Charles Sturt University to give students a second chance to pass if they score 40% per cent or more

An Australian university has introduced a plan to give students who score 40 per cent and above a second chance to pass their subject.

Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst, NSW, told staff on Wednesday that they will be implementing a new trial that will allow students who end their subject with a mark between 40 and 49 per cent to get a second opportunity to get the score required to pass.

The pass threshold is 50 per cent.  

The School of Social Work and Art, which includes education students, said the move allows students who narrowly failed to sit another assessment within ten days, providing them with another opportunity to pass.

The Head of the School, Sally Totman, said the trial aims to improve both the retention and success rates of students at CSU.

Head of the School Sally Totman (pictured) said the trial aims to improve both the retention and success rates of students at CSU

Several academics are outraged by the change, report the Sydney Morning Herald.

In one email to Ms Totman, an academic questioned whether the move was one that encouraged academic potential or is it just a money grab?

‘As an institution, does CSU intend on ensuring every graduate is competent and proficient to carry out the role their CSU qualification suggests they are? Or, do we just want to make sure they’re back on campus, adding to their HECS debt, next semester?’ they wrote.

‘When I fail a student, I actually mean it. It is not an easy thing to do. The pressure to pass students who don’t deserve it (to the detriment of those who work hard and have earned the honour) has passed endurance.’

Andrew Norton, a higher education professor at the Australian National University, said the benefit of the doubt was often given if students slightly missed the 50 per cent pass mark but extending that to 40 is a ‘serious fail’.

Many academics are outraged with the move, emailing Ms Totman complaints such as whether the move is one that encourages academic potential or one that is just a money grab

‘One response to this will be that more people will get 39. It’s also, obviously, a lot of extra work for academics,’ he said.

David Boud, professor and director of the Centre for Research in Assessment at Deakin University, said the move wasn’t too far-fetched and somewhat mirrored that of the United Kingdom, where students are often allowed to re-sit exams at the end of summer break.

‘If they get close to the boundary, they deserve another chance to have a go,’ he said.

‘There’s almost no assessment anyone does in higher education that you can measure to any degree of precision.’

David Boud, professor and director of the Centre for Research in Assessment at Deakin University, however, said the move wasn’t too far fetched and mirrored somewhat of that of the United Kingdom where students are often allowed to re-sit exams at the end of summer break