my brother is trying to resit the year.

Oldernotwiser

The only catered halls of residence listed at Scarbourough are on campus. Where was your brother living?

xcat_girlx

i couldnt afford to eat at uni and in the end had to work 40 hrs a week full-time for a month just to get back on level.

i missed a month of lectures and was thrown off my course

the uni did NOT take a sympathetic approach. instead i was told the best i could do was try and get a doctors note because i'd been told off them it wasnt recommended to work over 16hrs a week! good luck with it!

farso

My sister recently failed her second year (due to only failing a single module) and as a result, is not allowed to return to the uni next year.

Also, as she has recieved funding already for two years of uni, any second, or indeed first year study will not be funded at all. Im assuming that the same would happen to your brother and then he would be in the same state again.

As we are all playing jury on your brother:

Did he not know the sylabus? Why not study himself in the halls?? I personally did this on a few modules last year as it was much more efficent.

The bus costs money... so what was wrong with walking?

Did he not know about budgeting? The advice is literally everywhere, scraping my eyes out when i want to find anything of any use to me.

Anyway, if your brother does get back in i wish him luck - I just think it might not be for him

Voyager2002

drinkupretty wrote: »

My brother is at the university of hull Scarborough campus.

snip

I have told him to get in touch with the advice centre but apart from that what can he do to stop being fobbed off by people who clearly can not be bothered to do their jobs?

His tutors are academics, and the main part of their job is research. The summer vacation is a time when research is a priority, and when they are probably working their hardest. Many academics in this position do not even read teaching-related emails until the beginning of term, to avoid being distracted from doing their jobs properly.

I am afraid that someone who could not organise his life, money and study well enough to pass his exams is in no position to criticise others for not doing their jobs.

I suggest that he telephones the administrator in his department and/or the secretary to his head of department. He needs to be tactful, saying that he understands that his tutors are too busy with research commitments to deal with his appeal over the summer, but it is really important to him and maybe as a special favour blah blah blah...

xcat_girlx

farso wrote: »

As we are all playing jury on your brother:

Did he not know the sylabus? Why not study himself in the halls?? I personally did this on a few modules last year as it was much more efficent.

some unis have a minimum attendance policy in order to pass

i studied at home, downloaded notes, did the essays and homework, and still failed because i hadnt gone to 75% of lectures.

if you dont attend, your LEA wont tell the SLC to pay the fees so they MAKE you go to be sure.

bestpud

drinkupretty wrote: »

If he could not afford the bus to get to lectures then of course he may fail. His halls were a fair distance and as his course does not have placements he gets no help to get to uni.there were other reasons such as being home sick and getting very depressed due to his problems all of which he is able to prove should they ask. He is not getting replies because the tutors are not getting back in contact with the departmental office. Whether his excuses are good enough are neither here nor there they should respond in plenty of time with a decision one way or another, so if they say no he can utilise his right to appeal as set out in his students charter.

I think it is generally assumed he will provide information and/or evidence if he feels the need - I'm not sure they'd feel they should have to ask for it. He is an adult after all and presumably knew how to access support services at his uni?

I think it is entirely relevant whether his excuses are good enough! He is trying to persuade tutors that he is suited to the course and will do better this year, when presumably they've heard very little of him or his difficulties.

If he has emailed them and given the lack of money for a bus (which it appears he may not have needed anyway) then I'm not surprised they are taking their time making a decision!

Perhaps they are waiting to see the relevent staff and ask if he actually contacted the uni to say he was stuck in halls, miles away :rolleyes: , and with no money for transport.

Really, if his problem was a medical one ie depression, then he is not helping himself by telling them he had no money - they know students have no money!! They know there are systems in paces for those who are desperately hard up and they will know whether he could have got into uni on foot!

If they don't know he had mitigating circumstances (no money doesn't count, especially if the halls were within walking distance and catered at that) then they will surely be thinking he is just making excuses? That is the point I was trying to get across!

Either way though, I think the time has come for him to make the trip there and speak to people, even if it takes him all day. 120 miles is not the end of the earth and if he is that desperate to go back and more prepared this time...

farso

xcat_girlx wrote: »

some unis have a minimum attendance policy in order to pass

i studied at home, downloaded notes, did the essays and homework, and still failed because i hadnt gone to 75% of lectures.

if you dont attend, your LEA wont tell the SLC to pay the fees so they MAKE you go to be sure.

