Coroner’s response - 09/02/22

We have responded to the Coroner’s letter involving the tragic death of our student Mared Foulkes.

Mared was a valued member of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the wider University, and we would like to again express our sincere condolences to her family and friends at this time.

In our response to the Coroner, we have outlined a number of immediate and on-going actions.

We recognise that the process for the ratification and release of our in-year resit results could be complex and confusing.

As a result, all available results will now be ratified at the University’s Main Examining Board meetings in June. This means that students will know the outcome of all assessments they have taken, including in-year resits, and will not have provisional results that are subject to later ratification in September.

The practice of using a notional or estimated mark to record an academic ‘fail’ where the student has not met a competency standard has been stopped with immediate effect.

A review of the published results transcripts is already well underway and will provide results for all component parts of a module, clarify the assessment date and attempt number and confirm any progression, resit requirement or academic award.

We are also determined to improve the tone and language of all our written communications to our students. We will make explicit reference to where students can access help and support available from their School and the wider University if they are concerned about their results.

These actions will all be in place before the release of our next set of results in July 2022.

We hope these actions demonstrate our determination to respond to the concerns raised by the Coroner.