Senior Fresh students taking the module Chemistry for Biologists are required to resit the exam next week due to “a significant number of students” reportedly breaching College’s exam regulations. According to reports, certain students discussed the content of the exam questions in a group chat before the exam had finished.
Today, students who took this module received an email from Senior Lecturer and Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Dr Kevin Mitchell, informing them of College’s requirement for all to resit the two hour exam on June 3 at noon. The decision was attributed to the exam’s “integrity” being “compromised”, and the original sitting held on May 17 was “declared null and void”.
Mitchell wrote, “I understand that this situation will be upsetting and frustrating to those of you who adhered to College exam regulations. However, the actions of some of your colleagues have undermined our process and corrective action must be taken”.
Subsequently, Professor Eoin Scanlan, Director of Teaching and Learning (Undergraduate) and the Module Coordinator, acknowledged that the “decision may seem incredibly unfair” for those who did adhere to exam regulations. However, the ruling was justified on the basis that certain students may have “gained an advantage by contravening College exam regulations” during the exam.
According to College, the upcoming exam will have the same format as the original and will be open book. It will take place via Blackboard and will be proctored. Students with LENS (Learning Educational Needs Summary) reports will be accommodated as usual. If students cannot attend the resit on June 3, they can defer until the reassessment period in late August.
Speaking to Trinity News, a student taking this module commented “honestly, I think this whole situation is so frustrating and upsetting. Not just having to repeat an incredibly difficult exam, but only being given just over a week’s notice when so many of us have jobs or are in the process of moving back home. It’s a huge extra stress that none of us need after such an awful and demanding semester.”
Mitchell informed students that any future attempts at breaching exam regulations will result in “serious disciplinary actions for those involved, up to and including the possibility of being suspended from College”.
