London: UK`s prestigious Oxford University made a rare blunder after the institution accidentally leaked a list of worst-performing students` marks in an email to hundreds of fellow pupils.
The email, sent accidentally by an administrator on Monday, disclosed the names of students who were awarded marks graded 2.2 and below in their first-term exams at University College, Oxford.
A 2.2 university grade is any result above 50 per cent, but lower than 60 per cent. The Oxford Student newspaper reported that a mistake on an Excel document meant that the names and marks of almost 50 students were sent out on an email originally written to inform students of timetables for upcoming exams.
The document contained only marks of 2.2 and below - revealing each student`s name, percentage and subject.
Abigail Reeves, president of the University College`s Junior Common Room, said that the staff member responsible was "mortified" by the mistake, `The Independent` reported.
"We would like to apologise to all students affected by this inadvertent disclosure for any distress this has caused and reassure them that we are investigating exactly how this happened and are determined to make sure this does not happen again," said Dr Anne Knowland, who is the senior tutor of University College.
"University College takes the treatment of sensitive data very seriously," Knowland said. It is believed that the email may have been sent to hundreds of students. The college has 372 undergraduate and 221 graduate students.
