should i put in a complaint against the college for not responding to me?

kingslayer

basically, i went for this pre-GCSE course assessment on the 27th of last month and was told she (the teacher running the course) would be in touch with everyone soon. Anyway, a week passed and i gave the college a call and asked what was going on, but was told by admin that she (the teacher) had been swamped and was going to get around to marking the assessments at the end of that week and will let everyone know.

Another week passed and i still hadn't heard anything and the course was supposed to have started on the 9th of this month. I phone up at the end of last week to be told that on the system it says i was unsuccessful at the assessment. Do you think this is very unprofessional from an education institution? To not have received a call, email, text, letter, anything, seems downright rude.

I am just very angry because i was left in the dark all this time. All the assessment was, was writing a letter to a local council, giving your opinions on why a grant should or should not be issued for a music event.

I don't really know where i stand now. I mean it's another year i have to wait. The government have basically decided that the level 2 numeracy and literacy key skills (which i have) are no longer a valid qualification to get onto an access course or into university, so i'm at a loss.

I understand putting in a complaint may be a bit extreme, but i'm just angry that i was left in the dark like this. :mad:

duchy

They were swamped.
You can waste time sulking and seething or you can politely ask for feedback and then try other colleges as if they still have places this late they may be a bit more flexible.

Travelling a bit further versus waiting another year seems a bit of a no brainer .

It sounds like you maybe didn't take the assessment seriously enough and perhaps wrote less than they wanted as you appear from your posts to be able to write fluently. Of course they may just have been vastly over subscribed and it was just bad luck.

Brush yourself down - don't waste time and get yourself sorted on another course.

pjcox2005

Rather than putting in a complaint, it may be worth pushing the college for feedback to understand why you were unsuccessdful so you know what you can improve for future assessments.

I appreciate they've been frustrating in their handling of things, but this approach seems more benefical to you than a complaint.

saintjammyswine

It is a shame and if you feel you have been treated unfairly then yes, complain to the college using their own procedures which will be widely advertised (all colleges do). Best place to start would be the admissions team as courses have now started and there will be people who have dropped out already and may be places available if it was only down to availability. It may be in fact, that your assessment was not good enough and you have to do some more preparation learning before trying again, this should have been discussed with you.

It may be worth asking for a diagnostic assessment rather than an entry assessment to check you level and whether you do need further help.

The government do not decide what the entry requirements are for University courses, the universities and awarding bodies do, perhaps contact them directly to find out your options?

duchy

It may be worth looking a foundation degrees. It's a two year course and on successful completion you transfer to the third year of the full degree.

kingslayer

duchy wrote: »

They were swamped.
You can waste time sulking and seething or you can politely ask for feedback and then try other colleges as if they still have places this late they may be a bit more flexible.

Travelling a bit further versus waiting another year seems a bit of a no brainer .

It sounds like you maybe didn't take the assessment seriously enough and perhaps wrote less than they wanted as you appear from your posts to be able to write fluently. Of course they may just have been vastly over subscribed and it was just bad luck.

Brush yourself down - don't waste time and get yourself sorted on another course.

Yes, i will call them shortly and find out what feedback they can give. I will look around at other colleges, but if worse comes to worse, i will find out if i can enter onto an access course next year while studying for my GCSE's.

To be honest, it isn't like i know what i want to study for a degree, but i just wanted to get the GCSE's anyway, just so i have them and if i decide i want to go to University then i'm equipped with the qualifications needed in English & Maths.

I believe this same college has a 1 year course available, which is a level 2 pre course to GCSE, but I might have to ask them if this is the same as i have previously completed. However, on their website "course list" page, it says the start date was the 9th.

ohreally

Don't waste time on this, you are where you are. If you feel this qualification is essential, contact other establishments as a matter of urgency and go in and try to speak to the individual who is responsible for student selection and see if you can talk them round.

Time is of the essence.

Marshmallow82

I'm surprised that they think your English is not of a good enough standard to start studying for GCSE English. I hope you can get some feedback.

What about home study courses like ICS?

ampersand

op - do you normally use this sort of style when writing assessments? Do you normally check capitalisation, punctuation, grammar, word usage?

Reading good writing widely means that these skills are absorbed by osmosis, provided nothing in the dyslexic spectrum inhibits this.

Exercise them all the time so they become 2nd nature. There is no need to drop from basic standards or accuracy in any communication, although typos do happen:-)[flying fingers in my case]

p.o.i. - 'if worse comes to worst' - from comparatives: 'bad/worse/worst', just as with 'good/better/best'.

I can feel you're keen and have an interest in words and language, so be family-friendly with them every time.

Good luck and make good choices. Being literate, articulate, numerate is the key to success.
#
From today's Guardian, kingslayer:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/16/that-eggcorn-moment

It's a good article.

kingslayer

Marshmallow82 wrote: »

I'm surprised that they think your English is not of a good enough standard to start studying for GCSE English. I hope you can get some feedback.

What about home study courses like ICS?

I don't understand it, neither. I do not have perfect written English, but all the same, no one is perfect, that's why people are trying to get onto a GCSE course.

I am just fed up of dealing with this college admin. They have told me that the person who deals with the the course isn't there, so it's best for me to call back tomorrow and they will try to gather some feedback for me.

I don't know whether this is all a bluff or not, but all i'm hearing at the moment is talk, but no one is actually providing information to me. As for the the pre-GCSE course; that is basically the same as i studied and completed before, so they are telling me that it wouldn't be in my interest to study it again.

My only other option right now is to sit the exams as an external student, but to be honest, i have no idea how to go about this. I really feel i need 1 to 1 help, as i wouldn't know where to start with preparing for a Maths and English GCSE exam.

ampersand

Feedback is pointless and without merit unless the person who marked your work discusses its strengths and weaknesses with you. That's where face-to-face should start.

Replace 'neither' with 'either' in your 1st sentence:-)

What are the set texts for next year?