Universities which restrict access to exam scripts ’cause students harm’

Universities which do not give students access to their marked exam scripts are causing them “harm”, a report has suggested.

Restrictive access policies are reducing university students’ opportunities to learn, according to a paper from the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi).

The think tank’s report said exam boards which offer GCSEs and A-levels are “further ahead” of universities in offering access to marked exam scripts.

It suggested that students should be able to view, make copies of and share their scripts as a “default position” – with minimal restrictions only imposed in exceptional cases where full access would incur excessive costs.

The paper, sponsored by the University of Manchester, gathered data on the approaches adopted by the 140 members of Universities UK (UUK) regarding student access to marked exam scripts.

It is one area where the higher education sector seems to have fallen way behind schools

It found that only about half (52%) of the universities, who confirmed that they run written examinations in at least one subject area, have a published policy on students’ access to exam scripts.

Policies “vary significantly” between universities, the paper found.

Of the 105 institutions whose practice on exam script access was made available to researchers for the paper, 34% give students the right to view their marked scripts and 19% prohibit students from viewing scripts.

Meanwhile, 47% leave the decision up to exam schools and faculties.

Some of the reasons outlined by university staff as to why access to scripts is not permitted were that students would not benefit, concerns about the additional administrative burden and maintaining academic integrity.

But the report said: “Restrictive access policies harm individual students and their institutions by reducing students’ opportunities to learn from past work and undermining confidence in the exam system.

“Without access to their scripts, students have no way to reflect on their performance in timed, closed-book assessments, or to understand how grade descriptors or rubrics were applied to their work.

“Increasing access would help address these problems, even in cases where examiners do not leave detailed comments for candidates.”

As expectations on higher education institutions continue to evolve, it's crucial that assessment practices keep pace, fostering a culture of openness and continuous improvement

The paper has called for universities to consider adopting technologies that help automate giving candidates access to scripts.

Rohan Selva-Radov, author of the report and an Oxford University student, said: “The newly gathered data in this report reveal a pressing need for greater transparency and consistency from universities in how they approach student access to exam scripts.

“As expectations on higher education institutions continue to evolve, it’s crucial that assessment practices keep pace, fostering a culture of openness and continuous improvement.

“Many of the senior university staff I spoke with identified historic inertia as a major reason behind restrictive policies remaining in place, while also stressing that new technologies offer a great opportunity for low-cost improvements in this area.”

Nick Hillman, director of Hepi, said: “The issue of transparency in exams is not discussed within higher education as much as we believe it should be.

“It is one area where the higher education sector seems to have fallen way behind schools.

“Students benefit from knowing how their marks have been arrived at and can learn vital things from the assessment process.

“This report is a wake-up call for institutions to look again at their practices and for policymakers to consider if clearer guidance is needed.”

Alex Stanley, National Union of Students (NUS) vice president higher education, said: “Ultimately, universities exist for students. If a policy is harming students’ capacity to learn, it must be changed.

“I hope all universities take note of this research by HEPI and give students access to their exam scripts.”