Advice needed re: failing a year of your degree

[red rose]

My boyfriend failed his second year of university. It got hard, he panicked and stopped going in, didn't hand in any coursework or attend any lectures of the second term.

About two months ago he contacted his personal tutor and explained that he'd really been struggling with personal problems and said that he knew he'd made a mistake in the way he'd handled things. His personal tutor emailed him saying that he would be able to repeat the year.

He just got a letter through saying that a 'progression and award board' met last month and decided that based on his 'results profile for the year' he has not 'met the criteria' to continue on his course, he will be awarded a certificate in higher education instead and his registration on the programme is now terminated.

He's understandably devastated and so I'm trying to handle this, I emailed the enquiries people for his department asking why he wasn't told about these criteria or the meeting, why he was told he'd be able to repeat the year and what his options are for appealing but I don't have any experience with this and I need advice.

Should I be getting information from Student Services? or a representative from the students union? I thought for a minute that maybe this was just the letter saying he's failed the year and then a second will show up offering to let him repeat but it says 'registration is terminated'

I would imagine this is because of his poor attendence and lack of coursework but he explained to his tutor about that and his tutor said it would be fine. I just really need some advice as to what his options are.

If anyone could tell me what to say to him that would help too, because he isnt talking or anything and I dont know what to do.

 

[red rose]

I've found this on the university website...

3.1 A student may appeal against a decision of a Progression and Award Board on the following grounds:

3.1.1 that there exist circumstances materially affecting the student’s performance which were not known to the Progression and Award Board when its decision was taken, and which it was not reasonably practicable for the student to make known to the Board beforehand (Note: if students wish to appeal on such grounds, they must give adequate reasons why this information was not made available to the Progression and Award Board before it reached its decision)

3.1.2 that there were procedural irregularities in the conduct of the examinations and/or assessment procedures

3.1.3 that some other material irregularity has occurred.

Obviously not being told about the meeting, he wasn't able to give any information about his circumstances. We have no idea what the content of the meeting was or what his 'results profile' looks like so we don't know if his personal tutor was there or whether his email would have been part of the results profile or anything actually.

If the letter wasn't included or if he wasn't given an opportunity to provide information does that mean he would have grounds for an appeal?

I told him that I know this is major, and that I'm not going to say "it'll be fine" when I don't know that it will but that even though it seems it, its not the end of the world. And I said that I know he'll be beating himself up about this, but he didn't know that this would happen and he wouldn't have done what he did if he thought he'd be removed from the course and that he really needs to not tear himself apart over this. He just asked to be alone.

 

[subversplat]

If worst comes to worst can't he just move to a different university and start there from the second year? Perhaps keeping schtum about getting booted out....

 

[keicar]

I would telephone his personal tutor (or get him to do so). Be prepared to get the SU involved, but I'd try the personal tutor first. I'd bet the personal tutor forgot to pass details on to the exam board.

You get an extra years funding (but one only) for situations like this, so he should be able to repeat. I'm assuming he passed his first year first time around?

In theory he could also transfer to another uni, but you would need to take advice on this because the rules are complex.

I'd say personal tutor first, then programme leader, then and only then appeal with support of the SU.

 

[red rose]

Right well in his first year there was a slight issue of plagiarism - him and a couple of friends worked together on a piece of coursework and ended up scoring 0 because one of the diagrams they had to do looked too alike in each coursework, but he resat over the summer and passed easily.

He's going to call his personal tutor tomorrow, although everyone is disappearing for the summer this week I think. I've also emailed the student union for advice without naming him specifically until we have more information. I've also sent an email asking all these questions to Student Services (who are away for the next two weeks) and also to the Enquiries service for the Progression and Awards Board.

I didn't know there was a possibility of transferring to another university so thanks for that, and the funding information helps. I'll find out the contact details of the programme leader just in case we need to speak to them later on.

