veterinary students handbook the first two years - Downing College

Assessment and Exams
Courses have been designed to allow students, wherever possible, to learn for themselves rather than
being passive recipients of instruction, and you will get far more out of your course and are more
likely to do well in your exams if you regard university as an opportunity to study what interests you,
rather than just learning a syllabus to pass an exam.
You will encounter two kinds of assessment.
Formative assessment is designed to indicate to you how you are progressing, on a weekly or termly
basis. Your College supervisor is the person mainly responsible for providing this kind of feedback.
Formative assessment, more or less informal, may also form part of some University-based teaching.
Summative assessment (end of year exams) determines your ability to proceed with the rest of the
course. The main science courses in your first and second year will be examined for two
qualifications:
• Second Vet MB, which determines whether you are able to proceed to the clinical part of
your veterinary course;
• Tripos, on the basis of which you are classed and will receive your BA degree. In addition to
the main science courses, there are other courses which are assessed only for the Second Vet
MB.
Each of the main summer exams in June is divided into three sections, and Sections I and II count for
the Second Vet MB. The general format is a 1-hour theory exam (Section I), which covers the lecture
material and consists of MCQs or short notes, and a 1 or 2 hour practical exam (Section II) covering
the practical material. Because these Second Vet MB exams constitute a professional qualification,
you will be expected to pass these at a qualifying level, and to demonstrate a basic knowledge and
understanding of the whole of the subject material in the courses. The marks obtained in these two
sections will then be added to those of Section III, to give a final Tripos mark.
Students often ask, “How much do I need to know to pass the exams?” The bottom line is that to pass
your professional qualification (Second Vet MB) you will be expected to show a good working
knowledge of the subject material in all your courses. Furthermore, you will be expected not merely
to know this material but, more importantly, to understand it and apply that understanding to the
solving of problems.
Courses will provide you with the scientific knowledge which veterinary surgeons need to have in
order to cope with today’s clinical practice, but we are also trying to show you that learning is a
continuous process and that practitioners will have to continue to develop their knowledge and skills
throughout their working careers. To do well in the Tripos, you will need to show a deeper
understanding of the material, and to be able to marshal facts into coherent arguments.
If you do not pass the Second Vet MB in June you will have one further attempt at a separate Second
Vet MB examination in September, unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as illness or
other good cause. If you require a third attempt, your College has to apply for this on your behalf to
the Faculty Board of Veterinary Medicine.
Section III consists of a 2-hour exam, during which you will be asked to write essays from a wide
choice of topics; this section does not figure in your professional qualification, and the marks
obtained count only towards your Tripos class.
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