Difficult situation in the Uni 1st year

[Gerz1]

Hello!

My friend studies the first year in a university in London.

During this year she has been doing a large project including many sketches, drawings, photographs and models.
Once a week she met a supervisor teacher who directed her work.
At the end of the year there is a meeting with several teachers who finally mark this project.

More towards the end of the project she realised that the advices of that teacher have been pretty bad and that she needs major change in her project in order to get good mark, but that teacher did not want to listen to her.

Eventually she went to a more senior teacher (the manager of one she has been meeting) and that senior teacher said that yes, indeed the advices of that teacher are not good and she needs to stop visiting him and come to her (i.e. the senior teacher) for further advices.

(By the way, many other students were also upset with that teacher as well).

The senior teacher also said that because now major changes are required in the project of my friend and many new sketches and drawings need to be done, she will extend her deadline for one week.

Now all other students have had the final day and have had their projects marked, but my friend has been continuing her work and only today she learnt that she needs an official extension of the deadline, otherwise she will not receive any grade and will have only 'passed' mark.

Today she was told by that senior teacher to go to the secretary for extension. The secretary said: I can only extend if you have approval from your GP or other doctor that you were ill. My friend said: but I have not visited any doctor and I was not ill. The secretary said: go to a doctor and get note that you had a nervous breakdown because of high load of your work. Without medical approval you will not be given any extension (which means she will not get the mark of this yearly project).

The time is very short, only two days left till the final (extended) date when my friend's project should be accessed. She was told that without official extension she will not receive any mark, only "pass" and then she will probably have to do this project again next year. She invested a lot of effort and time into this work only to learn that she will not be marked.

What do you advice to do in this situation?
Go to a doctor and play nervous breakdown there?

[Movablefeast]

Does she have an academic advisor? If she is an International Student can she go to their office and ask for help and advice? She could also try the Academic Dean of her dept. but maybe try the International Student office first (if relevant) to make sure she has tried all the right channels for advice.

[Gerz1]

Thanks! Indeed many (in fact most) of her fellow students are international, but she is British :(

[BubblesBuddy]

Sounds a bit like the course DD did. Some lecturers just didn’t know the time of day. I don’t know what to advise. No one took any notice of DD when she and other students complained. Sorry.

[user1499173618]

Which university is this?

[SweetCheeks1980]

As it is your friend's first year I'd advise her to accept a "pass, as I'm sure any grades in the first year don't count towards her final degree grade, but get her to check first.

I'd also put in a complaint to the university about the inadequate lecturer.