Think of it as if you missed too many labs in any other college, its a very practical course after all.
And I thought the point of 3rd level education is that passing was only an indictation that you had learned something, not the goal. The reputation of any course can’t be worth much if it possible to get your cert/diploma/degree/etc. by simply passing the exams. It has to be about the taking part, the research, and the projects rather than a 3/4 hour writing exercise at the end of it.