GR GOES BROADSHEET TO CELEBRATE OUR FINAL ISSUE OF THE YEAR
We reminisce on a year of sport and look forward to Euro 2004
p24 - 25
Our guide to all things graduation p11 FREE
JUNE 7 2004
ISSUE 766
free word - EST. 1972
SHORTLISTED FOR DAILY MIRROR BEST STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Cardiff graduates pushed extra mile By Anna Hodgekiss News Editor Cardiff students must scrape five per cent more during assessment than their counterparts at other Welsh colleges, making it easier to graduate from a lower-ranked university. While all other University of Wales colleges have a 35 per cent pass mark, Cardiff students must secure at least 40 per cent. The impact of the higher pass mark is that a student at Cardiff University who averages 39 per cent will not graduate, while a student with 35 per cent at any other University of Wales College will secure a degree. Cardiff University was ranked the 21st best university in last year’s Times Good University Guide. Its nearest neighbours in the league table were UWIC at number 45, followed by Aberystwyth at 49. The Union’s Academic Affairs Officer, Billy Lee, told gair rhydd, "The 35 and 40 per cent discrepancy is an ongoing and controversial debate. "The University’s academic departments are divided on the issue. Numerous surveys have been conducted across the 23 schools to assess staff opinions, and the majority of them wish the pass mark to remain at 40 per cent." The inconsistent marking policy has further ramifications than simply obtaining a degree or not. With Cardiff students needing an extra five per cent, the boundary at which a pass becomes third class honours is also five per cent higher. Mr Lee said, "I know of a student who needed an honours degree to get on a Masters course after graduating from Cardiff. Had she attended another University of Wales institute and achieved her percentage, her application would have been successful." And the merger between Cardiff University and the College of Medicine (UWCM) this summer has led to UWCM students also falling victim to the raised pass mark. Medics and other professions allied to medicine only need 35
per cent to pass, yet this is likely to rise to 40 per cent from September. But students who find themselves hovering on the pass-fail borderline may be comforted by the fact that noone will leave Cardiff University empty-handed. Should a student fail a core module after four attempts, they are not permitted to continue their degree. Instead they receive exit awards - in the form of diplomas or certificates - which recognise their time spent at the University. Despite this procedure being in place, Mr Lee emphasised that only a very small percentage of students fail every year. He defended the University’s pass mark requirement, saying, "It is Cardiff University’s mission statement to be a world class university, so our students should be performing to a high standard. "Yes, at other University of Wales colleges the pass mark is 35 per cent, but with Cardiff topping the league compared to other Welsh institutions it was decided that 40 per cent should be the pass mark." One borderline third year Physics student, who wished to remain anonymous, said, "I’m livid that someone, from say Swansea University, which is lower down the league table than Cardiff, may have a lower average than me and get a degree, while I won’t. "Employers will look at my CV and see I didn’t graduate which is the most important thing about my three years here."
A spokesperson for Cardiff University defended the decision, saying: "Independent government figures show that fewer students leave Cardiff University without a degree than is the case for the average of our comparator institutions. This indicates that Cardiff students are not disadvantaged by the standards which the University sets, and also indicates the University’s commitment to supporting the success of its students. "The module pass mark in all undergraduate programmes in the University of Wales (including Cardiff) is 40 per cent "How such module outcomes are aggregated to produce a final percentage upon which the degree classification is based - varies between institutions and between courses within institutions across the higher education sector. "The University of Wales, through its enabling regulations, allows an unclassified pass degree to be awarded from a minimum of 35 per cent. At Cardiff the level is set at 40 per cent. "However, comparisons between different awards from different institutions are not meaningful or helpful, without consideration of the details of programmes and their stated expectations of students which are made clear at the time of entry into programmes of study. "Students from Cardiff University work hard to earn a worthwhile qualification, the quality of which is highly valued by employers and others."
UNIVERSITY OF WALES RANKINGS
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY GRADUATION RESULTS: CLASS OF 2002-3:
(From The Times Good University Guide)
Cardiff – 21 UWIC – 45 Aberystwyth – 49 Swansea – 50 Bangor – 56 Lampeter – 61 UWCN Newport - 92
1st – 459 (no. of students) 2:1 – 1927 2:2 – 896 3rd – 96 Pass – 46 Fail – 28
Uni of Wales looks forward to strong future - without Cardiff By Peter Bramwell News Editor
A
senior University of Wales official has announced that UW is not a dying institution even though Cardiff University, its biggest member, is set to leave this summer. Anthony Chapman - the man who steps into the shoes of the current Senior Vice Chancellor of UW, Professor Derec Llwyd Morgan, later this year – issued a statement last week, hitting back at suggestions that the UW is on the verge of breaking up. He said, "If it didn’t already exist, then now would be a good time to invent the University of Wales.
