So where are these universities offering 100% coursework degrees?

[Themsthebrakes]

Could anybody provide examples of courses because I cannot find any. Thanks

He is a Summer born y11.

in that case don’t focus on the course work degrees just yet. Things could change by then.

Find what motivates him or explore those other options.

In the future he could continue with BTEC style of learning into HNC/HND then a top up year of he wishes to full degree.

The OU has a lot of modules with no exams, I don't know if you could actually do a full degree without any.

Sounds like someone who shouldn't be going to university. It's not compulsory. Apprenticeship or vocational trade would be a better option surely. Potentially better paid at the end too!

He’s got two years to go! A lot can happen.

Just wanted to mention that some apprenticeship courses have exams too, for those that have suggested that route, they're not always 100% practical.

If he refuses to attend lessons, leaves after just a short while and can't recognise the topics I'm not sure he would pass the minimum attendance criteria colleges of FE have. My Foster Son goes to FE college and has to get 90 percent attendance across all lessons. Coursework has to be completed at college where teachers see it is all their own work. Very little is allowed home. If he doesn't turn up and just walks out how would he complete his coursework? BTEC courses have a portfolio of coursework and many practical aspects too such as giving a presentation to their group. It may be an option for him to do the independent living course if you think he would benefit from that. They learn some easy things, like which is the hot tap and the cold tap, to harder things like cooking a meal from scratch but in small slow stages eg chopping up a carrot and an onion. Then making gravy. Etc. To get on one of these courses he would need an EHCP. You could ring your local college and see what is on offer for him. The Independent living course can be repeated and different bits are added like sorting laundry, comparing prices for an item, shopping for food.

Is he mature enough to sign up for a £60,000 loan which he will need to pay back over the next 40 years and he probably still end up paying for it if he drops out? He also won't be eligible for it again, you get one chance at an extra funded year. I think now it is at the stage where unless you are fairly sure about your degree and you need a degree to get where you want to be he is better to work for a year or two so he has a chance to mature and realise what is important to him. I am not saying that you always need to know where you are going, sometimes just having a passion for the subject is enough, however if he is struggling to motivate himself for GCSSs then A levels and a degree will be setting him up to fail. Once he has worked for a bit he might have a clearer idea of what he wants in life and how to get there.

Lots of people saying No Exams = ChatGPT will do all their coursework REALLY don't understand how many humanities courses are structured and assessed!

DS, doing a humanities subject at a top university, has no exams, but is assessed via practical performance work / group presentations (with fairly detailed Q&A from staff and peers), reflective essays based on personal contributions in weekly sessions and very specific essay titles which are often based on site-specific activities and a 15-min viva.
There's no chance ChatGPT would produce any of this to the required level of detail!

DD used to get far more anxious and nervous about doing a 10 minute presentation to a room full of people than sitting exams.

It sounds like your godson needs more support than he is currently getting OP. While universities can offer extra support to students who require it the support isn't anything like the kind that he will get at school or college.

There is no "hand holding" at university. I think the best option is for him to stay living at home when he is ready to engage with higher education.

DS hates exams. He's at a good London Uni doing a course that is rated top of its field globally. By careful selection of modules, he hasn't sat a single exam in 3 years. (Actually not sat exams since GCSEs as A levels got cancelled ) It's a LOT of essays and dissertations instead so the work load and pressure is still very tough but there's no stress of trying to show your entire knowledge in three hours. This is for an academic subject, not a creative one.

The obsession on Mumsnet with thinking that exams are the only way to demonstrate academic ability really makes me angry, to be honest. Apart from anything else, it is such a dated and irrelevant skill - to have to learn and remember masses of facts and then regurgitate them under pressure in a time-limited window. Once you leave uni you will never have to use such a skill again!
Much more useful skills for today's working environments include being able to search, sort and evaluate different sources of information quickly and use the information appropriately, as well as critical thinking skills/ observations about different viewpoints etc.

"Coursework" always seems to be said with such a sneer, but in reality it develops more of the sort of project management skills required in a lot of jobs these days!

Apart from anything else, it is such a dated and irrelevant skill - to have to learn and remember masses of facts and then regurgitate them under pressure in a time-limited window.

