One of the questions raised by students at the Faculty Assembly held on 25 February was why not all lectures specifically those attended by final year students were being recorded.

They complained that some of the venues were not big enough for the classes and that note taking while sitting on the floor was very uncomfortable. The answer to this query was that although recording was possible at some venues due to the university’s classroom renewal project, this was not the case at all venues. Lecturers also had to request that their lectures be recorded, with some fearing that should a recording be available, there would be very little incentive for students to keep on attending lectures.

Another issue that students wanted clarity on was why they were not given a deadline extension on essays. Instead when a student is unable to hand in an essay on time, they get exempted from that essay. The explanation given by faculty members was that three out of the five essays written by students counted towards their marks and thus they could be exempted from two essays and that this is done in the interest of fairness and consistency.

One student wanted to know what the faculty’s policy was on course readers in light of the fact that more and more readers are available online only. He wanted to know how students who don’t have access to computers are being accommodated in this matter.
Further issues discussed were the weighting of course evaluations and students having to pay every time they request a reprint of their transcripts.

Law Dean, Penelope Andrews, committed to following up on all the issues raised and keeping the faculty updated on them.
Deputy Dean, Debbie Collier, described the engagement with the students as healthy, adding that it stirred up “pedagogical issues the faculty will in the coming weeks need to reflect upon”.