DD has had to defer 2nd yr

[Nikki3009]

Hi all, my DD has had to become a dormant student due to not handing in some essays in yr 2 (her uni had told her she could defer them but didn’t bother telling her that this might be the outcome).
She is devastated, she only found out yesterday and I was supposed to be moving her into her accommodation tomorrow. The university hadn’t even told her.
I don’t know what I’m asking really - just some moral support. I fear her mental health is going to nosedive. We’ve already had a lot to deal with - including me splitting up from her Dad, who was abusive and an alcoholic, her having to live with her grandparents whilst all this was going on. Then living with a maniac in her first yr of uni, and her Dad attempting suicide. Plus splitting up with her boyfriend because he couldn’t handle what she was going through. It’s been a bloody lot for her to deal with and really uni is her purpose, she doesn’t feel she can do a year at home as she has no friends where we now live.

Honestly, I am fearful for her. I need to inject some positivity, hear some good outcomes because atm it’s all doom and gloom and the bottom has fallen out from under her.

All manner of sh*t can happen to me and I deal with it, but when it’s your child, it feels so gut wrenching 🥲
thanks for listening x

Honestly failure is a really good lesson in resilience. Help her to reframe it so that when she talks to others about her situation she can talk about it in a positive way and that will be her new reality.

I failed and redid my first year and it changed me fundamentally into a hard worker. I did 4 years while all my mates did 3.

I treated uni like a job from then on and did 9-5 every day and it was brilliant. I planned out my terms work. Did an essay a week. Got excellent results and loved my degree.

Sorry your DD is having a rough time.

I do, however, think it is fairly obvious that you have to pass your second year to get on your third year.

Does she need to miss the entire year or can she attend the lectures relevant to these essays.

She needs to check whether it is the exact same essays she needs to do or different ones? This is vital to get her back on track.

She needs to know exactly what she needs to do to complete year 2. She has not completed it as she has not handed in the work she needs to.

It really depends how the course is structured. For DS, he has passed both of his first semester modules, and one of the second semester modules, so has passed 75% of the year and failed 25%. Has been advised by the Uni that in that situation they would not allow to re-sit the whole year as he'd passed most of it. There is an option of "suspension with re-attendance" whereby he'd attend just the bits he'd failed, but there are financial and funding implications with this, and this is where the Student Union comes into their own with advice and guidance.

We have found that the tutors/lecturers are just not interested, no response to emails or any sort of guidance whatsoever. The disability and wellbeing service have been more supportive, student union the best out of the lot. They were able to clarify the very basics such as that in deferral/suspension you are still officially a registered student, can still access the library, support services etc etc.

My DD's flatmate is in this situation. He was physically ill last year and has to retake some exams and redo some essays from his second year and will work alongside this so that he can pay the rent and will still live in the flat.

His parents are going to pay the council tax that (we think) will now be due as he's not technically a student. He's allowed to go to the lectures of the modules he's resitting.

I do, however, think it is fairly obvious that you have to pass your second year to get on your third year.

This isn't always the case - if you have failed an elective module and not a core module, and depending on the degree, you may be allowed to proceed to the next year and do the module/class you have failed in addition to the new stuff.

It will depend on the uni how those missing essays affect progression. Are they the final assessments or coursework? Does year 2 count towards final grade or just as a pass to year 3? How long is the course? If she knew they were missing has she been able to works towards them over the break or is her mh struggling too much to do so?

I wonder if she was made aware earlier but may have not fully grasped the consequences or thought how she may need to catch up. Often courses follow on so not completing one may mean she cannot take the next, a big issue if some are compulsory. Is she well enough to resit year 2 or does she need the break?

Does she need to redo the modules? Tbh I suspect very much she's had a bit more info than you might be aware of but has just ostriched the situation. What degree is she on?
I'm just going into year 3 of a nursing degree after a year of interruption. I chose to take the time out as I needed it quite honestly. It's definitely not the worst thing I've done, I got a job, worked and took the academic pressure off and that year flew past. This might be a blessing after everything that has been going on for her.

She probably feels as though everyone else will be graduating without her, but I bet there are people on 4 year courses, other people resitting a year etc who will still be there when she returns.