Advice on Grades and hand in date movement

mitcho_uk

Hi all,

Im looking for a bit of advice.

I have been doing really well at uni over the last year getting 2:1s in the majority of units plus a first for my dissertation and a first for another unit.

However, in the last semester the Uni bought the hand in dates forward by 2 and a half weeks. This had a big impact on me as I had to work around the hand in dates and could not get additional time off. This led to me rushing the last module which resulted in a 2:2 which will pull my grade down.

I made a complaint about this in the first instance to the course manager at the time of the date change and she said there was nothing they can do. I am gutted about this and really angry about the way I have been treated.

I also know for a fact that one student handed in her dissertation a day late but still got a first for it, which i dont understand.

I have been told that the grades have yet to be verified, should I make a more formal complaint before they are?

kar

You can but i can't see it making a difference - you got mostly 2.1's with the odd 1st and the odd 2.2 so that would be a 2.1 overall. If you got mostly 2.1s with the odd 1st it would still be a 2.1 overall. You have to average at a 1st to get it but you said you've only got 2 modules at a first. By all means make a complaint but if they gave you plenty of notice i can't see the external examiners making any changes.

anewman

I think there is nothing to be unhappy about if you were clearly informed about the changes. If you were not informed then make a complaint about that. Everyone else had to work with the same hand in dates too I am sure, and so did I when I did a degree, and sometimes even 2 pieces of work had the same hand in date, which obviously meant putting lots of time and energy into making sure both pieces of work were completed for that date.

On the other hand if you had personal problems, for example a death in the family or whatever, they may take such information into consideration when looking at the classification they award you.

In terms of someone handing work in a day late and getting a first? I don't know. If you handed work in a second late at my university, the max mark was 40% for a week, then after that week you got 0% which was quite strict. I think some other universities knock a certain amount off each day, so under this system an exceptional piece of work could still get a first.

alexpeck

Was your dissertation double weighted?

Voyager2002

How much notice did you get about the change in the hand-in date? If it was a sudden change then you probably have good reason to appeal. However, if they gave you reasonable notice, and everyone else managed to mee the deadline, then you should just have worked to the same schedule. In that case, my suggestion is that rather than complaining, you write a statement of circumstances to be attached to your work, making it clear that you committed yourself to doing paid work in the expectation that the hand-in date would be as usual, and could not change your employment commitments in order to give yourself sufficient time to complete the course-work by the due date. If you end up on the absolute borderline between degree grades, this could be used to bump you final result up by a grade.

I think there is a clear moral to this story: if you are serious about university, and want to do well, then you should keep employment for the vacations. There will be plenty of time to earn money after you have graduated.