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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this is unacceptable from a university

92 replies

curaçao · 27/10/2023 08:48

My dd us in the first year of a degree and every couple of weeks will have a timwtable clash.She us not doing a joint honours of 2 random subjects, but some of her modules will be with people from other courses.
It makes me really annoyed when she is paying so much and forced to have to miss lectures fairly regularly.
This is in a uni which is listed in the uk top 5

OP posts:
DeadBugMountainClimber · 27/10/2023 08:49

YANBU

mine has a similar issue and has to catch up online (lectures are recorded)

Seeline · 27/10/2023 08:51

Has she actually raised it with anyone? Course leader, academic tutor etc? Or student services/support?
How many other students have the same clash? If it's only a few of them and no one has mentioned it, uni might not even be aware that it's happening.

Pinkpinkplonk · 27/10/2023 08:59

It’s not great is it, my DD has the same. She’s just accepted that this is the price of having such a wide choice…. She’s been to her tutor and discussed it though, and is allowed some leeway where needed.

NoodleNuts · 27/10/2023 09:02

As mentioned above, has she raised it with anyone? There may be more than one session being taught where she could swap to a different one, or it could be that if they are optional modules, she should have been advised that she should have choosen a different one in order to clear the clash.

I work is PSS in a Uni and we always contact students who have timetable clashes and we do it in the first 2-3 weeks of the course starting.

Original poster
curaçao · 27/10/2023 14:10

NoodleNuts · 27/10/2023 09:02

As mentioned above, has she raised it with anyone? There may be more than one session being taught where she could swap to a different one, or it could be that if they are optional modules, she should have been advised that she should have choosen a different one in order to clear the clash.

I work is PSS in a Uni and we always contact students who have timetable clashes and we do it in the first 2-3 weeks of the course starting.

Yes she has had a meeting about it and they have said there is nothing they can do about it.

OP posts:
ColleenDonaghy · 27/10/2023 14:16

That's not great, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the week and room bookings are even more restricted.

Are the sessions recorded? Recordings are awful I know but advise her to ensure she stays on top of them (easy to fall behind we found) and to raise any questions in tutorials/seminars.

Iscreamtea · 28/10/2023 23:59

Are they not available online to watch later?

NoThanksymm · 29/10/2023 04:15

… your daughter is lying or messed up her timetable.

university is happy to let you mess it up - that’s on you. They have set course/lab/seminar times at the beginning of the year. Any changes or additions should be raised to administration.

Lastchancechica · 29/10/2023 04:48

My dd has the same issue. Not impressed at all.

PetsAreBetter · 29/10/2023 04:51

Any chance your DD left her choosing of times till the last minute? Usually there are multiple slots to avoid this sort of thing. If you get in early you get the full range of choice. If you delay, some slots will be full and you will find it harder to get a good timetable, or find it impossible to avoid clashes due to your now more limited options.

TookTheBook · 29/10/2023 05:21

I'm amazed you even know this. My parents had no idea what I was up to at uni and definitely not timetable issues. She's clearly fucked up by choosing clashing modules so she needs to resolve it, there's still time. She needs to be a grown up and tackle it.

ClockHolly · 29/10/2023 05:23

Are these both compulsory modules or did she choose modules which clash?

Are lectures recorded?

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 29/10/2023 05:27

That's not great, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the week and room bookings are even more restricted.

Take fewer students and make less profit?

BusMumsHoliday · 29/10/2023 05:46

It sounds like it's because of the optional courses she chose. Was she given the option to select other courses?

Course choice is always subject to timetabling. If the clash had been any more serious, she'd probably have been required to choose different options.

I work in a university and timetabling is a nightmare. We try to accommodate as many students as possible but without infinite rooms, staff, and time, it's just not possible.

marcopront · 29/10/2023 06:10

Does she have to do the two modules involved this year?

Wilkolampshade · 29/10/2023 06:19

There's usually the option to change modules in the first 3 weeks of term. Although the time for this has passed, worth knowing for future years. Check in the regulations as it'll probably happen again.

FloofCloud · 29/10/2023 06:25

She needs to see if there are recordings of lectures or lectures held in different days for other courses she could attend- and also to get a mark as attended / unable to attend due to tt clash otherwise she'll have absences all term.
Timetabling is a nightmare as I understand (I work in a uni but I. Research so not much experience)

ColleenDonaghy · 29/10/2023 06:42

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 29/10/2023 05:27

That's not great, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the week and room bookings are even more restricted.

Take fewer students and make less profit?

As if the people who make the timetable have the slightest say in that.

Also, my university makes a considerable loss per student.

GnomeDePlume · 29/10/2023 06:55

DD2 had this for all 3 years of her course. Think a course like biochemistry. Every semester she would have clashes between biology lectures and chemistry labs.

She would have to spend the first week of every semester sorting it out so that she would end up being the sole student in certain lectures.

These werent optional modules but the actual modules of her course. They would even timetable exam clashes.

It was a constant source of frustration for DD.

I think this is a problem for any course which spans two schools within a university. Now I would advise any student considering a joint degree of any sort to really quiz universities on how the practicalities work.

Climbingthehillfast · 29/10/2023 06:58

Yanbu. My kids in a top uni and after three years they still can’t even provide rooms which are big enough for the class and shock horror if a tutor decides to engage, or a lecturer helps a kid with a query without being an arse. The unis need to realise they are getting paid to provide a service.

houseonthehill · 29/10/2023 07:30

Depends on the type of session. If (as in an example given above) it’s a Lecture she can’t get to, it’s not a problem if a recording is available. If it’s a seminar/workshop/lab session, it’s a problem. If the latter and it is a compulsory module not an Option, Timetabling have to solve it. If it’s not a compulsory module, she has to change her Option choice, and should have done so.

houseonthehill · 29/10/2023 07:33

(Or change any Option which is creating the problem)

23Oct · 29/10/2023 07:48

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 29/10/2023 05:27

That's not great, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the week and room bookings are even more restricted.

Take fewer students and make less profit?

Universities aren't making profit. When thirties fees up, government funding went down.

Teaching a U.K. student causes an average deficit of £2500 every year

FlorenceBoot · 29/10/2023 07:49

I'm amazed you even know this. My parents had no idea what I was up to at uni and definitely not timetable issues

Why are you amazed that OP has a DD who is more communicative with her parents than you were with yours?

I don't know everything DD gets up to at uni but we're a close family and she shares a lot of her life there with us.

Unusualactualname · 29/10/2023 07:51

marmaladeandpeanutbutter · 29/10/2023 05:27

That's not great, but unfortunately there are only so many hours in the week and room bookings are even more restricted.

Take fewer students and make less profit?

... and go bust. Universities are facing really bad financial circumstances.