It is 'elitist' to mark down incorrect spelling, says university's new marking policy
Marking down incorrect spelling, punctuation and grammar could be seen as “elitist”, a university policy says.
As part of efforts to “decolonise” the curriculum and ensure “equity of opportunity” between all students regardless of their background, professors and lecturers at Hull University have been advised against insisting on good written English in all circumstances.
It is one of a number of universities to have adopted "inclusive" marking policies in recent years which cites fairness and equality between students as a reason why lecturers should be prepared to overlook spelling and grammar mistakes in exams.
Hull University's marking and feedback policy explains that certain students are disadvantaged or discouraged when “technical proficiency” in written English is assessed.
This includes students who went to underperforming schools, who do not speak English as a first language or who have a long-term health condition.
“It can be argued constructing an academic voice means adopting a homogenous North European, white, male, elite mode of expression dependent on a high level of technical proficiency in written and spoken English, a mode of expression that obscures the students’ particularity,” Hull University's policy says.
“The University of Hull will now challenge this status quo. Our learning community will encourage students to develop a more authentic academic voice, a voice that can communicate complex ideas with rigour and integrity – that celebrates, rather than obscures their particular background or characteristics.”
Hull University said it balances its “inclusive approach” with academic standards by committing to the competencies set out by the Quality Assurance Agency’s subject level benchmarks.
Worcester University also has a policy on how to assess students “inclusively” which asks lecturers to focus marking on “how well the student has communicated their understanding” of the subject rather than on spelling, grammar and punctuation where they are not central to the assessment criteria.
The policy says it is “fairer” to concentrate on the quality of students’ ideas and knowledge rather than their spelling and grammar.
This is because some students are from “diverse backgrounds” so may be at a “disadvantage from the outset”.
The University of the Arts London has told academics to “actively accept spelling, grammar or other language mistakes” as long as they do not “significantly impede communication”.
Lecturers are also warned to avoid imposing their own ideas about the “correct English” on students’ work.
Universities are under pressure to increase their intakes of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The new chair of the Office for Students, Lord Wharton has urged universities to do more to boost their intake of white working class boys, adding that undergraduate numbers from this demographic are “horrendously” low.
Great strides have been made by admissions chiefs in recent years to recruit more school leavers from certain minority groups, such as those from Asian backgrounds, he said.
But this success has not been replicated with tackling the underrepresentation of white male students from deprived households, he said, adding that vice-Chancellors must do more to counter this.
