DD's Uni asked her to repeat a whole year without marking her work because she missed their emails asking her if she was going to meet a certain deadline. DS has been suicidal and is not talking

[sayitwithcolors]

DD's Uni asked her to repeat a whole year without marking her work because she missed their emails asking her if she was going to meet a certain assignment submission deadline. She made a later deadline and they would not mark her work at all. The reason she missed the deadline was because DS has been suicidal and is not talking to her or me.
AIBU to be mad at DD's Uni. We appealed the first time and gave them this reason and they refused. Please could anyone advise on what constitutes a compelling argument to make them change their mind. DD is freaking out and is now very depressed. Help please as I'm at a loss of what to do.

Assuming this work is for this academic year (and not an extension from last year) it seems a bit strange that they have already said she needs to repeat as she will presumably not have been required to submit many assignments yet. I obviously can't speak for all Unis but normally there would be a chance to apply for special considerations before the exam board at the end of the semester, which may give her the option of doing the assignment in the supplementary period (usually August /early Sept) if she has submitted enough other assignments. I think you need to read the university regulations carefully with her, and she needs to seek support from her personal academic tutor (or the senior tutor) plus any other support agencies the university offers her students - which, again in my experience and those of friends working at other Unis are many and of good quality. I would also she collects some sort of evidence of her mental distress - counselling sessions etc.
In my experience universities are extremely supportive to students these days and will bend over backwards to support students going through a tough time but they do need to engage otherwise there is very little we can do.

Op by offering her an extra year the uni is trying to help her because otherwise she would fail
let her read some of the positive reassurance from people who have gone through the same thing & gone onto to succeed
My thoughts are with you & I hope you hear some good news re your son soon
& ignore the critical pp who is an ignorant idiot

Thinking of you OP, an awful time. I know a handful of people who had family trauma's in their first year and were advised to resit and carry on. They did, and they graduated with good grades and have done the same as everyone else! Their is no shame, and it is much more common than you'd expect.

My best friend lost her mum in her first year, she ended up applying to a much better Uni, being accepted, and restarting there the following year.

Op just to add that if your dd has to repeat the year as others have said it really isn't too bad.

My dd ended up not repeating the year but having to take a year out and sit additional exams and left uni with a 2:1 which is perfectly respectable.

It probably seems awful to you both at the moment but in a few years it really won't matter.

It’s a shock but you need to take a step back and both of you carefully consider what your DD has been advised.

I think the University are bending over backwards to do her a favour here. Presumably, what she has managed to submit probably isn’t of a high quality and she knows she could produce better work?

It sounds like a sensible plan for her to stay home with support from you to re-take the year. She’ll be able to focus on her studies and submit new assignments, and they’ll be marked as if they’re a first attempt.

Normally, if a student repeats parts of the course, the repeat units are capped at 40% and added together, that could leave her with a Pass degree or a Third class Honours.

By totally disregarding this years work, the Uni is effectively allowing all her repeat assigments to be classed as a first attempt and therefore, not capped at 40%.

Another student on my course had a bereavement close to the end of the final year exams and was allowed to re-sit the year as a first attempt and she ended up with a First.

If you force them to mark her current work then the course rules wont allow them to ignore those marks. External examiners from other Universities will attend her exam boards to ensure that the rules are properly adhered to.

I work in a university and suggest that your DD should contact the Student Union. They will have people working for them who understand the regulations for her university. They will be able to recognise if your DD has grounds for an academic appeal and to work out if she has exhausted the appeals process within her university.

However, if she has not been able to progress to the next level of study by this stage of the academic year (approx 4 weeks in for my institution), then it really does seem inevitable that she will be delayed by a year.

It sounds as if there was one piece of work that your DD failed to submit? If this is the case then she should be able to look for paid employment and submit the assignment in a few months time. She does need to be absolutely certain about what she is required to do and the deadline. Discussing the situation with one of her personal tutor, lecturer or Director of Studies and then sending an email to get confirmation of what was said would be an excellent idea.

Wishing you all the best.

@Me4real, very sorry about the miscarriage. Thanks for the advice.

Thanks everyone, DD is telling the truth. She has just handed in her appeal. Hope she succeeds, if no,t I will encourage her to repeat the year.

Best wishes to you all @sayitwithcolors

I don't know if this is relevant to you but student loans will automatically cover one extra year, in case someone has to repeat.

The two deadlines thing , as in she made the 2nd deadline is confusing. Are you sure you're getting the full story? Was it an extension, in which case it should be marked. If it wasn't I think yes, appeal, but she needs to communicate her circumstances effectively , not do a head in the sand tactic. I have to say, age 19, I asked for an extension when my Dad had been given 3 months terminal brain tumour diagnosis. The tutor was so rude & reluctant ("well my aunt lasted 10 years with cancer, how long is this going on for?")that I complained..

So sorry to hear that @CSIblonde Well done for complaining.
God willing, most of them are better than that, especially now. Mine were pretty decent with me and that was in about 2000.

@sayitwithcolors Get medical evidence, it'll make a real difference. She could see a doctor and explain the circumstances- even if she sees them now about past events it'll be helpful to her appeal. It'd probably do her good to discuss things with a doctor, anyway.

But if this is about this academic year (you still haven't really said) a break will probably do her good, and she would do better if she retook it.