Educators reject claims that university students are allowed to graduate with 'failing' grades

The University of the West Indies (UWI) and the University of Technology (UTech) have insisted that students who fail courses multiple times will not be offered a passing grade to allow them to get their degrees.

Campus registrar at the UWI Camille Bell-Hutchinson and UTech president Professor Errol Morrison last week denied claims that lecturers are pressured to offer passing grades to students who are repeated failures.

"Absolutely not. Not at all," said Bell-Hutchinson.

"We are about setting and maintaining standards here. We can't give them a passing grade because they can't pass a subject. No, that won't happen," declared Morrison.

However, students who fail repeatedly to get a passing grade in a particular subject may be given special considerations.

"Such cases may warrant further examination. For example, a student who fails to get a passing grade on more than one attempt for a particular subject may ask for a re-mark.

"Sometimes, also, a lecturer may be asked to review a particular grade given certain specifics," Bell-Hutchinson explained.

assessments

She said students assessment of lecturers are taken seriously by the university and some assessments may point to problems between lecturers and students which may affect examination results.

UTech's stance was equally vigilant and Morrison said the onus was on the students to secure the required passing grade to graduate.

"If UTech decided to pass them out after two or three failures we could pass out several. I have before me several letters from students who can't graduate, looking for a reprieve.

"But we can't do that, we would be throwing away the reputation we have worked hard to maintain," stated Morrison.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com