Henceforth, students of the University of Ghana will be graded over 70 per cent for assignments while examinations results are marked over 30 per cent, as against the reverse that until now, was the practice at the tertiary institution.
The decision, according to the Dean of Students of the university, Professor Godfred Alufar Bokpin, is occasioned by the difficulties brought to learning and teaching due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus.
He added that students returning to school will have limited academic work and so more emphasis would be concentrated on assignments more than it would be on examinations.
Prof. Bokpin made this known in an interview in Accra during which he assured students that their concerns to the university management have all been taken into consideration and that they have put in all necessary adjustments to ensure the planned short time for the semester is without any challenges.
He further stated that students will no longer be held accountable in terms of contact hours which were calculated as three hours a week for three-credit courses.
“So what the modular system which is being used now means is that the contact hours per week is going to be doubled,” he said, adding that the contact hours with faculty would have been 26 hours in the normal stream of 13 weeks of lectures.”
He also admitted that it is because it will be impossible for students to catch up on the things they would have originally covered in 13 weeks that this new grading system is being introduced.
On the subject of the split system to be run by the university, Prof. Bokpin explained that from January, Level 100 and Level 400 students would begin their first semester while Levels 200 and 300 students begin theirs in March.
“All these measures are tailored at managing on the number of students on campus at a particular time, as a measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus,” he said.