DS disappointed with uni (year 2)

[completelybonkers]

DS is in his second year at a RG uni. He is basically enjoying the course and his first year went really well on all fronts - socially and academically. This year, he (and others) are complaining about how the uni is run - particularly the general lack of organisation - and the slow marking of essays. He says his marks are all "fine" but he's frustrated that he has so much to do that he's not enjoying the subject as much as he was. I think that part of the problem is the lack of feedback.

We heard a few grumbles about the uni from him and his GF over Christmas but nothing too serious. Today was the first phone call when I sensed he needed to offload. He's generally very calm and unflappable but he even said that the thought of leaving had crossed his mind, although he will stick it out.

I offered to go down for a few days to "help out" but he's adamant that he doesn't want that [I take that as a good sign] but I'm feeling a bit useless as I don't know what to suggest.

Has anyone else come up against similar problems and what advice do you have, please?

[CalamitouslyWrong]

Another thing to remember is that he doesn't have to rely solely on his lecturers for feedback. He could work with some friends on his course to provide peer feedback so they can work together to improve their work (and help each other to make the most of the staff feedback they receive).

There are also ways in which he can start to generate his own feedback and work on helping himself even more. There's some information from Edinburgh's feedback improvement programme here. The information there might also help him in talking with his personal tutor about the kinds of feedback he would find most valuable and how this would help him, and also in making the most of the staff feedback he gets when he actually receives it.