OU resitting?

Ames

Hi all.

I've just missed yet another deadline for my OU course, and this one can't be extended.

I realised after speaking to my GP last week that I've been ill for most of the course, I seem to have been having a manic episode which has meant I've flucked up a lot of aspects of the course.

Does anyone know if it's possible to resit OU courses? All the info I can find is about exams, but this is all TMA's and a long project at the end (which is the deadline I've missed).

I've emailed the study support team but I know I'll just be worrying till they get back to me.

So does anyone know what the process is? Or if I can't resit, does the course have to go down as a fail, or can I just not count it towards my degree?


Cheers.

carebabe

how much have you missed the deadline by? i sailed close to the wind last week in meeting the deadline. i made it by less than half an hour. later i read on the forums that someone had managed to get a short extension. email your tutor now explain the circumstances and request. do not wait for the reply and get down to work on TMA pronto.

gizmo111

You can't resit the ECA if thats the bit you have missed AFAIK you have to do the whole course again. Have you got high enough TMA scores to pass?

juno

If you cannot continue with study at the moment, you may want to choose one of these options.

• You could transfer to a later presentation of the same course, so long as it starts within 18 months of the start date of the original course. For example, if the course you’re on started in February 2010 and you decide to take a presentation transfer, you must start again by August 2011. (This can be extended by a month, in very exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of your region.)
• You could transfer to a different course starting within 18 months. For example, if you have fallen behind because you have struggled with the level of work, perhaps within one of our 30-point or 60-point level 1 courses, you may like to consider transferring to an Openings course. Openings courses provide a gentle introduction to OU study and help you build confidence and develop your study skills for future successful studying.
• On a small number of courses, mostly at first level, it may be possible to interrupt your study and carry forward the credit for TMAs you have completed. This is a good option if you need to put your studies on hold while you deal with a temporary life crisis. A regional or national adviser will be able to tell you if this option is available.

Most of the advice suggests talking to your tutor or the regional centre. If you sign into Student Home and then choose "Study Support", in the middle near the bottom it has help for when studying gets tough which might help. If you have long-term health concerns you might be eligible for help under their disabled students policies - you'd need a letter from your GP and it might not help now, but if you decide to start studying in the future they can give you extra support.

Ames

Thanks guys.

It is the ECA that I've missed.

I've emailed the regional centre about it. Transferring to a later presentation of the course would be brilliant.

I have got DSA, but it's only been sorted out in the last couple of months.

Well, it seems that all is not lost, so thanks for being reassuring.

alexandrajj

Ames, can I be nosey and ask which course it is you have been taking?

(There are some courses where you are only allowed to 2 attempts at the course).

Ames

It's DD306 - Living Political Ideas. This is my first attempt at the course.

alexandrajj

Ames wrote: »

It's DD306 - Living Political Ideas. This is my first attempt at the course.

Sorry but I have not done this course (it was a long shot, thought I could send you stuff if i had).

I am pretty sure that there is no problem with re-doing the course (some other courses you only get 2 attempts or 1 attempt plus an exam resit). Not sure what the financial implication is of resitting. You may have to end up paying for it yourself.

As for your DSA, have you claimed money from it for this year whilst you have been studying DD306? If not, then there will be no problem using it for another year. If you have part-claimed for DD306 then I am not sure what the implications are.

Normally you must submit the TMAs (substitution may or may not apply) and then sit an ECA/exam. Your course has an ECA. You must submit the ECA ang get 40% minimum to pass the course. There can be no substitution for ECA component of the course although if there are very good grounds (with proof) you may get a little leeway with handing in the ECA but only if you have applied BEFORE the ECA deadline).

Have you heard of "interuprted study"? Firstly, it only applies to some courses so first of all you need to know if it applies to your course.

Normally if you don't submit enough essays or don't complete the ECA/exam then you fail the course. If you want to do it again, you have to do it all from scratch at your expense & if the rules allow you to take the course a second time. With interupted study you "bank" your completed TMAs and then in the next presentation of the course, you carry on where you left off so you are allowed to carry over your completed work. So for example, if you were doing a course with 7 TMAs & an ECA and you only manage to do 3 before being ill, the following year you rejoin the course after TMA3 and carry on. This interuprted study saves you having to re-do the whole course again.

The regional centre would be able to advise you about all this.

Good luck.

alexandrajj

gizmo111 wrote: »

You can't resit the ECA if thats the bit you have missed AFAIK you have to do the whole course again. Have you got high enough TMA scores to pass?

You can't pass a course on TMAs alone. You need a minimum of 40% in the TMA component AND a minimum of 40% in the ECA/exam component.

An average of 95% in the TMAs and no ECA submission would still result in a fail.

Tigsteroonie

Thanks for this thread, it's made me realise that there IS something I can do about pausing my current studies and perhaps getting some financial credit towards re-registering for the course later in the year.

alexandrajj

Tigsteroonie wrote: »

Thanks for this thread, it's made me realise that there IS something I can do about pausing my current studies and perhaps getting some financial credit towards re-registering for the course later in the year.

If you get a percentage of your course fees back when you withdraw from the course, you need to sign up to a course that starts within 18 months or else you loose that money.