The additional examination opportunity (A4 assessments) provided by Stellenbosch University (SU) caused some confusion among students, due to a lack of surety around the requirements needed to qualify for the opportunity.
This was according to Shirah Theron, a master’s student in the philosophy department at SU. The A4 assessments were made available for SU students who were affected by the unrest and looting that took place in South Africa in July, according to Prof Stan du Plessis, chair of the institutional committee for business continuity (ICBC) at SU, in the email.
Stellenbosch University (SU) students will have an additional examination opportunity to write the June/July examinations. No provisional examination marks from A2 or A3 assessments are needed in order to gain entrance into the A4 assessments, said Dr Susan Hall, lecturer in the philosophy department at SU. PHOTO: Heléne Leonard
“From what I understand, is that you usually need to obtain a subminimum of 40% in the first examination opportunity (A2 assessments) in order to gain entry into the second opportunity. But for the additional assessment opportunity, A4, it seems as though you do not need a subminimum requirement,” said Theron.
The announcement of this opportunity was initially made on 17 July via an email sent to all SU students. “A4 provides an assessment opportunity for students who have missed an A2 or A3 assessment, which is required for the completion of a semester module,” said Du Plessis, in the email.
The A4 assessments are only available for first-semester modules, according to Martin Viljoen, spokesperson of SU. More students than originally anticipated have written A4 assessments, he added.
Access to A4 assessments
Students only had access to A2 or A3 assessments if they had at least a 40% predicate mark, said Dr Susan Hall, lecturer in the philosophy department at SU, in email correspondence with MatieMedia. If a student wrote either A2 or A3, or neither A2 nor A3, they will have access to A4, she said.
Shirah Theron, a master’s student in the philosophy department at Stellenbosch University (SU), talks about the difference in requirements between A3 and A4 assessments at SU. A student does not need to acquire a subminimum in the A2 or A3 assessments in order to gain access to A4 assessments.
“Students who have written both A2 and A3 will not have access to A4,” said Hall.
Each faculty chooses the dates for their respective A4 assessments, with all remaining A4 assessments taking place during September, according to Viljoen.
The A4 assessments work in a similar manner to A2 and A3 assessments. One difference that is being implemented during the A4 assessments in philosophy is that you do not need a subminimum in A2 or A3 to have access to A4, said Theron.
“[The subminimum requirements] will depend on the assessment provisions of the relevant modules,” said Viljoen. Therefore, there is no umbrella rule for the subminimum requirements, he said.
For Philosophy 144, 524 students registered for the examination, according to Hall. Of those, 126 students wrote the A3 assessment and 384 wrote A2. While 39 students qualified for the A4 assessment, only 26 eventually wrote it, she said.
“[The A4 assessment] was a pleasant experience overall because I had another opportunity to write the exam,” said Matthew Wakefield, second-year BA (humanities) student at SU who participated in the A4 assessments.
According to Shirah Theron, a master’s student in the philosophy department at Stellenbosch University, she did experience some confusion when she read through the emails received from the university regarding the A4 assessments.
*The article has been updated on 16 September 2021 to rectify a comment attributed to Martin Viljoen, which was written by Prof Stan du Plessis in a mass email sent to Stellenbosch University students.