Galway Bay fm newsroom - NUI Galway has defended its repeat exam fee policy.
The university has released a statement following calls from Students' Union leaders to remove such repeat fees and also to give students the option to repeat exams if they feel they could have achieved better grades in normal circumstances.
In a statement released by the University, it says students who are in the most need of financial support can apply for a fee waiver for repeat exam fees, and access to this fund has been widened in the past year to reflect the financial strains under the current pandemic.
In the past year, the University states it has expanded supports for emotional and financial wellbeing to address the Covid-19 crisis.
It says there is no fee for deferring exams, and the repeat exam fee, which is unchanged for the last two years, supports all costs associated with repeats, from the setting and correcting of assignments in a more challenging context this year, to the hosting of exams online and the awarding of results.
NUI Galway has said it "charges a flat repeat fee and other universities charge a repeat fee per module," - adding that "more than 99% of students subject to the fee will pay less than in any of the other universities charging this fee."