"We are living in a climate where collaboration and joined-up thinking is essential in the provision of top quality higher education and where the National Assembly for Wales wants to ensure our academic institutions are at the cutting edge of developments. "The UW is tailor-made to support, represent, encourage and ensure that." He added, "Even when Cardiff leaves, this summer, we will still be, by far, the largest University in Wales and one of the largest in the UK. “Despite going its own way, Cardiff can see the value of retaining a linked status with the University of Wales and significantly, medical students, absorbed through the merger of UW
College of Medicine with Cardiff University will continue to study for a University of Wales degree. “They will do so because they recognise that, in the medical world, the Wales degree is highly regarded and because this will facilitate their collaboration with other parts of UW.” He summarised, “In the past, the argument that you ‘can’t have a university within a university’ has precluded that from happening. And the issue has, in Cardiff’s case, triggered the parting of the ways. “We need to help minimise costs by providing centralised services and we need to encourage true collaboration between departments and disciplines.”
NICK GOMERSALL: Victim of burger-van trader stab-attack
Student knifed outside Union By Peter Bramwell News Editor A student escaped with his life outside the Union last week after a burger-van trader allegedly attempted to stab him in the stomach. In the early hours of Sunday morning Nicholas Gomersall, 22, was left with a slashed arm after fending off a blow to his abdomen by a man wielding a knife on Senghennydd Road. He claims a number of illegal fast-food traders had tracked him down in a van to instigate a reprisal for an earlier incident on Park Place just minutes before. And with the incident coming just two weeks after gair rhydd reported the problem of illegal burger-van traders on Park Place was a time bomb waiting to explode, the worst fears of Union officials are now being fulfilled. The third-year Marine Geography student said, "I left Come Play about 20 minutes before the end and went to get some food from a burger van at the bottom of the union steps. I asked the guy serving what I could get for £2.50, but he replied that the cheapest thing was a hotdog for £3. "So I said ‘well actually you
TARGET AREA: The knife could have hit a vital organ
guys haven’t even got a licence so I’m well within my rights to take this sausage.’ I was pissed off that they are making money out of students and then do things like pissing behind their vans and not washing their hands, so I stole a sausage from the van. "I felt that stealing from them – something I wouldn’t have normally done – was OK because of what they get away with." The man serving is then reported to have come out of his van and grabbed the student’s hat, shouting “this guy is a thief ”. But with the crowd building up at the bottom of the steps, the two men slipped, and then tustled on the floor. They were then pulled apart by bystanders. Nick said, "We then started walking home, but after crossing the bridge on to Sengehydd road, we realised that in the mean time they had packed up and come looking for me. They found us between the Union and the Woodville pub. Two men and a woman, all Asian-looking, jumped out of the van. "I was quite scared but luckily I had some friends with me to back me up. “They were completely abusive. The guy I had tussled with previously came up to me and went to punch me in the stomach, but I managed to block it with my arm. “I realised then though that he had tried to stab me in the belly, but because I managed to block it, he only slashed my arm. "After that they got back in the van and drove off. My arm was dripping with blood. “I was worried that the knife could have transmitted infection to my arm so when I got home I cleaned it with disinfectant." The man was Asian, of medium build, aged around 30, fairly short, with long hair but also balding on top. Keith Owen, Union Bars Manager, has since denounced
the incident as ‘extremely worrying’. He said, "This only goes to prove that the people we are dealing with will go to any lengths to protect their business. “At the end of the day, they hunted a student down and stabbed him for the price of a hot dog – which is about 10p. "Buying from these illegal traders is a risky business as they have a very low tolerance. Students are vulnerable. "The police and council do try to address this issue but their time and resources are limited. The fines that are set should be much higher. Maybe they could get powers to impound their vans or make illegal trading a criminal offence with custodial sentences as punishment." Nick added, "I feel like I had a lucky escape. Students are going to be coming out of the Union in
“At the end of the day, they hunted a student down and stabbed him for the price of a hot dog – which is about 10p”
Keith Owen
high spirits, and it is wrong to react in the manner they did. They are not even licensed. "My advice to other students would be do not use the burger vans. First of all they are ripping us off and secondly they are dangerous. They probably treat us with contempt."