Help.

puresiesta

so you have suffered from depression??

I did not because I was reluctant to dicuss these issues and to address them. Mitigating circumstances forms before exams are used to boost gardes. When an illness affects someones ability aroun the time of the exam with a doctors notes as evidence the student is awarded 3-5% increase on maks. I was not looking to do so. I was never looking to. I just wanted to start a fresh with the year.

MrsManda

puresiesta wrote: »

I was not appraoched by my tutor about my dip in perfromance and attendance, of to wich the university does have a responability.

No they don't. If there are compulsory tutorials/labs for which the tutor takes a register then it is possible that they will contact you via email to tell you that you run the risk of failing the module. But it is not their job to run after you when you don't turn up. They will help you if they are made aware that you are struggling but in many cases no lecturer is going to notice if someone isn't attending lectures.

puresiesta wrote: »

I did not have a low attendance in the last two terms or fail my examinations because I am lazy, I was ill.

I'm not saying you were lazy or implying you weren't ill.

puresiesta wrote: »

so what your saying is.
If the university would automatically allow me a retake of the year then there would be no need for the appeal.
The whole point of the appeal is to proove I was ill.

I really don't understand what it is you want or why you think you're going to get it. From what you've said, no one has said that you were not ill. If the university has said that you can repeat the year then there is no reason to appeal as presumably the only thing an appeal can do is say that you can repeat the year?

Twiggy007

This situation sounds painfully familiar! I have gone to the OIA, and this month marks the one year anniversary for when I first contacted the OIA. Can you believe it has been a whole year now and no resolve at all. Apparently the person dealing with my case has been inundated with cases and on top of that has been away too... i guess the OIA is a free service so there is no real urgency. I enlisted the help of a (expensive) solicitor.. and they've tried prodding the OIA.. but the actual fact is that my university are very reluctant to comment and have been very uncooperative in the whole process. I'm hoping the OIA will see how unhelpful the university is and sympathise with me.

The thing that aggravates me is the impartiality of the appeals process. It seems there are a set of rules for some people, with whom the uni is soft with, and for others the rules are more harshly applied. I know one person who's mum died in January and yet when he didn't pass at the end of the year, they still asked him to leave. Whereas others have got away with the most trivial of excuses.

Extenuating circumstances can be a lifeline, but sometimes our optimism gets in the way. I wish I had submitted extenuating circumstances for my last exam.. but because i'd been doing well up until that point I felt too hopeful and wanted to get through on my own merits. Anyway, I know my post isn't helping you at all... but you should know you aren't alone.. hopefully something will come of the OIA appeal...

I can't bear to sit on my hands for another year so I've decided to pursue further studies, just so I can improve my prospects, and also prove that I'm not as worthless as my university have made me feel.

dmg24

puresiesta wrote: »

so you have suffered from depression??

I did not because I was reluctant to dicuss these issues and to address them. Mitigating circumstances forms before exams are used to boost gardes. When an illness affects someones ability aroun the time of the exam with a doctors notes as evidence the student is awarded 3-5% increase on maks. I was not looking to do so. I was never looking to. I just wanted to start a fresh with the year.

Yes, I have had MH problems for most of my life.

The Mitigating Circs Panel do not just increase marks, they can also give the option to refer modules or retake the whole year.

Oldernotwiser

puresiesta wrote: »

so you have suffered from depression??
.

For many, many years.

puresiesta

MH problems? depression??

Cheers for your post twiggy007. A whole year? I have a relative that works at the uni as a lecturer. I am going to see them soon for advice.

Yes there is a distinct gap and floor in the whole process. A repeat year is a repeat year. Anyone would think im asking to **** the course leaders wife or something.

melancholly

you see the problem is that there are a lot of students who come up with extenuating circumstances after getting bad marks..... it's very common to try and get an excuse after things have gone wrong (which is why the best advice possible is to jump through all the hoops at the right time - the system can help but you do need to engage with it). i'm not trying to suggest that you haven't had genuine problems, but it's very tough to distinguish between people at this point. the decision won't have been taken lightly, but if you only saw the GP after the results, i can't see that it would ever have gone any other way. sorry to be so negative, but i think realism is important.

is there any chance of resitting the year at all or transferring to a different course? have you had a face to face meeting or phone call with anyone? have you spoken to student services and your department? there may be options, but a frank conversation with a staff member would help work out what they are.

dmg24

puresiesta wrote: »

MH problems? depression??

Cheers for your post twiggy007. A whole year? I have a relative that works at the uni as a lecturer. I am going to see them soon for advice.

Yes there is a distinct gap and floor in the whole process. A repeat year is a repeat year. Anyone would think im asking to **** the course leaders wife or something.

Depression is a mental health problem, is it not?

Oldernotwiser

puresiesta wrote: »

MH problems? depression??

Cheers for your post twiggy007. A whole year? I have a relative that works at the uni as a lecturer. I am going to see them soon for advice.

Yes there is a distinct gap and floor in the whole process. A repeat year is a repeat year. Anyone would think im asking to **** the course leaders wife or something.

You will put your relative in a very difficult position if you do this and do yourself no favours.

melancholly

puresiesta wrote: »

MH problems? depression??

Cheers for your post twiggy007. A whole year? I have a relative that works at the uni as a lecturer. I am going to see them soon for advice.

Yes there is a distinct gap and floor in the whole process. A repeat year is a repeat year. Anyone would think im asking to **** the course leaders wife or something.

i'm going to suggest that you don't do things 'soon', you do them urgently. the longer you wait the less the chance is that something can be salvaged here. you need urgency - and to start making a plan B just in case.