I suppose there isn't much more he can do now until they get back to us, I was just hoping for advice from someone who's been there or someone who works in higher education and has a better understanding of what he can do or who he should speak to.

 

[Dowie]

Don't know much about appealing for this kind of stuff - I'm pretty sure universities don't actually like kicking people out as it messes up thier stats and makes them look bad so him kicking up a bit of a fuss and appealing to as many people as possible could perhaps resolve the issue if he's genuine...

though what I was going to just add, just in case it doesn't work out, is that there is always the option of the open university - you can transfer credits gained at other universities and carry on a degree with them

 

[jbob]

I have some experience of working in univesity admin as an exams secretary, so I'll try to be as to the point as I can. Also, bear in mind I will be relating my experience from the institution I work in, so there may be some variation in his case.

Firstly, it's pointless you doing anything - it's his problem - he must deal with it. Regardless of the fact the university will read your involvement as a further example of his lack of commitment to his course, it is also illegal for them to discuss personal issues with other people due to data protection. The Student Union are about as useful as a chocolate fireguard, so forget about them too.

He would have been informed that there were meetings about his performance/lack of attendance. All universities are very vigilant on this point as they are concerned about legal issues that may arise from this. So, really, I find it impossible to believe that he was not contacted prior to his lack of coursework submission in the first instance.

After the failure to attend the performance meeting, his failure to submit coursework without a solid explanation (doctor's note, mitigating and verifiable personal issues, etc), will put him in an impossibly weak position (combined with the plagiarism issue in the first year).

He would have been notified about his re-sits.* There is no question about that as far as I can see. His failure to respond or re-sit makes it difficult for the uni to assume any other position than his registration is lapsed. Believe me, this is as serious as it gets. You have to try really hard to get chucked out of uni these days.

If he wants to continue (which is a question he really must ask himself seriously, rather than wasting everyone's time and money), then he must contact his personal tutor immediately and request a meeting. This is the first step, after which the Exams Officer becomes involved and must be notified if an appeal is to be made.

I think the problem here is clearly a lack of contact by your boyfriend. Uni's are incredibly tolerant and forgiving institutions (too much so, really, you are adults after all).

Just for info, it is a myth that all uni staff 'disappear for summer'. Oh that we did!

 

[keicar]

I have some experience of working in univesity admin as an exams secretary, so I'll try to be as to the point as I can. Also, bear in mind I will be relating my experience from the institution I work in, so there may be some variation in his case.

Firstly, it's pointless you doing anything - it's his problem - he must deal with it.

Agreed, although the OP can of course support him/ help him word letters/emails

The Student Union are about as useful as a chocolate fireguard, so forget about them too.

They vary massively. This is what (in theory) they are here for rather than cheap beer- in the same way that a trade union would try to help someone facing the sack

He would have been informed that there were meetings about his performance/lack of attendance. All universities are very vigilant on this point as they are concerned about legal issues that may arise from this. So, really, I find it impossible to believe that he was not contacted prior to his lack of coursework submission in the first instance.

In theory, yes, in practice they vary massively on how organised they are, not just from uni to uni but from dept to dept

After the failure to attend the performance meeting, his failure to submit coursework without a solid explanation (doctor's note, mitigating and verifiable personal issues, etc), will put him in an impossibly weak position (combined with the plagiarism issue in the first year).

Serious position, sure, but if his personal tutor really has said 'it's OK to re-sit' this could be as simple as the personal tutor not passing this on.

He would have been notified about his re-sits.* There is no question about that as far as I can see.

Again you assume every uni is as organised as yours clearly was. Not the case. Some have dreadful admin procedures.

If he wants to continue (which is a question he really must ask himself seriously, rather than wasting everyone's time and money), then he must contact his personal tutor immediately and request a meeting.

Agreed.

