Major British university urges end to exams as part of plans to ‘decolonise’ its business school – because ‘they favour white students’
Exams and essay writing should be abandoned because they unfairly favor white students, according to a report from an elite university.
The University of Birmingham says traditional assessment methods are measures of ‘smartness based on white privilege’, adding that it is harder for students from ethnic minorities to succeed.
The university, part of the prestigious Russell Group of universities, has made a surprising claim in a new paper about how to ‘decolonise’ the business school.
He ruled that business degrees needed to change their systems and structures to break their ties with ‘colonialism and its legacies’.
In a commentary published with the report, Prof Sally Everett, of another famous university, King’s College London, waxed poetic about the ‘unearned advantages of being white’ and the ‘privileges of whiteness’ and defended a ‘decolonial consideration’.
He claimed that traditional assessment methods ‘perpetuate systemic inequalities’ and suggested that ‘low-stakes assessments’ such as ‘writing reflective journals’ should replace them.
The report concluded that face-to-face assessment practices, such as timed exams or graded essays, should be abolished as they are potentially ‘tools of exclusion’.
He said these ‘marginalised knowledge’ and devalued skills from ‘non-Western traditions’.
Join the discussion
How should universities evaluate students from different backgrounds fairly without lowering academic standards?
The University of Birmingham (pictured) says traditional assessment methods are measures of ‘smartness based on white privilege’, adding that it is harder for students from ethnic minorities to succeed
It’s all part of the equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) campaign launched by the university’s business department in response to the Black Lives Matter protests.
But Chris McGovern, of the Campaign for Real Education, said he was ‘saddened to see academic integrity discredited in this way’.
‘Traditional forms of written assessment discriminate on the basis of intelligence, not race,’ he insisted.
‘Students from the global south are belittled, infantilized and humiliated, treating them as intellectually inferior and inadequate. “We do not need the dismantling of the foundation stones of the Western world, but the colonization of awakening and empire,” he said.
The report, titled ‘Decolonising a business school in context: from theory to practice’, is part of a three-year project.
Other activities include taking business students to an art gallery to hear race theory interpretations of paintings and sculptures. The report included the following statements: ‘This study may be disturbing, but it is promising.’
Birmingham’s action is part of a larger push to get rid of exams in higher education because they are perceived to be biased against certain groups.
Universities are also under pressure to close the 2:1 gap in first places awarded to white students compared to their peers from ethnic minority backgrounds.
It is unclear how many academics have so far implemented the report’s recommendations.
A spokesperson for the University of Birmingham defended the project as ‘the product of academically rigorous research and discussions with academics within and outside Birmingham Business School’.
‘This report, prepared by colleagues at the business school, suggests a range of actions that can help students understand and explore these different perspectives.’
‘Birmingham Business School is a global business school educating students from all over the world. ‘Understanding the world from various perspectives is a critical skill we teach our future business leaders.’
