Help for 1st year fail student?

melancholly

well either the story has been jumbled in the telling, or the department may not have followed proper procedures. since term is starting, it's very late for things not to be finalised..... i think check that the uni has done things in the time frame that they should have.

mttylad

He was told by email on the 8th sept.

YEs I think we will be contacting the uni about what has happened, I think it stinks myself.

bewildered123

I'm a university lecturer and this story really doesn't hang together. At my institution and all others that I know, he would have had the original marks in June/July and had he failed modules would have been expected to sit resit exams / resubmit failed coursework in August. Any result communicated in September would be from the resits. I''d strongly suggest that you sit down with your son and get the full story before contacting the university. I have had two sets of parents in my office in the past fortnight full of righteous anger at me, only to have to make mortified apologies when they discovered that their children had been rather economical with the truth. Unfortunately, when students know they are failing, they often try to ignore it and pretend nothing is happening, or that it's all the university's fault. Now your son's university may indeed be in the wrong but from what you've said this doesn't sound quite right, so I'd check his course handbook and the student progress regulations before complaining. Incidentally, before any member of staff can speak to you about your son, he will have to give written permission because of the data protection act unless he has already signed a waiver form. I mention this because parents tend to get very angry when they discover this but it is the law.

MrsManda

mttylad wrote: »

He was told by email on the 8th sept.
YEs I think we will be contacting the uni about what has happened, I think it stinks myself.

Before contacting the university it may be worth making sure you have all the information with regards to the course and regulations to hand.
As far as I can work out from your posts the situation is as follows:

Your son failed 3 of his modules and has been told he cannot take the year but can retake those modules
Of the failed modules:
For one module he has an eye infection
For one module he handed in the work but part of it was lost.
He was only told of the situation with regards to not being able to repeat the year on the 8th September and had no opportunity for resits during the 2009/10 academic year.


Eye infection:
Did it affect the results? Did he fill out an extenuating circumstances form? The course handbook says:

If you are absent through illness immediately prior to an examination or assignment deadline and wish to submit a case for extenuating circumstances to the board of examiners, you must provide us with a medical certificate as soon as possible.
You must complete the form at the time of the circumstances and not wait until the end of the year.

Handed in the assignment but part was lost:
Did he hand in a hardcopy or upload it?
Did he speak to the tutor/challenge this?

The course handbook says that
Results from module assessments and decisions on progression to the next level or awards (if you are in the final level) are available on the Results Online system at: http://resultsonline.leedsmet.ac.uk.
You will normally receive written comments, verbal feedback or group feedback on your work within 3 weeks of submission


If you have not passed a module at the first attempt and are eligible for re-assessment, you must inform your scheme or course leader (or equivalent) in writing if you intend to take re-assessment (see also academic regulations, section c.3 6.6). A standard form for this may be available in your faculty’s admin office.

So presuming that he handed in work over the academic year he should have been aware of the grades he was getting. The course handbook also states that he should have been having regular contact with his personal tutor and if he is having difficulties he should make sure his personal tutor knows.

What does the email from the 8th September say? It may be that if the course organisers have followed the procedures by making sure all the information is available on your son's profile page on the university's website, your son has been burying his head in the sand and not checking it resulting in the email on the 8th September.

If the grade information and details of progression are not on this page then the university isn't following its own regulations and he needs to contact his personal tutor. Though he ought to contact his personal tutor anyway as it's their role to help your son through this kinda thing.

Documents on the regulations and procedures around studies at Leeds Met, including progression, can be found on the Leeds Met Planning & Registry Service website.

mttylad

Thank you - I will talk to him at the weekend.

The_One_Who

Or, better yet, you get him to contact the university. It is his degree and his results. I'm not saying you shouldn't offer help or support, but you really should not be doing the chasing and the complaining.

melancholly

The_One_Who wrote: »

Or, better yet, you get him to contact the university. It is his degree and his results. I'm not saying you shouldn't offer help or support, but you really should not be doing the chasing and the complaining.

that's absolutely true - but in this situation, i'd be worried that without a parental kick up the backside, it wouldn't happen! i hope this shakes him into waking up to things........... OP - i think you need to support him, but slightly scare him too! (not in a bad way, but in a 'you're a grown up' kinda way!)

SUESMITH_2

music tech isn't easy, i think your son has just proved that! like others have said this just doesn't seem right somehow

dawyldthing

arr i can believe it, Leeds Met are notoriously bad for it. I have one friend that was told she had QTS, now, 5 years later, shes being told that she doesn't have it because she failed one module and had the choice of a pass with qts or a 3rd without qts, she went for the pass with qts, but there claiming she put in a tribunal to challenge it, which i know she didn't. Another lad who I used to go to school with got his results 2 weeks after he should (and he was 3rd year.)

My best advice, which I have found them to be really helpful, is to phone your local LEA to ask what support you are entitled to for the modules, but it will be classed as part time. Can he not commute in for the 2 modules or see if there on the same day and stay in a hotel (£20 in Headingley) for the day/night he would be there for as I know the lad that was late finding his results travelled in from Derbyshire, and Leeds has good rail links to most places. He can put his room up on Leeds Unipol site and on gumtree, and as long as its not £65+ in rent he will probably find someone to take it over. The other option is to ring student finance, but tell him to do it quick as courses will be starting any time now I should imagine and tell him to use saynoto0870 to get the number so you can use it as part of your minutes

Oldernotwiser

mttylad wrote: »

He had an eye infection for one, for another he handed it all in but part of it was lost.

Sorry to sound rude but do you have anything other than his word about this?