University of Newcastle student’s petition wants to see semester one void, more lenient marking
A University of Newcastle student has outlined “major ultimatums” in a change.org petition, saying the online learning format offered by the educator amid the COVID-19 crisis is detrimental for students.
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A University of Newcastle student has outlined “major ultimatums” in a change.org petition, saying the online learning format offered by UON amid the COVID-19 crisis is detrimental for students and lectures of all backgrounds.
In her second year of a bachelor of pharmacy (honours), Melissa Talarico is calling for the University to consider voiding semester one and awarding all students a pass mark and for students to re-attempt their exams unconditionally.
She also wants to see significantly more lenient marking criteria and changing assessment criteria to allow students that make a valid attempt at any exam or assessment to receive a mark of "pass" or "fail".
“This petition is an appeal to the University of Newcastle regarding the academic outcomes of Semester and Trimester 1 and hypothetically further study periods affected by the contemporary Novel Coronavirus pandemic,” Ms Talarico stated on change.org.
“Although the University is voiding "fail marks" from students' academic records, I believe that this is not sufficient to relieve the stress induced by a sudden change to the education structure that is normally in place.”
The petition has already attracted over 2300 signatures.
With classes and tutorials moving online including laboratory and practical sessions Ms Talarico explained there is a general presence of anxiety and stress for many students.
“Online classes do not effectively emulate or deliver the quality of education desired in comparison to face-to-face education,” she said.
She also mentioned the difficulty for students like herself to gain a complete understanding of various learning objectives without the hands-on element.
Ms Talarico also addressed concerns of online cheating during online examinations and the detriment to students that may have learning difficulties.
“This mode of learning may be conducive to decreased motivation to study, difficulty concentrating and completing work due to a comparative lack of structure,” Ms Talarico added.
In response to the petition, The University of Newcastle’s Professor Liz Burd, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Learning and teaching) said degree standards in Australia are set by the Australian qualification framework.
“The University of Newcastle cannot and will not issue degrees that are not compliant with this framework,” she said.
“As a University with a strong community spirit, we are very focused on supporting our students to continue with and succeed in their studies.
“We are adapting many of our processes and will continue to explore ways to support our students and their individual needs so they can continue to move forward.”