‘Processing error’: University of Sydney sends students’ exam results to cohort

The University of Sydney has blamed a “processing error” for the wide-scale dissemination of students’ exam results to other students at the university and plans to reissue results.

Exam results for courses across faculties including economics, arts and business were emailed to the incorrect students at the university, along with their genuine results, on Wednesday morning.

Undergraduate and postgraduate students were sent the results of several different students in subjects as diverse as applied ecology, accounting for decision-making, power conflict and democracy, and studying arts and social sciences.

“Your semester unit of study results are displayed below. Results will only appear if they have been approved by the university,” read the email received by one student, which was seen by this masthead.

The email contained the results of four courses in a master’s of marine science and management, which the student does not study.

On Wednesday afternoon the university again contacted students to say the wrong results were emailed, in addition to the students’ actual results, “due to a processing error”.

“Today, students received two results emails. You have one email with your results, and we assure you that these results are correct. This results email will match the units of study in which you were enrolled,” the afternoon email to students said.

The university’s deputy vice chancellor (education and students), Professor Joanne Wright, said that the emails were being investigated urgently, in an email to students on Wednesday.

“Earlier today some of our students received two emails, one of which contained incorrect semester 2 results,” she said. “We quickly wrote to them and assured them their correct results were included in the email that matched all their enrolled units of study.

“We’re now reissuing our semester 2 results emails and students should receive them later tonight.

“The emails with incorrect results did not include any other students’ names or personal identifiable information.”

It is unclear how many students received the results belonging to someone else, and what caused the problem.

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