A new report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) found that current restrictions on students being able to view and share their exam scripts reduces students’ opportunities to learn from past work and “undermines confidence” in the exam system. Currently, Oxford University students can access past exam scripts through a Subject Access Request, a process unfamiliar to most.
The report’s author Rohan Selva-Radov said that it reveals “a pressing need for greater transparency and consistency from universities.” Director of HEPI Nick Hillman concurred that “the issue of transparency in exams is not discussed within higher education as much as [HEPI] believe it should be.”
The report found that GCSE and A Level boards are far ahead of universities on this issue, with all exam boards having functionality for the sharing of exam scripts, while only 52% of universities do so currently.
In response, the report recommends that all universities publish a policy regarding their approach to letting students see their exam scripts. It goes on to say that all universities should allow their students to view exam scripts as a default and that they should adopt technology that would allow students to do so easily.
Oxford currently allows students to access past exam scripts through a Subject Access Request (SAR). The process, however, is not straightforward, with students needing to email Data Protection to submit an official request. Moreover, most students are unaware that this process even exists.
A PPE student who used SAR told Cherwell that “I learned about SAR from an Oxfess, so I was initially doubtful of it, especially as my tutor has never heard about SARs. But once I got my essay scores and comments I found it really helpful, so I wish there’s more clarity on how we can access our own academic information.”
