A student who pursued a Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies degree at University College, Dublin, has claimed before the High Court that changes made to the exam regime unfairly benefited students who pursued the Erasmus programme.
Mr Angus Doran, Shanganagh Road, Killiney, Dublin, was granted leave to seek a number of orders against UCD in judicial review proceedings.
In an affidavit presented by Mr Michael Lynn, for Mr Doran, the student said that when he entered the college in October 1998, a regime applied under which the final degree awarded was determined on the results students obtained in their third and fourth- year examinations.
The regime applied to all students for that degree, including those who took the Erasmus programme. Students who opted for Erasmus would spend a year in a foreign country after their third year and then return to complete their final examinations in their fourth year. Mr Doran said he was led to believe this regime would remain in place for the duration of his programme. In October 1999, while he was in his second year, UCD changed the examination regime for students opting for the Erasmus programme. In their case, the degree was to be determined solely by their performance in their final year exams. However, students who had not opted for the Erasmus programme would still have their final degree determined by their performance in both their third and fourth-year exams.
This decision was made without properly informing him or other students and he only became aware of it around October 2000. The change afforded students who opted for the Erasmus programme a significant advantage over those who did not. Erasmus students had substantially fewer subjects and exams upon which their final degree would be determined.
Mr Justice Peart gave leave to Mr Doran to seek an order quashing the refusal of his appeal of his final exam results in September 2002. He also got permission to seek a declaration that UCD's Examination Appeals Committee decision was invalid.