Has anybody got experience of a YP retaking the third year of a 4 year degree?

[M3again]

Looks like we could be heading that way. My ds (mech Eng)has a had a really bad year with extenuating circumstances. He has autism and adhd. He managed to get a dissertation jn but he is pretty sure it won’t pass and one of his finals has been dire. The others could be ok. So trying to put best foot forward and look at options.

Has anybody got experience of somebody retaking the third year( not sure if it’s an option), can potentially retake the dissertation alongside the 4th year but that’s assuming he even got on it.

Hi OP, know quite a few people including myself who had to retake a year for various reasons. It's been fine tbh and not impacted getting a job after. I think there can be issues if its the final year but you say hes on a 4 year course. Its worth him having a chat with his tutor.

scour the university's web site there should be some information on there along with contact numbers to call and find out.

I think that SFE only allow 4 years’ worth of funding? Unless that’s changed?

My son's friend had this. He was doing a Masters (4 year course) but was awarded a Batchelors after 4 years. He has a mega good job now. Electrical engineering.

I read somewhere the loans company consider extenuating circumstances but I really don’t know.

It's 'length of current course, plus one year, minus previous years of study'. So if registered for a fouryear degree course, finance for a retake year shouldn't be a problem. The Compelling Personal Circumstances point is where a course has had to be abandoned due to e.g. ill health - if that is evidenced and allowed, the year wouldn't count as a previous year's study to be deducted from the funding for a subsequent course. AFAIK it wouldn't be used to to 'erase' a year which had actually been taken to the end, but failed, even if the failure was due to ill health as long as its only a first retake year, that would be covered by the 'grace year' in the basic formula.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/going-back-to-uni-or-repeating-a-year

No he soldiered on with documented extenuating circumstances so assuming they’d charge would they fund the “5th” year. Now wondering if he should have pulled out 😫

He would need to check with SFE, but I would assume yes. I think the 'they only fund 4 years' thing comes from most undergraduate degrees being three years, so the grace year for a false start or a repeat year within the course making it four years. But the formula doesn't actually state 'three years, plus one extra if you need it'. But yes, since your DS has managed to get through the year up to and including exams, then this would be a fully used year, I think (and I do see your point that it might have been better to have investigated taking time out / repeating the year earlier on, especially if all his problems have been documented).

He needs to talk to his tutor about options.

The 4 year engineering courses vary a lot in how they work with regards to finishing. He also should talk about options for 4th year if he turns out he does pass and how best to approach that for success. Some modules will build on this years and be pretty much doomed if knowledge from this year is flakey. Others will standalone and not be impacted by that.