University students call for removal of compulsory English proficiency study unit

University students have called for the removal of an English proficiency study unit from their mandatory workload.

A petition which is being circulated online has already garnered over 1,266 signatures at the time of writing, with students claiming they were not informed about the unit.

“We haven't been informed about this study unit when we applied to this university, and it would exceed the recommended 60ECTS credits, causing many students to have severe difficulties focussing on the study units they have come to study at the University of Malta,” the petition reads.

The study unit starts in the second semester of Year 1 and continues into the first semester of Year 2. All students will be grouped according to their discipline or course in these lectures. They will consist of core skills such as writing and presenting as well as communication and academic skills.

The students are saying that the inclusion of the Communication and Academic Skills Programme (CASP) would see them exceed the recommended 60 ECTS credits to be obtained for each scholastic year.

The UOM website says the CASP is “a university-wide initiative that values both your growth as future graduates and as professionals in such diverse areas of specialisation which either already exist or are evolving.”

It says the new programme helps students find the voice to “think critically and nd facilitate the development of effective communication through writing and presenting using both general and discipline-specific conventions.”

“The hassle they put us through to remove just one extra ECTS, and now we are subjected to an additional 8, which were forced upon us without our consent,” the petition reads. “Furthermore, other European universities let you graduate with 180ECTS credits, and suddenly, we would need to make 188ECTS now; which is unfair, especially when last year's students did not attend the said course.”

Student organisations voice their concern

Student organisations Pulse and SDM have both expressed their concern on the implementation of the new mandatory study unit.

“The fact that non-attendance or failure in these units is reflected on the final certificate of the main course of study raises questions about their usefulness and fairness. This creates a situation where students are unfairly penalized for not attending or failing in optional units that are not directly related to their main course of study, and that they were not fully informed about,” Pulse said.

Pulse said a separate certificate, reflecting students’ language proficiency units would be a more appropriate solution. “Pulse believes adding more stress to an already stressed student is not the ideal way to go about this, especially as in previous years if one would obtain a C or better in English, either advanced or intermediate, would exclude the student from studying an additional unit.”

SDM said many students find it difficult to manage their University course as it is already, let alone add an ‘extra study-unit’ along with the rest of their lectures.

“Students informed us that in their specific course, they already have a similar if not identical study-unit which taught them everything they need to know such as writing and presentation skills when it comes to the assignments they have in their years at University. Students admit that they found these study-units helpful especially since they are 1st years but wish to ask, why do they need to sit for a similar study-unit if they already learnt about the same skills in another study-unit?” SDM said.

They said the test should not be compulsory, but rather an optional study-unit, only for students who wish to strengthen their skills to better their marks. 

"Too many misconceptions regarding the unit's mandatory character," KSU says

KSU is now in contact with the University of Malta to fully understand how and when CASP was first given to students, in order to provide input for years to come and to chart a course for the current cohort. 

"We are also collecting information from first-year students in order to learn their opinions on the problem," KSU said in a press statement. 

According to the responses received thus far, there appear to be misconceptions regarding the unit's mandatory character and what it comprises.

It is KSU's belief that UM will address questions about ECTS and credits given through CASP, as well as how this would affect a student's final degree. 

“As a general note such programs should be holistically incorporated into all levels of education to foster a culture of critical thinking and learning, and deviating from the parrot-like learning the system tends to favour.”