sure

Just spoken to DS2 in Adelaide. He's decided he wants to stay there as the Australian response seems to be well organised. The university has had restrictions in place in the halls of residence since the 2nd week of February.
He feels he would be putting himself at greater risk going through airports and sitting on long haul flights.

My mum is almost 82 and my MiL is 87 and has just finished 4 rounds of treatment for small cell lung cancer which puts her in a vulnerable position.

I do supply work in schools and if I had to self isolate for 2 weeks after he came home I would have no income. Most of my work is paid at TA level these days due to tightened school budgets, but it's better than nothing.

I feel very sad for those students for whom this is their last term. All those lovely summer celebration balls that may not be able to go ahead now.

Gone, I suppose that assumes every student has a lap top - in the UK some are too poor to have one and that if they have one they have a web came they can attach to it or that it comes with one - not the case for many either.

A laptop or at least a tablet seems like essential kit for students nowadays - it certainly is for DDs course.

We just had a long talk with her - things are a bit chaotic, the department says they will do online exams which she's dubious about. She walked past her department while talking and said there was a flood of academics carrying laptops, monitors etc emerging - obviously all getting themselves set up to work from home. But she's been told her college isn't closing - they have foreign students, and also domestic who don't want to leave for a variety of reasons (parents currently with symptoms, parents in high risk groups already self isolating ) . She thinks that some colleges (perhaps they older ones which don't have decent kitchen facilities?) will shut and others will stay open and accommodate those that needed.