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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

Original poster

Can you take a week off?!

57 replies

OuiOuiMonAmi · 13/07/2021 00:29

Planning a family holiday in half-term - but then discovered that uni students don't get half-terms! How strict are unis about attendance - is it like school, where you can't take time off in term time unless essential?

OP posts:
igelkott2021 · 13/07/2021 09:15

When I was at university nobody checked on attendance at lectures but some tutors were stricter than others about attendance at tutorials. One said we had to ask permission to miss a tutorial and when I asked to miss one because a friend from Germany was going to be in town, he said no, but I met her anyway. Still got my degree, it was only one tutorial, but a week is a bit different. Mind you, if everyone is online it doesn't really matter where she is. Might be better to wait for Easter holidays though.

brittleheadgirl · 13/07/2021 09:26

Maybe take the plunge and go without them?
If they're at uni they are hopefully enjoying their studies and social life, leave them to it and see them during their time off uni.

Forestttheout · 13/07/2021 09:33

Depends on the Uni and the course, during my undergrad course I couldn't have got away with it we had very small tutorial groups several times a week as well as a lot of group work. Assessed lab classes, presentations, verbal reports regularly etc. usually with a week or twos notice so it would've been a risk.
On the other hand my MSc was mainly lectures which where recorded and bigger tutorial groups. All assessment was written work and end of term exams with the dates set out at the start of the year so I could've easily disappeared for a week and nobody would've cared.

Marianicka · 13/07/2021 10:10

@AttaGirrrrl

Does she want to go? If it’s October half term she’s likely to only have been there a few weeks and be settling into the course, meeting new people, etc.
How much they would miss (and be missed) also depends on the subject they're studying.

Also bear in mind that some courses don't really get going until the second week of October (DD's classes started on Oct 8th last year, a week after arriving).

A better idea would be for the rest of the family to holiday somewhere near the university town so you could plan to see them two or three times during the week, have them show you around their new city and maybe introduce you to a flatmate or two. A night or two staying with you in your holiday accommodation might be a relief to them, but a whole week away so early into term would be pretty disruptive.

orangejuicer · 13/07/2021 10:35

@brittleheadgirl

Maybe take the plunge and go without them? If they're at uni they are hopefully enjoying their studies and social life, leave them to it and see them during their time off uni.
I would agree with this. The first bit of term after enrolment is always hard going.
Etulosba · 13/07/2021 15:31

I didn't realise that unis are now so hot on attendance, when I was there no one would have noticed and I did a quite full on subject with a good number of lectures

It depends on the course and university. We don't monitor lecture attendance.

However, we do monitor lab and seminar attendance. Missing a either can mean that coursework is difficult to complete. Lab timetables can be rather fluid and difficult to plan around.

There are also monitoring points as already mentioned, although not all are based on attendance and three have to be missed before any action is taken.

Original poster
OuiOuiMonAmi · 13/07/2021 16:21

Thanks everyone - lots of good advice there. I can't leave DD at home because the holiday is her 18th birthday present :D

We'll stick to Easter then - thank you all.

OP posts:
RampantIvy · 13/07/2021 16:47

We'll stick to Easter then

Bear in mind she will be revising for end of year exams in May. Students need to pass the first year in order to continue into the second year.

Original poster
OuiOuiMonAmi · 13/07/2021 17:50

@RampantIvy

We'll stick to Easter then

Bear in mind she will be revising for end of year exams in May. Students need to pass the first year in order to continue into the second year.

Oh goodness, I didn't know about exams at end of May! Gosh - is there time to take holidays at all that isn't in the summer? If we went at Christmas, would there be exams in January?
OP posts:
LIZS · 13/07/2021 17:55

Depends on the course. Some have predominantly coursework, regular assessments or extended essays rather than formal exams, with last deadlines in April/May. Easter is usually 3-4 weeks so still time to go away. Ds missed last week or so of Spring term in first year to go on a uni (non course related) trip abroad. Might be best to wait until she has started before planning your trip.

RampantIvy · 13/07/2021 18:17

If we went at Christmas, would there be exams in January?

Extremely likely, yes. Some universties have exams just before Christmas, but most have them in January. I suggest you check the term dates on the university website. It gives exam dates as well as term and semester dates.

TheDevils · 13/07/2021 18:18

I would wait until she gets her timetable and assessment dates before booking anything.

Micemakingclothes · 13/07/2021 18:38

she may need Easter break to write a whole stack of papers, to work on a design (the architecture students rarely left their desks), or even be assigned to attend a council meeting (a journalism course was like this). she could also have no problem taking off during Easter. Plenty of students go and party during this time. However it depends both on the school, the course of study, and the study habits of the individual student.

You really shouldn’t be making a decision like this on her behalf and she really shouldn’t be making it without more information .

exybusiness · 13/07/2021 19:12

It really depends on the course. I was finished with lectures by the end of March in 1st and 2nd year but did have assignments to submit.
I didn't have exams at all.

Etulosba · 13/07/2021 20:44

Oh goodness, I didn't know about exams at end of May! Gosh - is there time to take holidays at all that isn't in the summer? If we went at Christmas, would there be exams in January?

Some of my students seem to manage to to get week skiing in at Christmas or early Easter without detriment to their studies. They need a break. It's easier if the terms are relatively short and the vacations long.

Agree that it should be the student's decision. Absence from tutorials will be noticed.

GlencoraP · 13/07/2021 22:40

Depending on the university they may have finished by mid May and not back until mid Sept so that’s about 4 months to get a holiday in

orangejuicer · 14/07/2021 07:49

@GlencoraP

Depending on the university they may have finished by mid May and not back until mid Sept so that’s about 4 months to get a holiday in
Depending on the subject they may want to do a placement or summer project so it's not quite that easy but should be doable.
orangejuicer · 14/07/2021 07:50

@GlencoraP

Depending on the university they may have finished by mid May and not back until mid Sept so that’s about 4 months to get a holiday in
There's always the possibility of resits as well.
Original poster
OuiOuiMonAmi · 14/07/2021 07:59

You really shouldn’t be making a decision like this on her behalf

Of course I'm not doing that! :) We're just thinking ahead... she's totally in charge of the trip, I'm just trying to find out some info. Totally agreed that she can't decide without more info though so we will wait. Thanks everyone for advice, again.

OP posts:
MakkaPakkas · 14/07/2021 08:08

Most of my modules have an 80% attendance requirement (humanities) and the 80% includes authorised absence (which a holiday isn't).
It will be written on the course literature, usually on the first page. She can also email the admin for her degree to find out.

VorpalSword · 14/07/2021 08:18

Are you happy to say where she is going and what course? Shouldn’t be outing as plenty of other students will be doing it as well.

orangejuicer · 14/07/2021 08:43

@MakkaPakkas

Most of my modules have an 80% attendance requirement (humanities) and the 80% includes authorised absence (which a holiday isn't). It will be written on the course literature, usually on the first page. She can also email the admin for her degree to find out.
She could do this but it's a bit unnecessary and won't look good. The semester information will be online somewhere.
orangejuicer · 14/07/2021 08:48

Sorry to be negative but has your DD's place been confirmed yet? If not, and if she ends up somewhere other than her first choice, she may need more time to adjust etc to the new university, way of teaching etc.

MakkaPakkas · 14/07/2021 13:06

True! I'd advise not saying 'i want to go on holiday' but rather, please could you let me know the course pass requirements

Etulosba · 14/07/2021 14:42

I had a student disappear for a week one February. Several of his friends told me that they had seen him about but I always seemed to have just missed him.

He turned up the following week with a dark tanned face with big white circles around his eyes. There was absolutely no doubt all about where he had been.