Of course, it would be stupid to try and pass a course which requires attendance by not attending. Who would think that is a good idea?

bestpud

xcat_girlx wrote: »

some unis have a minimum attendance policy in order to pass

i studied at home, downloaded notes, did the essays and homework, and still failed because i hadnt gone to 75% of lectures.

if you dont attend, your LEA wont tell the SLC to pay the fees so they MAKE you go to be sure.

It wouldn't have been that big a problem if he actually informed the tutors why he was not in. Even unis with an attendance policy allow for illness or exceptional circumstances.

You, and he, it would seem, just decided to do your own thing. Most people take the time to study the regulations, and stick to them!

In fact he may have found out about the extenuating circumstances policy if he'd actually informed someone about his 'predicament'. Again though, it will no doubt be documented somewhere (often on the uni website and almost certainly in the student handbook/regulations) and it is expected students will find these things out!

I was actually told by a lecturer that I could take a module but not attend if I had a reason why it would be dificult and booked tutorials with the module tutor, and generally kept in touch. I'd have been marked as having attended the lectures.

It comes down to asking for advive and/or help in order to avoid problems as far as possible, as opposed to dropping off the face of the earth and then expecting people to jump when you do bother to let them know what is happening!

welf_man

drinkupretty wrote: »

My brother is at the university of hull Scarborough campus. He finished his 1 st year back in june which unfortunately he failed due to sever money problems which meant he was unable to afford the bus fair at one point to come into uni. He did not realise he could enter mitigating circumstances for the problems he faced over the year. He now wishes to resit the year, he was told to put in writing and send it to an email address he was give which he did and phoned to confirm it had been recieved. After a month he had still not heard back so he phoned his department who said they had to talk to his tutors to see if he was able to repeat and he would hear back in 2 weeks. 2 weeks go by still no response so he phones back, they say that they are having problems getting in touch with his tutors and gives him their phone numbers and emails. So he tries to phone and send emails 3 weeks later he has still had no response. He phoned his office today and they said he would have to wait another 2 weeks!! interesting as term is supposed to start very soon. I have told him to get in touch with the advice centre but apart from that what can he do to stop being fobbed off by people who clearly can not be bothered to do their jobs?

He is asking for the reversal of an academic decision so has made a Academic Appeal (the Student Charter refers to Complaints i.e. non-academic decision issues). Hull has a ridiculous Academic Appeal system which can easily take months to complete and has several two-week periods during which various people are meant to respond so it does sound as though this is happening.

He needs to contact the Students' Union Advice Centre as soon as possible to ask for assistance, but may have to give them written authorisation before the University will discuss the case.

Speaking as an SU Academic and Welfare Adviser from elsewhere, I would say his problem is going to be explaining why he didn't disclose any of this at the time, or ask for assistance, financial or otherwise. Information about mitigating circumstances will be in the Course Handbook, on the website, and probably in the information given out by the SU. I have to say that if he came to me I would not be hopeful, but then I don't know the record of success in Hull Academic Appeals!

At the worst, he can apply for another course elsewhere and if he has only done one year of HE, should get three more years' funding.

Mel.

[Deleted User]

welf_man wrote: »

He is asking for the reversal of an academic decision so has made a Academic Appeal (the Student Charter refers to Complaints i.e. non-academic decision issues). Hull has a ridiculous Academic Appeal system which can easily take months to complete and has several two-week periods during which various people are meant to respond so it does sound as though this is happening.

He needs to contact the Students' Union Advice Centre as soon as possible to ask for assistance, but may have to give them written authorisation before the University will discuss the case.

Speaking as an SU Academic and Welfare Adviser from elsewhere, I would say his problem is going to be explaining why he didn't disclose any of this at the time, or ask for assistance, financial or otherwise. Information about mitigating circumstances will be in the Course Handbook, on the website, and probably in the information given out by the SU. I have to say that if he came to me I would not be hopeful, but then I don't know the record of success in Hull Academic Appeals!

At the worst, he can apply for another course elsewhere and if he has only done one year of HE, should get three more years' funding.

Mel.

Yes I told him to do this the other day he was going to get in contact with them asap the last time I spoke to him, I will phone him monday to see where he is at.
To the others I started this thread for advice (which I now have thanks to some of you helpful types much appretiated) not for you to be jury or be judgemental. He screwed up this year he knows this he is only 19, he can't be expected to know everything about independant living and university policies. I sure as hell didn't in my first year though thankfully at my university my academic tutors and various help points have always been more than willing to point me in the right direction.