OU - better to fail course?

Ames

Hi all.

I started an OU course last October, at about the time my mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died last month, so the whole of the course has been done under pressure. The last TMA was an independent essay and was due at the end of April. I've tried to get it done since mum died but my mental health (I already have serious MI) has really taken a battering. TMA 3 was a plan for it, I rushed it in one day when mum was really ill and got a fail mark. As that was a big chunk of the work for the final essay I've been on the back foot all the way along.

I was told not to worry, if I put in PT39 I'll get special circumstances. Then I was told that even with that if I don't do the TMA I'll fail the course. Then I was told that the form might not make a difference at all.

On top of which I've got the exam next month, and haven't got round to sending in my doctors note for extra time/comp etc.

A huge part of me just wants to say sod it, it's just too much pressure right now. I'm doing another 60 point course as well and want to concentrate on that, it's economics so it's factual and doesn't take as much out of me emotionally as a humanities course which depends on interpretation etc.

BUT - I failed a course last year too, due to being manic and away with the fairies. I totally misinterpreted questions and my essay writing ability disappeared - one paragraph, totally irrelevent to the essay, lasted three pages. But that didn't matter because I was about to become a top entrepeneur and build a retail empire....

If I fail the course, it takes a lot of pressure off me, although due to the dates puts the MA I want to do a year further away. Then again, I wont get a good mark even if I pass it, which could stop me getting on the MA at all.

I know that financially it'll mean me paying for another course, as I'll have failed two that I had financial support for and I can't keep failing them and getting them paid for, but frankly my MH is more important than a few hundred quid.

Anyway, after all that waffle I'll get to the point!

If I pass the course but do badly, can I just not count that towards my degree? Or does it have to count?

Are there any financial penalties for getting support for two years and failing them both?

The 6 years to do a degree in, I can still meet that if I include credits from when I went to bricks and mortar uni, but those credits were outside the six years, so would they still count?

Sorry for the long post, I thought it was best to give all the background. I've got loads on my plate at the mo and want to get as much info as I can for all the decisions I have to make in a very short time.

foreign_correspondent

You really need to speak to learner support at the regional office - only they are equipped to answer the questions about fees, final degree marks, credits, timespan etc... just ring the region on 01132341255 and ask to be put through to leaner support, they can advise you from a basis of knowledge regarding the technicalities.

You have had a rough old year and you really have done well to stay at all motivated and engaged... good luck!

Ames

Thanks FC. I guess I just want to make sure there's no consequences that I'm missing, I have a habit of making decisions and then realising that I missed seeing the long term/big picture.

I think I'll go in and see someone on Monday.

GotToChange

Just a couple of quick points .... (late to the party as ever);
Consider "Interrupted Study" - not sure criteria for eligibiltiy - BUT it may mean that you don't have to fail the course.
There may be timing implications which you need to check with your Learner Support Team - also, I read on the Platform website that Financial Support will be available to current students only - possibly from this academic year; new students will be able/required to take loans as those at brick unis do/will (not sure of repayment rules either....). So, if Interrupted Study means you are no longer a registered student (check) until picking up again, there will be financial implications.

Be careful not to take on too much; I am studying 1 x 60 points and that is quite enough!

x

Ames

Interrupted studies aren't available for this course, I did it last year and I've just restarted (I had to take a break because I was hypomanic). Carrying on being a student wont be a problem because of the 60 pointer I restarted in Feb.

I didn't have a problem studying 120 credits until I got behind because of the death and funeral and everything. To be honest though I've had problems from the start with this course. It's a social sciences level three course taken as part of the history degree, but I wasn't allowed to put a historical perspective on essays, and skills I'd learnt for history, like challenging sources, were severely frowned upon - you just had to take statistics at face value, for instance.

I'm going to try and talk to someone about it all this week.

hcb42

they use the exam forms if you are borderline. I put one in the year my Mum died, and I actually got distinction in exam. i feel sure I was borderline and it tipped me over, as I hadnt done that well all year. I almost didnt do the double weighted TMA, which was a project that I had done no work on all term, but I was pursuaded at a revision weekend to put something in, even part completed and get myself a few marks, was glad I did, as I spent two nights on it and scraped a 65 (no form for that one, that was the mark it earned)

Speak to them tomorrow and see what they advise, but it sounds like you need the time, and if costs you a few hundred quid then so be it.

120 credits is an awful lot, I think 60 is hard enough, with pressures of life and so on

Ames

I don't work or have a family or anything, most of the time 120 credits keeps me busy enough to stay on an even keel. It's just been in the last couple of months there's been the problem.

Ames

Just thought I'd update. I went and saw a nice man today and decided to withdraw from the course. That way it doesn't count towards my degree (although I could have unlinked it later) and most importantly I get rid of a lot of stress.

So now I'm free to concentrate on my 70 credits and put the last few months behind me.