 

[wrysmile]

Rose, my love... why are you doing all the running around and emailing etc in this circumstance? I'm going a bit tangential, and may be out of order, but I'd just point out that trying to be someone else's motivator isn't always best. It should say a lot to you about his personality if he isn't the one suggesting or getting out there doing this stuff. (Lecture over, only mentioning it cause you're a doll and I've been in r'ships requiring me to be 'mother' to people and eventually it ends up sucking) Take care

 

[red rose]

Thank you for the information so far everyone, I'd just like to clarify - he really does want to stay on the course, but this is some pretty overwhelming news and I am just picking up the slack a bit whilst he gets his mind around it. I don't intend to do all the work for him and its a good point that if I did it may well count against him, I'm just trying to get him the information he needs so he can sort this out when its sunk in a bit.

He would have been informed that there were meetings about his performance/lack of attendance. All universities are very vigilant on this point as they are concerned about legal issues that may arise from this. So, really, I find it impossible to believe that he was not contacted prior to his lack of coursework submission in the first instance.

This I very much disagree with, I had some pretty serious problems with lack of attendance last year due to insomnia/depression/anxiety and apart from one of my lecturers emailing me no one said anything to me. I also know plenty of people on my course who really haven't been taking this year seriously and haven't received any notice of meetings or warnings. I think it varies greatly like keicar says.

Oh and the "disappearing off for the summer" bit is a direct quote from my mother who works in a university and told me that as of the 1st of August he would likely find it very hard to contact the people he needs to because they will mostly be going on annual leave.

 

[jbob]

Fair enough, red rose, and apologies if I came across a bit abraisvely!

Just to clarify, what I mean is that I find it hard to believe that your bf wasn't notified of his academic problems prior to the internal exam board sat and made their decision. In the case of my uni, this is part of the procedure so that the student can 'make representation'. (I don't mean this literally, students are not present at internal exam boards. What I mean is that letters are normally sent to inform the student of the failure to submit coursework, with the requirement that they contact their personal tutor to provide an explanation, which will then be presented at the internal exam board.)

Anyway, all is not lost, but as I say, he must contact his personal tutor and take it from there. It is still possible for him to effectively 're-take' the year, although it depends upon whether he is classed as re-sit or sit (capped mark) material.

Just out of curiosity: I'm a little surprised that he was allowed to re-sit after being caught plagiarising. In my uni this results in a '0' mark (or on occassion a 'capped fail' mark). This 'fail' can be carried over if it's in a year that counts (2nd), but of course it brings down the overall grade. It seems illogical to me that plagiarised work can be re-sat. Sort of takes the whole point out of it.

 

[ymu]

Fair enough, red rose, and apologies if I came across a bit abraisvely!

Just to clarify, what I mean is that I find it hard to believe that your bf wasn't notified of his academic problems prior to the internal exam board sat and made their decision. In the case of my uni, this is part of the procedure so that the student can 'make representation'. (I don't mean this literally, students are not present at internal exam boards. What I mean is that letters are normally sent to inform the student of the failure to submit coursework, with the requirement that they contact their personal tutor to provide an explanation, which will then be presented at the internal exam board.)

Anyway, all is not lost, but as I say, he must contact his personal tutor and take it from there. It is still possible for him to effectively 're-take' the year, although it depends upon whether he is classed as re-sit or sit (capped mark) material.

Just out of curiosity: I'm a little surprised that he was allowed to re-sit after being caught plagiarising. In my uni this results in a '0' mark (or on occassion a 'capped fail' mark). This 'fail' can be carried over if it's in a year that counts (2nd), but of course it brings down the overall grade. It seems illogical to me that plagiarised work can be re-sat. Sort of takes the whole point out of it.

On the plagiarism bit, I'd be very surprised if this case was treated that seriously. It's pretty borderline if they worked together to produce a sufficiently original diagram and then all used it, especially if the written work was well differentiated. I'd have no issue with my students doing this.

