Repeat exams/years and capping of results..Fair or unfair??

KittyeeTrix · 07-05-2012 11:20PM #1

It has been suggested in another thread that the capping of results at 40% for repeat examinations/years is fair by some but has been judged to be unfair by others??

What do ye think?

Personally I believe it is fair that results are capped as repeating students have a far greater time to study at a time when lectures are not happening so are at a distinct advantage with respect to the results they can achieve.

If results weren't capped, sure why would anyone do them weeks earlier!

Cathal O · 07-05-2012 11:29PM

While 40% is quite a harsh level, cappig itself is perfectly fair, If it was decided to discontinue capping, I would say a lot would fail on purpose in order to acquire more study time over the summer, there would be no incentive to do well the first time.

KittyeeTrix · 07-05-2012 11:32PM

Cathal O wrote: »

While 40% is quite a harsh level, cappig itself is perfectly fair, If it was decided to discontinue capping, I would say a lot would fail on purpose in order to acquire more study time over the summer, there would be no incentive to do well the first time.

I agree with you Cathal O that 40% is very harsh but then I see a lot of my own classmates who are delighted to get a 40% mark so maybe it only seems harsh to certain students

joeKel73 · 07-05-2012 11:56PM

Capping repeats at 40% is fair. If there's no cap some people will deliberately fail half their exams so they can split the study over two exam periods.

If someone looks like failing for a genuine reason (serious illness etc) then they can apply for a deferral... which should not be (and isn't) capped.

ciano1 · 08-05-2012 12:53AM

Capping repeat exams, fair enough.

Repeat years shouldn't be capped though.
If you're willing to put in the work to make up for the year that you fúcked up then you should be allowed to repeat an entire year without penalty (Aside from repeat fees etc).

Reillyman · 08-05-2012 01:01AM

ciano1 wrote: »

Capping repeat exams, fair enough.

Repeat years shouldn't be capped though.
If you're willing to put in the work to make up for the year that you fúcked up then you should be allowed to repeat an entire year without penalty (Aside from repeat fees etc).

Personally I'd be really annoyed if I graduated with say a 2:1, and the person who messed up the year and failed it came back and got a higher degree. If repeat years aren't capped then you should be able to repeat a year to get a higher mark even if you passed.

skinny90 · 08-05-2012 02:14AM

Does this happen in all faculties?
Personally I agree with capping it makes sense

BooRadley21 · 08-05-2012 08:35AM

First post here and I'm already causin trouble

I understand where ye're all comin from that it's abit unfair to the students who put in a decent effort, but extra money is paid so why not take that option if it is there?
Agreed 200 euro isn't much, so maybe the repeat exams should be capped to a certain extent, but I'm sure people agree that even if u get 88% in a repeat that means you still only get 40 overall, maybe it could be capped at at least 50% to keep you on a 2.2?
To be honest I never even thought of failin an exam on purpose just to get a better mark, but now that it was said I'm sure it's been done. I always at least tried to pass them all at once, even if I did fail miserably...
However I think if the repeat year actually being capped at 40% is very ridiculous, and I do think that anyone should have the choice to repeat a year if they feel they can improve their grade somewhat. That's how it works in the leavin cert right? It's not like you can do it for free, you still have to pay the repeat fee (fluctuating anywhere between 1600 and 3000 it seems) and add accomodation and everything else in between on top of that and youre talkin about no small sums of money here, and you don't get the grant either. People are always gonna have the arguement that you should have just done it the first time but some people (me included) have to learn the hard way, and I have. I know I ****ed up and just want to be able to rectify it, and not get punished for the rest of my job life just because I had one stupid and irresponsible year...

Reillyman · 08-05-2012 09:43AM

Yeah but you're 4th science, so you're 22/23 yeah? I mean by that age you should have the cop-on not to flunk a final year, if you were a first year or something I'd understand, but when someone fails a year without a valid reason it's just plain unfair that a repeat year isn't capped at at least some level, say 50% like you said.

ciano1 · 08-05-2012 12:46PM

Reillyman wrote: »

Personally I'd be really annoyed if I graduated with say a 2:1, and the person who messed up the year and failed it came back and got a higher degree. If repeat years aren't capped then you should be able to repeat a year to get a higher mark even if you passed.

Why should you care what anyone else gets?

joeKel73 · 08-05-2012 12:51PM

If they're doing the same course they're likely to be competing for the same jobs.

ciano1 · 08-05-2012 05:18PM

J o e wrote: »

If they're doing the same course they're likely to be competing for the same jobs.

If they're repeating, you'll have a year head start on them in the jobs market!

PomBear · 08-05-2012 09:16PM

People don't always repeat the year due to arseing about and being lazy I should point out.

I don't think many people would intentionally risk failing the exams second time round the achieve higher grades. If they fail repeats, you're repeating the year, it's a big risk to take.

Ficheall · 08-05-2012 09:37PM

PomBear wrote: »

I don't think many people would intentionally risk failing the exams second time round the achieve higher grades.

You're mistaken, though. Plenty of people do it. Far more than would do it if the marks for the repeats were capped.
One script came through the office the last day, for example, where someone had written enough to pass the exam, but at the end crossed it all out with a note to the tune of "Nevermind - I'll sit the repeat in Autumn!", which is a bit ****ing ridiculous if you ask me. People email in after the exam asking that if their mark is below 50, could the examiner fail them instead so that they could do better in the Autumn.

