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Higher education

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this is a nightmare - DS cant get results until 2 days prior to his 3rd year

7 replies

RagingDull · 05/09/2012 21:33

the whole bloody thing is now getting me so down.

Ds has special educational needs and is under the disability team - he did a foundation degree with the option of going to uni to do the 3rd year to complete a full degree. He did the first 2 years at home but for the 3rd and final year he would need to go and actually live at a university which is about a 90 minute drive away.....so he will need accommodation.

he did well and has chosen to do this.
however
getting suitable accommodation is proving a nightmare - today we traipsed back to uni to sort this - only to find out that he cannot sign up for anything because he had to do a resit - the results of which will not be found out until 14th september.....
his 3rd year is due to start 17th september! this gives us 2 days to find suitable accommodation, move him in, and get him sorted for the course to begin again on the 17th!

how can they possibly expect this?

we are in limbo - we cannot sign a tenancy agreement until we are sure DS has a place - we wont find out until he has a place until 2 days prior to his 3rd year starting - way way too late to secure the right accommodation for his special needs.

this is making me frantic and we have spent the day going from department to department trying to get some help - we have been to accommodation services, the disability team, student support, and DS current tutors - no one can l help us and its now looking more and more unlikely that he will be going for his 3rd year....

they have said he can have whats left - this is no good. He has special needs and his accommodation requirements were quite specific.

apparently it is all down to the board of directors at the university because they are sitting late to discuss resits - but really....2 days prior to the course starting is surely unrealistic??

i have no idea what to do.

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RagingDull · 05/09/2012 22:18

well, so far the accommodation manager has been actually rather helpful (after a wobbly start with a few disablist comments thrown in for good measure....) so ive emailed him back to ask what next.....

ball back in their court. so scared that he wont be going after all and he has been so excited and i have quite frankly, needed the break....

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creamteas · 05/09/2012 23:49

Unfortunately, having a short time from between resits and term starting is normal.

Because staff want to take holiday in the summer and have to focus on admissions in mid August, the resit period is usually sept. At most unis, all the assessments will need to be marked/moderated by two examiners. An exam board then has to sit to confirm all the results.

I do sympathise with your DC's position, and it is not ideal for anyone, but it is not really possible to sort this out earlier.

RagingDull · 06/09/2012 18:54

how on earth do people secure accommodation, if they cant sign up for a tenancy agreement until 2 days before the new term?

is 2 days really that usual? i was told my the uni that last years resit results were given much much earlier.

really though? 2 days? what if his accommodation options have gone?

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creamteas · 06/09/2012 19:07

The exam board for our students is on the Wednesday before term starts. Unfortunately, it is one of the outcomes of failing the first time round. In most cases, if they fail the resit they are usually offered a repeat year so they will be signing up for accommodation anyway.

RagingDull · 06/09/2012 19:29

not so for dS - if he fails he wont be going - the third year is done at a totally different university.

its a nightmare. ive no idea what to do.

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creamteas · 06/09/2012 19:38

The only thing I can suggest is to try to talk to the academic dept responsible for the marking and explain the situation and ask if there is anything they can do to help.

If we were contacted by a student in this position, I would ask the markers to look at the work as a priority and then give the student an off the record answer to the question should I book accommodation. This is breaking the rules, so not everyone will be willing to do this. Also decisions are not official until the exam board, there is the possibility of a different outcome, but that would be unusual.

RagingDull · 06/09/2012 20:45

we tried this with the tutor who marked his work - they flatly refused to give us so much as a clue due to the fact that uni can overturn the mark.

it just seems the odds have been stacked against him doing his final year - he is disabled, has specific requirements re accommodation and its not going to be available by the time we get an answer.

i feel like they are doing their hardest for him to not go if im honest - they just dont care.

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