A university level exam tests application, not memory. They are given the facts.

Yes, there are a lot of open book exams, but not all are. My other son, studying a STEM subject, had a lot that he had to commit to memory for his exams.

My other son, studying a STEM subject, had a lot that he had to commit to memory for his exams.

I agree that open book exams are rare with STEM subjects but being provided with reference material is not. Usually, but not always, in the form of a data book.

Also, it’s not true that situations in which you have to learn a great deal of information and recall it under pressure (and apply it in ways you haven’t been given advance notice of) in a time limited window isn’t something many people are not a feature of adult life.

Similarly, the assumption that exams are the highest pressure or most stressful way of assessing students doesn’t hold up either. As others have said, presentations (even where they’re not being assessed) often cause students far more stress and anxiety than exams do. Managing their workload and prioritising to meet deadlines so that they can submit end of module assessments at the end of a semester causes students incredible stress (extensions often make things worse rather than better too).

But the single most stressful thing, in my experience, is when universities set group work of any kind as part of an assessment.

^^^^
Agree with this. It is surprising how hard some/most students find it to present for five minutes without using a written script in front of them, or worse, on their phone held up in front of their face while talking.

It is extremely satisfying to see their presentation skills improve as they move up through the years. Sadly, a minority never get it.

Group work with assessed presentations probably top the stress list.

I agree that open book exams are rare with STEM subjects

Not necessarily. DD studied biomedical sciences and had open book and in person exams. She had a lot of essay type questions in her exams to answer.

@Oakbeam I don't find it suprising TBH. I would find it difficult to present something for 5 minutes without some kind of written prompt.

Students aren't given guidance on how to do presentations other than time limits and subject. They aren't actually taught how to do them.

Last year DD spent the entire Easter break going over and over her dissertation presentation, which was to be ten minutes long, and no more than eleven minutes. Fortunately her diligence paid off, but I don't think I have known her to be so stressed.

I agree with @IncomingTraffic's comments. Group work is the worst, especially when you have students who won't engage or pull their weight.

I get that doing exams is very stressful, but often the alternatives are just as or even more stressful.

Not necessarily. DD studied biomedical sciences and had open book and in person exams.

I said they were rare, not that they never take place.

At least, they are based on my (30 year) experience of teaching in a STEM discipline and invigilating a broad range of university exams, not just STEM.

Also, I would take issue with the claim that students are not taught how to present. Some definitely are, starting gently on a very small scale in their first year with presentations to peers in their tutor groups.

@Oakbeam DD was at university during lockdown, so her end of first year, all of her second year and half of her final year exams were online and open book (but not easy).

Her cohort weren't taught how to do presentations.

Given the subjects you've suggested he's interested in, I'm afraid at this point there really is no non-exam alternative to A-levels. People keep mentioning BTEC and NVQs but these are much more work/vocational focussed, you simply don't get them in subjects like history, history of art and English literature. So if that's what he wants to do at university and wants the experience of uni(i.e. not OU) then he's not got much choice.

Absolutely this… my course was all about being a self starter and being motivated to work through massive projects.

Commercial photography - Uni of Gloucestershire

DH also struggled with exams because of ASD. He got all D's at A-levels and managed to get into uni (I'll DM the name if you ask) for CompSci. Got out with a first and is now a higher earner. He did have exams, but very few. 90% coursework.
The DIFFERENCE in this case is that he was highly committed to his subject, has been programming since he was a teenager and had the focus to complete all of the projects.

Why are you trying to force this young person into uni? You'll just get them into debt for no reason. Worse still, they might find their calling later in life and want to do a second degree - which they can't, because they've wasted their first opportunity!

Nothing wrong with working. No rule says you have to go straight after school. Many go in their early twenties and as PP said succeed when they wouldn't have as teens, thanks to maturity and more life experience.

You can also do project based professional qualifications at a college, these are cheaper and sometimes you can do a top-up degree.

@Themsthebrakes this might help to narrow down the type of course he can do and then you or his parents could look for somewhere in London that offers BTEC level 2 and three courses.
Sixth-Form-Options-2017-18.aspx (miltonabbey.co.uk)