I won't say what happened in any of the above cases, but I would, if it were up to me, have told them all to go and jump.

Fionn MacCool · 08-05-2012 10:08PM

I think capping is fair, but the repeat fee is not. How it's a fixed fee I do not know... pretty much tells you that it doesn't represent an actual cost to the university. If you have a bit of a nightmare with your first exam, I can see why someone might sack the rest of them in favour of doing the repeats since you're going to be paying the same anyway.

What's the score with not turning up btw? Are you required to attend to the original exam in order to repeat it?

Fried_Man · 09-05-2012 11:33AM

ciano1 wrote: »

Why should you care what anyone else gets?

Why wouldn't you, if someone that does the same degree as you gets more, their degree is essentially worth more. So if you make an honest effort and get whatever, and the person who failed gets another go at it and gets a higher mark, his degree is "better" on paper, even though it took them 2 years what you did in 1 year. Totally unfair.

Fionn MacCool · 09-05-2012 12:48PM

Fried_Man wrote: »

Why wouldn't you, if someone that does the same degree as you gets more, their degree is essentially worth more. So if you make an honest effort and get whatever, and the person who failed gets another go at it and gets a higher mark, his degree is "better" on paper, even though it took them 2 years what you did in 1 year. Totally unfair.

Would employers not know if you repeated a year?

The opportunity for people to fail 'on purpose' is there for everyone so it's not really unfair. I'm sure a majority of people would rather not spend the time and money repeating exams or years anyway.

reap-a-rat · 09-05-2012 02:54PM

I'm sure plenty of people do fail knowing that the repeats are there as back up but I think repeats (as in Second sitting repeats) should be capped so it's fair across the board. Deferrals shouldn't be capped, in my opinion, as the majority of deferred exams are for legitimate reasons.

I can't understand why one would fail on purpose though - you're losing days over Summer when you could be working/having fun and it's costing you money. Crazy attitude to have from a college student.

Noo · 09-05-2012 03:02PM

I thought you couldnt repeat your final year? If you fail you get an Ordinary Degree (for the 3 years you did pass, if doing a 4 year honours degree). Someone who fails their final year cant possibly end up with a higher degree than the others, and rightly so.

Fried_Man · 09-05-2012 03:04PM

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

The opportunity for people to fail 'on purpose' is there for everyone so it's not really unfair. I'm sure a majority of people would rather not spend the time and money repeating exams or years anyway.

That's the problem, it's not there for everyone, only certain degrees have uncapped repeats.

Fionn MacCool · 09-05-2012 03:28PM

Fried_Man wrote: »

That's the problem, it's not there for everyone, only certain degrees have uncapped repeats.

Didn't know that, fair enough. One would assume some employers respect certain degrees more than others though, maybe they factor that in?

Ficheall · 09-05-2012 04:20PM

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

The opportunity for people to fail 'on purpose' is there for everyone so it's not really unfair.

It's not "right" either though...

Fionn MacCool · 09-05-2012 05:31PM

Ficheall wrote: »

It's not "right" either though...

Well like Whitney Houston said, it's not right but it's okay.

Mind you she never went to college. And she smoked crack.

I_smell_fear · 12-05-2012 01:31PM

It does seem a pretty unjust system. Some job applications require a transcript of results so that would show up people repeating exams etc I suppose.

Anyone know where you can find out whether the Autumn repeat exams for your course are capped?

ru437z9t8fidq2 · 12-05-2012 03:06PM

does anyone know if deferred exams are capped? Got sick and had to defer one

Fionn MacCool · 12-05-2012 03:10PM

Forrest Wailing Surface wrote: »

does anyone know if deferred exams are capped? Got sick and had to defer one

Don't think so. Isn't that the whole point of deferring them?

When people say Autumn repeats, do they mean the ones at the start of August? Is that autumn? This is a game changer...

I_smell_fear · 12-05-2012 06:16PM

Fionn MacCool wrote: »

When people say Autumn repeats, do they mean the ones at the start of August? Is that autumn? This is a game changer...

Yes, i suppose I mean the beginning of August/end of summer exams Mr. un MacCool. But the words are soo alphabetically similar?! Damn you illogical seasons names!

Fionn MacCool · 12-05-2012 07:55PM

Didn't meant to sound pedantic, was just curious. We need all the summer we can get really.

Ficheall · 12-05-2012 08:16PM

Eh.. August is in Autumn...

joeKel73 · 15-05-2012 02:42PM

ciano1 wrote: »

J o e wrote: »

If they're doing the same course they're likely to be competing for the same jobs.

If they're repeating, you'll have a year head start on them in the jobs market!

You'll be competiting against those from the same course who did it the previous year though.

Fionn MacCool · 16-05-2012 02:58PM

On a related note, say you have a module where the exam is worth 70%, this would mean you'd need around 55% (cba working it out..) to get a 40% overall grade, right?

What if you got 45%? You'd pass the exam but fail the module.... and have to pretty much sit the same exam again, to get the same mark again?

Repeat exams/years and capping of results..Fair or unfair??

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