Advice on repeating second year at university

[tryingtohelphim]

I"ve namechanged for this because it feels sensitive and it's not about me.

My child is just coming to the end of their second year at university. It hasn't gone well academically. It's assessed module by module and they've not handed in assessments (I think 2, relating to the first term) and is late on others.

Long story short, they think they can pass the year, but really want to reboot their whole year and repeat year 2 in order to address the fundamental issues that have inhibited their performance. They really need a 2:1 and it will be hard to get that from this basis (I think - the story is coming out in tiny bits). It would be difficult to show mitigating circumstances (bereavement, family illness, some similar crisis) although persistent and ongoing anxiety and stress about not fitting in with the other students on the course, not doing well enough, doing poorly is a factor.

Received a diagnosis of dysgraphia with additional 'executive function' problems during sixth form, and was able to use a laptop in class and exams, and have 20 minutes extra in exams. This was relayed to the university at the outset of year 1, but I don't think it has landed anywhere - there was no request for a further assessment, or any provision under DSA.

Can anyone offer an inside perspective on what to do? The problem seems to be amplified by the fact that the student has stuck their head in the sand, tried to avoid dealing with it, alternating with struggling on and returning to classes, but from a weakened position. So - despite encouragement from us, his parents - to use the support systems available, they have only just approached the student support service. They have their first F2F appointment with this service in just under 2 weeks.

Please don't weigh in with brisk admonitions to crack on and soak up the consequences. I don't think punishment for not being adequately prepared for university life and wanting to try again to put it right is warranted.

Student doesn't want, at this point, any direct contact between us and the university, so even though I think it would be sensible for us to have permission for direct contact, I can't see it happening.

What you should do is support your child to find out about the options and make a choice. Direct contact from you is not appropriate IMO, they are an adult.

They need to pursue the support networks. You can support by providing factual information about how to access support.

Did your son get DSA?
If so, are you saying there was no support provided?
Any support given by the college doesn’t automatically carry over- the DSA is key.

He really does need to but the bullet and speak to the faculty. Many students restart, but he needs to have the conversation.

Why does he need a 2:1?

Thank you for responding.

No, he did not get DSA. But I was concerned then - and now - that his poor organisation and habits of masking his anxiety and fear would lead him to struggle. He has indeed struggled, but has refused to reach out until this late point (he contacted student well-being a couple of weeks ago, and now has an appointment in the first week of May).

He is still working on a project now (it is already late, so will be penalised) and has another to submit. I think he has not yet submitted 2 required earlier in the year. So I think, of the 5 required for second year assessment, only 1 will have been submitted on time. But the details are unclear - he has been extremely reluctant to talk to us honestly. That, at least, is starting to change.

I don't think he has made contact with his personal academic tutor as yet. I've been urging that course of action from day 1, to no avail.

He is not confident that an uncapped resit will produce better results, because he doesn't feel he has really been able to absorb any learning this year. It's become a very destructive spiral in which he goes to class, feels behind and isolated from the other students, tries to settle in, thinks their work is so much better, avoids the next class, falls behind, tries again to pick himself up and go to class again, everyone else is so much better, and so on. Basically, he's overwhelmed. He needs to seek out some proper feedback from tutors, but I think he's become too timid to do so. So he doesn't really know how to improve.

I don't really understand the options for him. It seems repeating the year in order to try and tackle the underlying problems that were never confronted properly before, and so improve your approach to learning and study by accessing support as you need it, rather than when it is too late, is not sufficient. But I don't know.

Why does he need a 2:1 ? Well, because with so many students in the workplace now, and AI sorting in HR, he really needs to take that grade to potential employers. Plus, he will carry a feeling of failure into his adult life, and that not good (I speak as one who knows!) This is not just his or my perspective - it's well-documented, 'twas on the Today programme just yesterday!

Did he apply for DSA?

Maybe university isn’t for him?

He should contact his student union who will be able to tell him his options. Repeating a year does indeed sound sensible and they should be able to tell him what needs to happen so that the repeat can be counted as a first attempt and help him with SFE etc.

But - and this is crucial, repeating is only going to be sensible if the issues that got him to this situation are fully addressed. No point repeating then continuing to stick head in sand.

He really needs to speak with his tutor or program lead for personalised advice on his situation and what his options are - most of us are very happy to help! Policies vary from one uni to another so it is difficult to give generic advice here. If he's to succeed he'll need to take responsibility for his studies and go through the appropriate channels to seek help.

I often speak with students in similar situations who've had their heads in sand for a while. We work out where they are up to, what is missing from the assessment submissions, and discuss the various options for moving forwards. Most students are relieved to find that things are not so bad as they seemed and that they can still make a plan and complete their studies successfully. But the student needs to seek help and engage with the support that is offered.

Yes, I agree repeating is only wise if the issues are addressed. And to do that, he has to access the right support and change his approach. If he does that, we're happy to continue supporting him.

I'm not sure his student union is the place to start though? That's other students, isn't it, and I think the issue is beyond that now.

And I'm sure transcripts will show the repeat. I think that's less important than tackling the issues underlying the 'overwhelm' and helping him get to a point
where he feels positively about himself and his education. And that he has a good platform to start his life!

Thank you @RiskyReels - do you mean his 'personal academic tutor' when you refer to his tutor? There's also a student welfare tutor embedded in his particular school, and there's a further branch of help in the welfare/wellbeing department. It's hard to work out.

We plan to sit down together tomorrow, when this current deadline is completed and go through the options he needs to explore. He realises he is not the only student in this situation and others have repeated years.

Sorry but I don't think he should repeat. I can't imagine it will suddenly get better for him. I think you and him both need to lower your expectations and look at alternative options. If I was his tutor, I would be counselling him out now unless there were significant mitigating circumstances (but you have said there aren't).

