Downgrading Diploma Course?

antw23uk

Hi All
I've started a distance learning diploma in April this year and I've hated every minute of it. I liked the idea, my boss talked the talk and in my head it means/ meant high pay, better options for the next job but the reality is I'm out of my depth and hating every moment of it!

My company are paying for this course, its distance learning and the training company have been very helpful so cant fault them but its me, I was rubbish at school and I'm rubbish now. Im just not cut out to study and dish out eight thousand word assignments!

Once this current assignment is signed off I have enough units to gain the 'certificate' and I'm thinking if its possible, I will stop here BUT I need to confirm with the training company if they will refund my company to pay for the lesser expensive course and Im really not sure how my boss/ company will feel about this either! Im in such a dilema its making me ill (I've suffered stress and anxiety in the past)

Not sure what kind of responses or answers Im looking for here but part of me wants to achieve the Diploma so i can get better pay but there is a massive part of me that just cant face trying to do more at the expense of my health! Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks

Comms69

the issue is ofcourse, if you're struggling with the course, then you might with the new workload.


In any case one alternative which is sometimes acceptable is finding a replacement to take over the course; this would mean there is a cost for them to get to the stage where you are now; but thereafter it's already paid for (that's assuming there's no refund; which usually there isn't)

marliepanda

Your boss agreed to pay for the diploma. Was there any agreement about what happens if you failed/dropped out/left the company?

The issue may be that the company is happy to pay for you to get a diploma but not to pay for the certificate only, even if it is 'cheaper'

NBLondon

Are we talking NVQ here? Certificate=Level 2, Diploma=Level 3.

This should not be a surprise to your boss, because they should have been getting feedback from you and your tutor. So perhaps the first thing to do is to talk to them about whether they can help, could they mentor you in the areas you are struggling with - or would they let you pause it at Certificate Level and do the extra units next year to bring it up to Diploma.

Is it just you with this training company or are there others? That may influence whether there is a refund/credit not i.e. how important is your employer as a customer?

ReadingTim

I did reasonably well at school and university, but when it came to professional exams a mere 3 years later, found them a real challenge, and that was going to evening classes 2 nights a week for a year and a half, plus weekend revision classes. The textbooks were meant to permit self-study, but I'd have never managed that, so I can completely understand why you're struggling.

However, as hard and boring as the subjects were, and irritating as it was going to weekend revision classes (especially the ones over the May bank holidays), and as much as I hated the studying and revision, I gritted my teeth and concentrated on the end result - the qualification, career progression and increased pay. That, and I found it so boring the first time round, I was determined not to fail any exams and so have to re-sit!

The pain of the exams was temporary - 15 months in total, but has laid the basis of a 15 year (to date) career that currently sees me paid 5 times what I was when I started.