Students Protest Potential Changes to July Exams at La Laguna University
Students at the University of La Laguna (ULL) in Tenerife gathered this morning to voice their opposition against a proposed reform to the institution’s examination schedule. The university’s faculty has suggested eliminating the July exam session, a move students have labelled an “important cut” and a “loss of opportunities.”
Following a week of protests, both in person and on social media, and a petition that garnered around 7,000 signatures, the university’s assembly is set to vote today. They will choose between two options: Option A, which proposes reducing exam sessions to two with only two evaluations, or Option B, which maintains the current system of two sessions and three evaluations. A third possibility is that the assembly may conclude without reaching a decision.
More than fifty students welcomed ULL Rector Francisco García and Vice-Rector for Students María Rosario Hernández with boos and banners, chanting “shame.” Protesters also directed their frustration at other assembly members.
Inside the Aula Magna, the only space open to the public, students filled the upper area, with many having to stand due to a lack of seating as they awaited the assembly’s decision.
Gabriel Suárez, a representative from the student group Ágora, condemned the proposed changes, describing them as a sign of ULL’s troubling direction. He insisted that such decisions threaten academic rights and declared that students would not accept this shift. Suárez also highlighted that the proposal emerged during a meeting of the Statute Reform Commission, where only one student representative attended due to exam schedules.
He criticized the faculty’s actions as short-sighted and lacking solidarity with students. During his speech, he named peers who could be directly affected by the removal of July exams. For instance, 21-year-old Susana had lost her government scholarship but was able to recover it thanks to the opportunity to retake exams in July. She expressed concern that without this option next year, she might have to drop out.
The assembly’s secretary clarified that under the first option, the final exam would not dominate the assessment criteria. However, students are sceptical about the enforcement of this guideline.
Students cited issues with continuous assessment in various courses, arguing that they often have to achieve near-perfect scores to succeed, while still facing the risk of being directly pushed to extraordinary exams.
The faculty’s perspective was debated during the assembly as well, with representatives from the Alternative Programme for Faculty asserting that exams serve to qualify rather than educate. They stressed that the true right of students is to receive quality education through well-designed continuous assessment.
The session highlights ongoing tensions between students and faculty at ULL, with both sides passionately defending their positions on academic assessment reforms.