Students unions have people working for them who will know the institutions procedures and policies on repeating, accessing support etc. They're not student volunteers at all!

IME they're often far better than personal tutors, though of course his personal tutor should also help.

Errrr not accessing disability support that he was entitled to is a pretty good reason to repeat.

He needs to speak to his tutor and/ student services/ support to figure out his options. I'm not sure resitting the year would be the way forwards though, if he had another bad year that'd surely be worse for his self confidence.

He does need to understand that one grade from one degree is not going to set the tone for his entire life. There are many paths to take.

I think he should talk to his university about his options but also think very hard about how things would be different for him if he does repeat a year. How would the stresses be less ? Lots of very capable young people are not cut out for university or at least for that style of learning. Others are not well suited to being away from home. He has many options and they should include repeating the year but also leaving and considering whether he wants to start again in the future or to take a different route into his chosen career. Would he want to change course or university?
We have close experience of family members repeating a year because they felt that it was their only option, they were wedded to the idea of being' like everyone else' and having a degree and probably saw leaving as failing. In neither case did it have a successful outcome. I have known several young people who have dropped out altogether and gone back to the same or different courses with success however. I realise I am talking anecdotally .

Yes, repeating is one among several options (possibly - we don't really know what the options are at present). And no, if the underlying problems aren't addressed, and if he doesn't pay close and consistent attention to those problems and their management throughout, then repeating the year won't be helpful. However - and with those provisos - a repeat and a reset might just give him the opportunity to clear himself of this burden he's lugging around with him.

I feel awful, of course, because I've known all along that things weren't right - we're both expert in masking. But I chose not to confront him and kept trying instead to guide him towards the help that the university offers.

And yes, of course all these accounts are going to be anecdotal. It's difficult to get robust statistical evidence about experiences that are by their nature very individual. But here's one: the daughter of a friend of mine had been a high achiever, very driven. Felt she was not on the right trajectory for the high degree she was capable of and predicted. Repeated the year, ended up with a first, and great confidence that she could tackle her study technique defects, with the right support that she accessed on the repeat. So it was a powerful positive experience that has helped her become a confident young woman.

And another: 40 years ago, I was the high-achieving student, of whom my tutors expected great things. But I knew that the work I produced was by dint of exhausting painful effort and I was never going to be able to reproduce it under exam conditions. And I indeed ended up with a rubbish degree - less important in the workplace in those days, but disastrous for my self-esteem. A powerful negative experience. If I could have had the courage and support to leave and do another degree at a different university, or even to repeat my second year after a lot of counselling and training to manage my poor learning processes then I might have spared myself a lot of grief.

So of course I want to do the best I can to help to explore all options and tackle the problems. This help was not available to me and I think that's wrong.

And yes, sorry, he did apply for DSA at the beginning of year 1. He forwarded the report that had been produced by the EP at his sixth form, and the recommendations that arose out it, but it didn't meet the university's thresholds I suppose. I don't think it is really a question of money for us- if there were some recommended software or something similar that could help, we'd do whatever we could to supply it. It's more about support and advice on ways of studying and learning to support his abilities.

Yes, his personal academic tutor should be able to help with deciding on the best course of action re: assessments for successful completion, give study skills advice and signpost to student welfare services. Academic tutors are usually subject specialists, with an understanding of the specific course and module requirements, but don't usually have much (or any!) training in counselling or supporting the mental health needs of students. So there are often separate welfare specialists who are available for academic tutors to refer students to, or for the students to approach directly for non-academic support.

Thank you @RiskyReels for explaining that. I so wish he had built this relationship from the outset, like the university urges. The person he has made contact with, and whom he is due to see in 10 days or so, is a member of his faculty and has offered (I think) to meet with him fortnightly. Which sounds very positive, and the kind of thing he would benefit from hugely in terms of helping with organisation and building confidence. I am not sure if this staff member is the personal academic tutor or sits on the welfare side. I am hoping that tomorrow's conversation (with university website open and emails on display) will clarify what's going on.

DP failed the first year of an engineering degree a few years ago. Quite a few did and some year 2.

They had the choice to repay for the year or sit it out, pay £95 and study on their own for the resits (he chose the latter). It was very hard and also crushed him.

He managed but opted not to stay for the masters because he found the make or break the whole year of UK education very unpleasant.

It's surprisingly normal but really unfortunate for your DS 😔

The make or break model of uk unis is outdated and potentially should be outlawed now that the fees are so high. Many other countries allow you to resit more, do summer school to catch up, change major and cross credit passed modules. Why this obsession with completion in a fixed time frame. It is reflective of nothing in the real world. Different professions all have different modes of performing and having a rigid 'pass or you are out' or redo the entire year when you have passed a lot if it is ridiculous.

@mybeautifuloak oh I know! My undergrad in the US had a few resits. Statistics and I are not friends. 😅

It's criminal isn't it!! You pay thousands and the. Have to f*ck off if you fail two modules. Around the world you can resist them over summer or the next year or change direction without having to start a whole fecking new degree from the start.

Hi,
I can understand all your concerns. You have all probably made a good decision now, looking at the date of your post. My son is now doing his second year again for reasons similar to yours. I think that is the best decision. Get the help he needs and help if you need to help getting that help. However it happens, get that advice, get that extra help and have another go.

Our Uni student is much happier with a plan this year and extra support. We have also learnt as part of the letting go stage of our older children, to listen to them and if they want to go back, that is a good sign. When they are older and look back, this will just be a blip and a re-route even though it seems big for them at the time.

Good luck and I hope its all worked out. I am speaking from someone who has been through what your going without going into too much detail, but its a very similar story to yours. It will or hope it has all turned out well for you all xxxx

@tryingtohelphim as this has popped back up how is he doing now? Did he manage to get to resit his second year?