British University To Teachers: Your Capital Letters Are Upsetting Students

A university in the United Kingdom is so concerned about the fragile egos of its students that it has banned lecturers from using capital letters when assigning work.

Leeds Trinity released a memo to its staff regarding their students in which the university stated that uppercase letters might “scare them into failure.” In addition to that ruling, the memo also instructed the teachers to make sure their writing was friendly and eschewed overbearing and negative language.

The memo stated, “”Despite our best attempts to explain assessment tasks, any lack of clarity can generate anxiety and even discourage students from attempting the assessment at all. Generally, avoid using capital letters for emphasis and “the overuse of ‘do’, and, especially, ‘DON’T’.” Additionally, the memo also says that staff must be “explicit about any inexplicitness” when assigning work, and added that when students were not clear about an assignment, “they often talk to each other and any misconceptions or misunderstandings quickly spread throughout the group (usually aided and abetted by Facebook). This can lead to further confusion and students may even then decide that the assessment is too difficult and not attempt it.”

One employee protested that capital letters were necessary so students would not miss an important part of the assignment, adding that the education system was treating the students as if they were children: “We are not doing our students any favors with this kind of nonsense.”

Professor Margaret A. House OBE, Vice-Chancellor at Leeds Trinity University, told Mirror Online:

At Leeds Trinity University we support our students to be the very best they can be. We’re proud to offer a personal and inclusive university experience that gives every student the support to realize their potential. We follow national best practice teaching guidelines and the memo cited in the press is guidance from a course leader to academic staff, sharing best practice from the latest teaching research to inform their teaching.

For every assignment, academic staff have an “unpacking” session with students so the students are clear on what is expected. The majority of universities do this. It is also about good communication and consistent style. For example, it is best practice not to write in all capital letters regardless of the sector. We are absolutely committed to enhancing and enriching the student learning experience at Leeds Trinity, where staff and students are a name not a number.

We support students to achieve their full potential, and we are proud that this is reflected in the University’s employability statistics with 95% of our graduates in employment or further study within six months of graduation, and also in our very successful alumni community.

As Yahoo Finance reported, “The move is the latest in a string of incidents which have seen universities criticized for pandering to students. The University of Manchester’s students’ union replaced applause with ‘jazz hands’ at one event to alleviate stress among the anxious and people with sensory issues. Kent University last month was criticized for banning students wearing ‘offensive’ costumes, including cowboy outfits or sombreros, in case it affected students’ right to a ‘safe space’ at the institution.”