Staff concerns ignored as exam results massaged at De Montfort
Students who underperformed in examinations were allowed to progress to the next year of the MPharm course at De Montfort University school of pharmacy in Leicester avoiding resits, despite concern from lecturers and external examiners. This is according to a report in the Times
Higher Education Supplement following the release of documents last week in a ruling under the Freedom of Information Act.
In March last year, allegations of irregular assessment practices — including
raising the results of four first-year modules by between 6 and 14 percentage
points and two second-year modules by 2 points — were made in the
THES. Marks were raised after 50 per cent of students failed to reach
the pass mark in some modules. The Royal Pharmaceutical Society subsequently
put the university on probation pending
an investigation (PJ, 28 May
2005, p635).
This week the THES reports on the minutes of an Extraordinary Subject
Assessment Board meeting held at the university on 16 June 2005, at which
it was noted that “unless drastic measures were taken, the programme
could lose a percentage of students high enough for the dean to recommend
redundancies”. On 28 June, the four external examiners, who did
not attend the ESAB meeting, wrote a letter of complaint to the vice-chancellor
of the university to record their “profound reservations”,
the THES reports. The decision to raise marks also led to the resignation
of Andrew Twitchell, a pharmacist and module leader, who believed it
to be “academically indefensible”.
Philip Green, director of education and registration at the Royal Pharmaceutical
Society, explained that the Society required the university to implement
a five-point action plan in order for probationary status to be rescinded
and last month a team of the Society’s accreditors returned to
the university to assess the extent to which the Society’s concerns
had been addressed.
“The team noted substantial progress with the plan, especially
with a scheme to offer additional support for those students whose marks
had
been raised at an ESAB in 2004. The team also spoke to past and present
external examiners who confirmed that, with the exception of the 2004
ESAB, MPharm assessment procedures were appropriate and they were in
no doubt standards were being maintained and were comparable to those
elsewhere in the sector. The Society will continue to monitor the implementation
of its action plan until it is complete,” said Mr Green.
A De Montfort University spokesman commented: “We have thoroughly
reviewed all processes and have made changes where appropriate. We continue
to have every confidence in the quality and robustness of the pharmacy
modules and course, in the staff that teach the modules and in our students.” |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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