Damn. Uni exam falls right in the middle of my holiday!

[QuestionableMouse]

Posting for traffic.

Uni exam date was released yesterday and it falls right in the middle of my holiday. Though technically it isn't a holiday as I'm away with the local youth group who I've been volunteering with!

I could just about drive back (distance/time wise) but it would mess the ratios up and I'm not sure if I can afford the extra petrol money. Also not sure if I'll have my own car with me. (Was meant to be driving down with all the food but it might be going in the minibus now)

I'm really not sure what to do. It's an important exam so I can't miss it but equally I can't just drop out of the trip because at this point there's no one to replace me. Going into uni today to speak to my lecturer but I'm panicking!

Any ideas?

don't mess about with uni, its simple you just cannot go on trip, you are no longer available, its no different to if you suddenly came down with something contagious or broke a leg they will have to find someone to replace you,

My average grade so far is 72

Please please please don't jeopardise a strong degree mark for this trip. Cancel it, and give proper time to revision.

@OffToBedhampton

Gotta love Mr Brent

Don’t count on a retake! You will be classed as a fail if you don’t show up and this means a retake will most likely be capped at the pass mark. If your current average is a 72 this means you’ll probably drop a grade classification from a 1st to a 2.1.

You need to take the exam.

Although the university might encourage volunteering, i'm sure they would take a dim view of anyone who tried to change or miss an exam date because of it. Hopefully you've now realised that speaking to the voluntary organisation about being unable to help on the trip, is the right route to take.

Ini exam dates are decided a year in advance usually in tbe common assessment period. You would have been given this info on a course plan and assessment schedules. If it wasn’t put in your hand it would be clear on your portal. Sorry but it’s a gripe of mine!!

Can't see uni being v helpful. You'll have to let the organisation know so they can find cover ASAP.

@sollyfromsurrey - Your comment is misguided. The OP is clearly NOT entitled, spoilt or with a poor work ethic as she is VOLUNTEERING her time to work with children. How is that spoilt or lazy?

The op is a prime example of entitled, spoilt.... in need of hand-holding and spoon feeding and demonstrating a lack of conscientiousness/personal responsibility

It doesn't matter whether she is off to Ibiza or whether she is hand feeding blind, 3-legged puppies. The fact is, her first reaction when she messed up was to ask the lecturer to sort out her problem rather than dealing with it herself. We get this sort of stuff all the time. No, your sister's wedding is not my problem, nor is the flight you booked to go and volunteer in a 3rd world country, nor is the fact that flight prices will increase if you wait until the following week. Term dates, with the exam sessions, are listed at least 3 years in advance. Check them first and, if you want to take a chance on your exam running the same time as previous years, go ahead but if your gamble fails, then sort it out yourself. I cannot do anything about the exam schedule. Even if I could, I wouldn't as it's unfair to the students who respect the system.

The university really don't encourage volunteering to take precedent over studying! Great that you volunteer, but they will not be sympathetic to this. Imagine everyone who wanted to go on holiday/volunteer/had a bit of a cough/wanted to travel could just resit at another time. It wouldn't be possible to allow this (Aug resits are a pain as they are and a whole new exam paper has to be written for them).

I really doubt they will let you change it for a holiday. It isn't a matter of letting you do the same exam on a different date. It is a matter for making a new exam, assessment criteria, arranging rooms and supervision while you are sitting the exam, possibly finding a new external examiner. I work at a university and make exams for students. We do offer resits, but there are clear rules about who can take them and why. Your reason wouldn't even up for discussion. Maybe your university is very different, but I would be surprised if it is.

Also, at least where I work, you wouldn't be allowed to resit at all. You'd fail and have to repeat the course.

I think your exam takes precedence. Stop dithering and tell the voluntary group as soon as possible so they can make alternative arrangements. Everyone will live. Stop catastrophising.

At my university it would be unlikely you would be allowed to resit. Resits are for exams missed in exceptional circumstances - illness, bereavement, natural disaster. They wouldn't allow it for a holiday, even one that involves voluntary work.

Don't speak to your lecturer you will just look silly.

My university makes it quite clear when the exam period is, they even state exams may be on Saturdays and Bank Holidays. It's made clear you should be free for the entire exam period. They also tell us not to book a holiday over the resit period in August too, just incase.

I had a January exam last year during snow, I was snowed in but University told me if I didn't come in I'd get a mark of zero. I had to walk in knee deep snow for a couple of miles to the next village where I was then able to get a bus. My fault for choosing to live in that location.

Asides from all that, I don't understand why you wouldn't be studying.

The exam cannot be changed OP so your only choices are to miss the trip or miss the exam.

OP, I'm an academic.

If you came to me about this, I'd tell you there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. Exam dates are set nearly a year in advance and we certainly wouldn't change an exam date for an individual student anyway.

Where there is very very good reason for a student not being able to be at an exam, we'd request a concession for an alternative assessment but your trip absolutely wouldn't be a good enough reason at my university.

If you just failed to turn up to the exam and so got a mark of 0, you would be invited to resit the exam in the summer but your mark would be capped at the pass mark of 40%.

Basically, you need to cancel the trip.

^ That's just the rules at my university. Obviously other universities are different

@DirtyDennis
Same at ours. And having a capped 40% mark looks rubbish on a transcript, regardless of what you overall marks are.
On some accredited programmes there are no resits at all so you’d fail the year.

Regardless putting anything else before exams (aside from your own health or that of family) shows poor judgement!

Get a fit note from the doctor nearer to the time and use that for mitigating circumstances. That's the only way you can get out of it TBH.

panic, faking mitigating circumstances at our university would be academic misconduct in the form of deception, and the likely penalty would be immediate termination of studies.

Get a fit note from the doctor nearer to the time and use that for mitigating circumstances. That's the only way you can get out of it TBH.

No, don't lie to your GP. They have enough work to do without people using them as backup for a fake excuse.

I'm not expecting my exam date to be changed. I would never ask that.

I would speak to the youth group rather than the lecturer, any group relying on volunteers that I know would, without question, tell you to do your exam.