Correct on the exam boards. This is usually a pretty informal meeting with tutors, examiners and a university admin bod - to finalise exam results, agree who passed the year and who didn't but can carry on under x conditions. Mitigating circumstances plus what the student wants are discussed and IME it's quite difficult to get chucked out if you have a tutor speaking up for you. It's possible that his tutor didn't attend but he should still know what happened and why the decision was made, so he's the first person to ask.

 

[nadia]

I hate to be blunt but his lack of interest in sorting this out and all the stuff about missing everything because it got to hard suggests his heart isn't really in it. Give the guy some space to work out what he wants to do, even if that means taking some time out from it all before going back to full time study

 

[subversplat]

I hate to be blunt but his lack of interest in sorting this out and all the stuff about missing everything because it got to hard suggests his heart isn't really in it. Give the guy some space to work out what he wants to do, even if that means taking some time out from it all before going back to full time study

I was just thinking about saying this myself actually. Why not kick back and enjoy being an uneducated scumbag for a few years then go back as a mature student post-24. Careers aren't that important

 

[jbob]

Agree with the last two posts. It's pointless just going back and getting into the same cycle. It may be better to think of it as having some academic credits banked, so that rr's bf can go back into the second year at a later date. The chances are that he'll end up graduating with a better degree.

 

[jbob]

On the plagiarism bit, I'd be very surprised if this case was treated that seriously. It's pretty borderline if they worked together to produce a sufficiently original diagram and then all used it, especially if the written work was well differentiated. I'd have no issue with my students doing this.

True, and it was the first year as well, so students are cut a bit of slack. But it still doesn't look goood on the overall picture.

 

[keicar]

Agree with the last two posts. It's pointless just going back and getting into the same cycle. It may be better to think of it as having some academic credits banked, so that rr's bf can go back into the second year at a later date. The chances are that he'll end up graduating with a better degree.

Thats certainly an option to consider, but how would that impact on his eligibility for financial support?

"Support will be available for the length of your course, plus one extra year if needed, less any years of previously supported higher education study. "

How would that work if he left education and returned to the second year of another course in 3 or 4 years time?

 

[ymu]

Thats certainly an option to consider, but how would that impact on his eligibility for financial support?

How would that work if he left education and returned to the second year of another course in 3 or 4 years time?

Not a problem AFAIK. Your LEA, or whatever they are now, will pay for up to 4 years of undergraduate study - doesn't matter when you take them. If you only do one year of the first course, you could start a whole new 3 year course. IIRC you do have to justify lengthening the period of study, but I don't think this would necessarily be any harder starting over as a mature student than carrying on now.

He might need to get off his arse and do something for himself sharpish if he wants to persuade them that's he's serious about continuing (and completing) the course. If he can't, he'd be better off taking some time out and coming back to it when he actually can be bothered.

 

[red rose]

Well it looks like keicar was right, he spent the morning phoning people and asking questions and it turns out that the board just had no idea that he wanted to continue, presumably because his tutor didn't pass on the information They are going to send on another letter offering to let him retake the year.

Like I said before, he does really want to continue - I asked him directly and everything I was just finding stuff out to be supportive to give him time to freak out and get it out of his system. He did the actual work of finding things out and phoning people. I can see now that it came across like I was pushing him into it or taking over or something but I really was just getting the information together from as many places as possible so that when he was done freaking out this morning it would be there ready for him to sort through. And he knows he really needs to do the work this year and seek help if he's struggling.

And he also says that he got one email from one of his lecturers enquiring why he hadn't submitted a piece of coursework around Easter but that was the only correspondence he got this year. (He's been lurking on the thread but refuses to post - yes hello you cowardly lurking git!)



Thanks for all the information everyone

 

[keicar]

Well it looks like keicar was right, he spent the morning phoning people and asking questions and it turns out that the board just had no idea that he wanted to continue, presumably because his tutor didn't pass on the information They are going to send on another letter offering to let him retake the year.

Yay

 

[red rose]

Yeah he's so relieved. He never speaks to people on the phone either so it really shows how important this is (well I think so anyway)

 

[ymu]