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We laughed aloud and, with the sound, shook the water from the sky.
CARDIFF'S STUDENT WEEKLY
Issue Two Spring 2010
freeword - EST. 1972
Spring Edition inside
Creativity A showcase of Cardiff Students' Photos, Art and Words
ISSUE 923 MAY 10 2010
The start of something new?
Creativity
PHOTO: JAMIE THUNDER
Words Photos Art and dents by Cardiff Stu
Testing times for medics Final exams delayed due to venue mix-up Jamie Thunder News Editor Medicine students sitting their finals last week were forced to wait for an hour and move to a different venue after the exam room was double-booked with a conference. Over 300 students arrived at the All Nations Centre last Tuesday May 4 to sit the two-hour Knowledge and Understanding paper, due to start at 9am, but were told by invigilators that a conference was being held at the same place and time. Students then rang the Undergraduate Office, who were unaware of the problem, and the head of year came down to the Centre and instructed students to move to their usual lecture theatre at the Heath. Students also had to use a second lecture theatre because the first would have been too small and in breach of exam conditions. The exam eventually started at 10am, and lasted for an extra ten minutes to allow for people to use the toilet. A University spokesperson said
that the error was down to a misunderstanding between Registry and Academic Services and the All Nations Centre, not because of any error from the School of Medicine. Exams had been booked in November for May 4 and May 5 at the Centre, but when Registry told them the second exam had been moved to the Heath, the All Nations Centre thought both had been cancelled. It then arranged a local government conference for the Tuesday. A member of staff from the Centre confirmed this account, but added that the University had not provided the usual details before the exam, such as number of students, which would have alerted the Centre to the fact that the exam was still going ahead. One fifth-year medicine student, who asked not to be named, said most students initially reacted with disbelief. “At the beginning it was kind of funny and ‘typical Cardiff’”, she said. “Then it began to get scary, because how would we sit our finals? “Registry may have been to blame, but surely someone should’ve
checked? This is too important to just leave to chance.” The University spokesperson said that Registry was “enormously grateful to the Dean of Medicine and to all the staff in the School who played such a vital part in ensuring the examination could proceed that morning”. A formal report of the circumstances will be produced and considered by the Final MBBCh Examining Board in June, so individual students do not have to report the incident separately. However, the spokesperson stressed that if any student had any particular extenuating circumstances, they should contact the School. Although there is no suggestion that the School of Medicine was at fault in this case, the incident is another setback for Cardiff’s medics. Last year’s National Student Survey ranked Cardiff’s medicine students as the second-least satisfied in the country, and data handling errors last summer meant four students were wrongly allowed to pass their exams and begin working in hospitals.
DAVID AND NICK: As gair rhydd goes to print, Nick Clegg announces that he's with the Tories, and David Cameron says that the feeling is mutual. Will they form a coalition? Only time will tell. Gordon, meanwhile, looks to be out of the picture. Turn to page ten for more.
Election results explained >> page 10-11