Urgent info needed re failing an exam

[cricketballs]

As it's been a few years cough cough since I completed my degree I'm not sure what the state of play is.

My understanding is if you fail a module's exam in the 1st year you can resit in August with a capped maximum is this still the case?

What if 3 module exams were below the pass would resits be offered or have to retake the year?

Thanks

[hayita]

The precise rules depend on the course and vary quite a bit between courses/universities.

Typically if you fail one module you may resit in August with a capped score. However you may not have to resit that single module if your overall average is above 40%. On the other hand, if you fail an essential module with a very low score, you may have to retake the whole year.

If you fail two modules you typically have to resit both or one, with capped scores. If you fail more than two you indeed usually have to retake the whole year.

[Oldprof]

ask the university! No use asking here: the rules will be different everywhere.

[senua]

If three exams were below pass mark then you would have to re-assess whether you were on the right course for you. Instead of continuing to bang your head against a brick wall, pause and have a think.

[mummytime]

The rules vary from University to University and course to course. I failed one exam and had to resit all of that years exams in September and pass them all to continue.

[FishWithABicycle]

Most universities will have their own rules on their web sites - google:
examination fail site:insertuniversityhere.ac.uk
to get the regulations for the specific university.

[cricketballs]

Thanks for the helpful responses; it seems that DS failed 3 exams last year (which we have only just found out about). He "says" that he's had to just resit those modules this year then starts yr 2 afresh in September.
DS has been less than truthful the past 8 months as he led us to believe that he was in yr 2 on a 2:1 average but the truth that he's not in yr2 has just come out

[hayita]

You should be able to look up the rules for progression on his course yourself. They are usually visible from outside the university i.e. on the internet rather than an intranet.

[cricketballs]

Thanks fish; very useful

[FibbyMcFibFace]

Eek . How worrying. HAS he already repeated the first year or did he do a foundation year then a first year? IYSWIM

[GnomeDePlume]

I failed one module out of six at the end of year one then failed it again at resit in August. As a result I had to resit the whole year.

I did pass second time around then went on to complete my degree (with a much better work ethic).

Mind, this was a long time ago.

[Stillunexpected]

That's quite a whopper of a lie. So did he already resit the failed modules in August last year, fail again and then effectively have to redo the year this year?

[Bunnyjo]

It does vary by university, so it is really impossible to say what the outcomes will be. At my university you can resit the exams in the August resit period, but are capped to 40% for working out stage/degree averages. In most of the degree programmes all of the modules are core and need to be passed in order to proceed to the next year. In exceptional circumstances the board of examiners will allow students to carry over failed modules (non-core), but this is strictly limited to a certain number of credits and they must be passed in the next normal examination period.

By the virtue of the fact he is still in year 1 and not in year 2, it sounds like he failed the first year by either failing the August resits or not attending the August resits.

Either way, if he is an English student getting tuition fee loans etc. from SFE, the fact he will have already received 2 years' finance means he will only be entitled to 2 more years. I doubt any HEI will give him the opportunity to sit the first year for a third time, nor will he be able to afford in, unless you are funding his fees.

I think it is time for a heart to heart with your DS.

[FoggyBottom]

I think it's important that he do his research about his options, rather than you. Terrible situation all round - good luck

But he has to sort it out, not his parents.

[cricketballs]

Thanks for the information. DS came home last night and did try to lie about his resits but thanks to fishes link I pulled out of my bag all the rules/regs from his uni.

He has failed another module so can not enter year 2 and as a PP stated no more student finance is available. So that's it for him ever getting a degree. It seems like he thought freshers lasted all year......

[hayita]

So that's it for him ever getting a degree.

This is up to him. In the future he could do a degree, using his remaining 2 years of student finance, provided that he pays the first year himself. I have known people who learnt from their previous mistakes, worked for a while and saved up, then went back to university and did well.

[FibbyMcFibFace]

That's a real shame. I'd be so cross about the lying. I guess he was embarrassed.

Job? Open University? Apprentice?

Has he funded it mostly himself or have you had to help him a lot financially? I know they are adults and its up to them what they do with their lives but when you are funding them, often thousands of pounds, it's impossible not to feel 'invested'

Can he do or get anything with the credits he has, I think I've heard that sometimes you can get a certificate or diploma or something for certain credits? Sorry I really can't remember but it might be worth checking.

[cricketballs]

We have been supporting him; £50 cash every week, £20 a week on his sainsbury card, phone etc but it is the lies that have hurt

[FibbyMcFibFace]

It's definitely the lying that would upset me too. I understand kids finding things overwhelming and difficult at university but I'd be really pissed off about the lying.

I hope he is remorseful. What's done is done and all that but I would be wanting a full and honest explanation of what went wrong.

[hellsbells99]

and for you.
Could he resit the module this August or is that definitely it?
Has he struggled with stress etc?
The lies would hurt me too but I am assuming he has just been burying his head in the sand. Failure is hard to accept sometimes. Do you think he has just been out of his depth? Although you don't feel like it now, he is going to need your support.
We have all made mistakes (well I know I have) but he needs to have a think about what he wants to do now. He could try looking at apprenticeships that may lead to a degree or diploma. University isn't for everyone. Good luck.

[cricketballs]

not stress, more not understanding the work he should have put in, it was the same with his AS year. In terms of another resit as he didn't hand in anything on the due date there is no resit available, according to the documentation I found even if they just hand in one word it keeps the door open for a resit, to hand in nothing shuts the door. The frustrating thing is it was only a 1,500 word essay that in reality he could have written in one evening.

The only option open to him in a few years is that there are some courses that are two years (but very intensive) so when he finally matures

[Needmoresleep]

Cricket all I can offer is

You have every right to feel angry. All you can really do is tell him he now needs to find a job. Any job, even Greggs. And he should pay you rent. He has had his chances. If he wants further chances he will have to earn them. Perhasps in a fwe years he will regret not having a degree. At which point he will need to have saved enough to fund some of any return to education.

Once they start University there is little we can do. They make their own choices, even bad ones.

The dishonesty would really annoy me as well. You have a right to better.