The University of Otago law school has apologised after an error was found in a third-year law exam.

That error was in the Law of Torts exam for third-year law students (LAWS301) on Friday.

In a statement provided to the Herald, Dean of Law Associate Professor Bridgette Toy-Cronin said students were told of the error 50 minutes into the exam

“A word was missing in one sentence of the question,” she said.

“This meant the question was answerable, but the way it was asked did not require students to provide the information that the complete question intended.

“The fact the question was worth 40 marks signalled to many that something was wrong.”

Toy-Cronin said the school has apologised to students and acknowledged the uncertainty and disruption this caused in an already pressured examination situation.

The Torts exam underwent the usual review process and the examiners accepted a recommended wording change.

University of Otago Dean of Law Associate Professor Bridgette Toy-Cronin.

“During editing, a phrase was inadvertently omitted, narrowing the scope of one question,” Toy-Cronin said.

“The error was not detected in the final proofing stage as it did not appear obviously incorrect.”

The university confirmed the context of the examination disruption, caused by the original error and the correction, would be taken into account in marking the papers.

“We will release the marks as usual, once they have been confirmed through our examination process and external moderation.”

Toy-Cronin said students who feel their grade was not a fair reflection would have the option of a re-sit.

“The law degree is subject to external accreditation and we must ensure that all students graduating have sufficient knowledge to meet the standards set by the Council of Legal Education,” she said.

“The approach we are taking is to balance the needs of the students while also ensuring that the students, who will soon be lawyers, are well-equipped to advise the public.

“We are very sorry for the error and the stress it has caused,” Toy-Cronin said.