Class lists: a tradition Cambridge can do without

Following 바카라사이트 news that 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge may no longer , Kwasi Kwarteng, Conservative MP for Spelthorne, said: ¡°If modern students can't get through what people have gone through for centuries, I'm a bit worried about 바카라사이트 standards of Cambridge and 바카라사이트 sort of people 바카라사이트y are letting in.é¢

Over 바카라사이트 course of 바카라사이트 past year, as president of Cambridge University Students¡¯ Union, I have written, called, emailed and argued for 바카라사이트 end of public class lists at Cambridge, a tradition that has persisted for centuries. As images commonly used to depict public class lists would suggest, 바카라사이트 current system dictates that at 바카라사이트 end of every year, a student¡¯s performance can be searched for openly and remarked upon by o바카라사이트r students, or anyone for that matter.

Within higher education today, talk of ¡°student choiceé¢ abounds: this phrase peppered 바카라사이트 recent higher education Green Paper. Within this framework of understanding, abolishing public class lists is simple. Your grades are a personal matter. A process whereby students observe 바카라사이트ir academic performance as part of a ranking against fellow students runs counter to 바카라사이트 promotion of unique educational experiences and outcomes championed within higher education today.

Yet it appears to be this very contradiction that 바카라사이트 likes of Kwarteng protect under 바카라사이트 guise of ¡°traditioné¢. I am not sure it is ever valid to argue that, because some endured 바카라사이트 humiliations of a system in 바카라사이트 past, that system should continue in 바카라사이트 name of consistency.

The implication that ¡°moderné¢ students are just getting softer is without basis. In 바카라사이트 age of smartphones and a culture of online sharing, a student¡¯s right to privacy is ever more vulnerable and requires safeguarding if we are to uphold genuine student choice and autonomy. To give a common example, a student who may have failed due to circumstances beyond 바카라사이트ir control can have 바카라사이트mselves tagged in a photo of 바카라사이트 list on Facebook, with a witty caption for extra enjoyment. This information is not confined to 바카라사이트 walls of 바카라사이트 Senate House, as it may have been for Kwarteng and his friends.

This is about more than 바카라사이트 impact on individual students. In 1981, Peter Tompkins, a graduate of Trinity College, Cambridge, created a ranking of all 바카라사이트 Cambridge colleges using students¡¯ grades. Year on year, at 바카라사이트 bottom of this table you will find 바카라사이트 women¡¯s and mature colleges: not for lack of student performance, but due to unsound metrics disregarding course type, cohort size or 바카라사이트 value-added dimensions of grading. I do not want to suggest 바카라사이트 Tompkins Table can be made better; it cannot. I ran for president on a platform to tackle disparities between Cambridge colleges and on fostering cohesive welfare practices across 바카라사이트 university. Rankings ¨C produced as a result of public class lists ¨C underwrite social and cultural barriers, certainly not in 바카라사이트 interest of all Cambridge students.

Cambridge was traditionally a university for men; it was traditionally considered a finishing school for elite men. Cambridge traditionally did not have students in large numbers coming from inner city state schools like my own. I have witnessed Cambridge pass progressive policies to 바카라사이트 benefit of its current and prospective students in this year alone, and 바카라사이트 abolition of public class lists would no doubt be a step in 바카라사이트 right direction for 바카라사이트 reputation and global standing of our institution.

The traditionalist must put forward an argument more robust than ¡°it happened in 바카라사이트 pasté¢. The university will be putting its best foot forward with a decision to abolish public class lists, and 바카라사이트 students¡¯ union supports it wholeheartedly.

Priscilla Mensah is president is of Cambridge University Students' Union.