A farce. That is how the students taking the Europe in International Politics course view the delayed exam results.
Photo: Privately-owned.
By Thursday November 27, 20 workdays had passed since the 19 participants on the Europe in International Politics course submitted their exams. The results are still conspicuous with their absence, and they are yet to hear a single word from their professor, who is currently visiting Iceland.
“I’ve never had any problems getting the exam results before. It’s a pity that this occurs on the very last course of my Master’s program, especially since I have to wait for these results to be able to apply for my degree diploma,” says Simon Berg, one of the course participants.
15 Days
The University’s list of student rights states that grades are to be announced no later than 15 workdays after the exam. When the results still had not been presented after 15 workdays had passed, Simon Berg tried to contact the professor responsible for the course, as well as the study advisor, without any reply.
“Since I never experienced any trouble having my results announced on time, I hardly believe the problem lies with the registrar. So I suspected it was the professor causing the delay,” says Simon Berg.
In Contact with the Union
When Simon Berg’s attempts had gone unanswered, he contacted the Social Sciences Student Union, who forwarded the message to Jakob Gustavsson, who is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science. He contacted the professor, and said that the results would be announced November 26.
However, despite this they have not seen any remote signs of their results, nor have they heard anything from their course professor.
“Of course, it is problematic. There are usually valid grounds for delayed exam results. But in those cases, it is important that the professor inform the students,” says Senior Lecturer Jakob Gustavsson.
In this particular instance, however, even he has struggled to reach the professor, and he is still waiting for a reply to his last e-mail. The explanation might stem from the fact that she is currently on Iceland teaching. Outside of this case, Simon Berg accredits his professor, saying that she is one of the best at the Department.
“But I don’t think it should take this long. I also find it particularly comical since, during this particular course, the pressure to submit seminar assignments on time has been very high. So it’s a bit peculiar that the actual professor is unable to operate within the given time frame,” says Simon Berg.
Review Pending
Nobody knows when the results might be announced. Jakob Gustavsson reports that the reason behind the delay will be reviewed. Simon Berg and his fellow course mates, continue waiting.
Since my course mates are aware of the fact that I contacted the Union, they’ve started to ask me to report any updates on the case. People have reacted differently, but one of them has described the whole situation as a farce,” says Simon Berg.
Text: Tindra Englund
Translation: Maximilian Aleman-Tennell
First published on lundagard.se
