King’s College London, wants to reduce “over-reliance” on traditional exams, with students to be offered more choice in how they are assessed, such as coursework.

Essay word counts will be lowered to avoid “over-burdening” students.

Outraged students have penned an open letter criticising the word limits, while lecturers accused the university of “dumbing down” assessments.

A slide headed “equality, diversity and inclusion” said lecturers should focus on “ideas not grammar”.

Assessment should be “culturally responsive” and "reward the use of 'language culture and identity" while marking should “embrace linguistic diversity” according to the new framework.

Students were separately told some of their essays would be capped at 1,300 words, down from 2,000 at the moment, in a bid to reduce stress.

Nearly 70% of students at King’s are from an ethnic minority background.

“They seem to be claiming students are snowflakes and can't cope, but students have set up a petition against it.

“These young people are looking at the tough labour market and they haven't got time for all this.

“This is management trying to be 'down-with-the-kids' and classically getting it wrong”.

He warned it could unleash a wave of students seeking to overturn their grades “on the basis that their ‘culture and identity’ hasn’t been respected.”

Dr Edward Skidelsky, lecturer in philosophy at the University of Exeter and director of the Committee for Academic Freedom (CAF) told the Daily Mail the changes were “attempts to dumb down assessment in the name of ‘inclusivity’."

He added they were "being pushed by university managers against the will of academics and students themselves, the best of whom hunger for an education that is deep and rigorous."

A spokesman for King's College London said: “Standards at King's remain as high as ever. Our approach still includes rigorous exams, alongside other forms of assessment that help students build the practical skills employers are looking for.

"We have worked closely with students, alongside academic experts, to develop this approach so that our graduates are ready for the workplace – without compromising academic integrity.” (GB News)

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