Son not allowed to continue to second year at uni

[PocketSand]

DS2 has just completed his first year in an engineering degree. His results are all over the place from 1st in maths to 2:2 to required resits. He exceeded the A level grade requirements for MEng. He is autistic and has ADHD. He was un medicated prior to and during most of his first year due to shortages followed by referral to cardiology.

His DSA support didn't start til the spring term and one support worker provided 1 hour support when 30 hours was approved. He constantly tells the one he has seen that everything is fine and they believe him.

He always says everything is fine and doesn't ask for help. He has never been to the library and relies totally on lecture notes. He doesn't know what independent study is. I have always been his advocate but now he is expected to advocate for himself. No one at the uni knows these issues - he has not even contacted his personal tutor let alone disability services and just thinks he needs to work harder.

He found out today that he has failed his third submission of a lab report he initially submitted in February. He did not have DSA agreed support at that time so he didn’t have his own laptop. He borrowed another student’s at the time but when he had to resubmit no longer had access to his results and so he tried to cobble together a report using specimen (and maybe someone else’s results - not clear). He had previously received an email saying he couldn’t proceed unless he passed resubmission. I assume that’s where we are at now.

His feedback is harsh - shouldn’t study for a degree if not prepared to use feedback to improve his work. Trouble is he often doesn’t understand the feedback and he is unwilling to ask for clarification as he fears tutor’s anger. He says he doesn’t know who marked the work so doesn’t know who to talk to and seems generally clueless about most administrative issues.

I feel completely in the dark and don’t know where to go from here. Obviously I don’t want to just give up and accept his journey ends here as it seems very unfair but don’t know what I can do to try and enable him to fix this or if it can be fixed.

Can anyone who knows the system provide advice on next steps please?

Applying for extenuating circumstances can be helpful....the undergoing of his meds, throughno fault of his own,seems relevant to me. He needs to be clear on the timing of this in relation to the failed lab report if he does do this. It needs to be specific, relevant.

He’s being allowed to resubmit the report in a couple of days. Doesn’t have to resit the whole module or the year. Or formally apply for extenuating circumstances. His lecturer went through the feedback with him and clarified misunderstandings. He better pass this time!

I suspect he will want to brush it under the carpet and not learn the lessons but I will be presenting him with a long list of things he has to do differently to continue with engineering which are non-negotiable. With the right support and a different approach he will get there in the end if past experience is a guide.

Thanks to everyone with experience of similar and those with knowledge of uni procedure for their valuable advice. Not so much for those that don’t understand that support is necessary to learn skills of independence and resilience is required to keep going when you face lack of support combined with your own mistakes when trying something new. If at first you don’t succeed …

Thats good news. Is it capped or uncapped?

Hopefully he'll realise what he needs to do going forward, good luck.

So he is allowed to do the 2nd year ?

what a relief for you.

Hooray! Hopefully this experience (both for you and him) will make navigating 2nd year a bit easier. He had no idea how to deal with the expectations of a courseworky subject without the support being thrust upon him, and now he does - thats got to be a good thing even if the lessons dont sink in quickly. And if it hasn't ended up putting him off engineering then good for him!

"Not so much for those that don’t understand that support is necessary to learn skills of independence and resilience is required to keep going when you face lack of support combined with your own mistakes when trying something new."

You asked for people's perspectives... and people took the time to reply. Don't be so ungrateful.

That’s good news.

did the lecturer say if it would be treated as a first sit?

He really does need to spend some time now in the next few weeks before term begins getting familiar with how to do independent study, access the library, reading lists, course and module handbooks, textbooks etc.

Thursday and Friday and the beginning of next week will be horribly busy though so perhaps not those days!

Has he definitely authorised you to speak on his behalf going forward? Because it would be worth your while making sure that is in place

It’s capped for his first year but doesn’t apply to his final grade. So not really worth the effort for it not to be capped.

Of course, 1st year grades often aren't factored in to the final classification, you just need to pass. Hopefully he's working on it with the new feedback and can submit on time. Then approach year 2 with a new strategy. Best of luck to him.

It is on his list to give me blanket authorisation with disability support. For now he is giving ad hoc authorisation until we are over this hurdle. At this stage first sit is not the main priority as first year grades don’t count toward final grade.

He has a non-negotiable list of what he needs to differently in terms of support and things he needs to personally do differently (he may need support with this).

Sounds like you have a plan. Excellent. He's lucky to have your support.

By capped I mean is it capped at a bare pass mark - as in, the highest mark he can get is just a pass.

As long as he passes, he should be able to progress to 2nd year.

Some people’s perspectives are not very useful. They have no personal experience or knowledge of procedure. TBH I don’t know why they bother to contribute. I don’t have to be grateful to receive ignorant posts. If you have nothing to add, just click on. I won’t mind and the thread is not cluttered. DC with autism/ADHD have a lot to offer and with appropriate support can navigate the organisational and administrative requirements of studying at degree level.

@Tippertapperfeetit’s capped as bare minimum for a pass but this does not count toward final class and allows him to continue.

That’s all he needs and to be honest even if it did count, one lab report is likely to be such a very very small part of of his final degree classification it will make little if any difference.

One thought, at the university I worked at, students could pop into the admin office at certain times, or arrange to meet someone. It might be helpful if he feels he has someone there who can help too. Just to feel known. And they can access the other support teams too, check systems re deadlines if he thinks something isn't right, and prod academics where needed. I would have been happy to have a quick chat with him so he was properly on my radar. Maybe get him to drop a line to his course administrator when he's ready.

@murasaki good idea. I’ll add it to his list! He needs to know everywhere he can go to for support.

Great. I'm also wondering if there are subject specific learning support officers in his dept. We had two for another science that needed lab reports, and people could see them for assistance, they had PhDs in the subject. He may not be aware of exactly what is available, and the admin person would be able to signpost him.

What about the Students Union? Has he contacted them ?

Fingers crossed he can pass his resubmission.

@murasakiexcellent - on the list. PhD students were always an excellent support when I was a student. And came to be good friends well before I got ESRC PhD funding (I never got to complete my PhD as I had to give it all up to be a full time carer).

@Tippertapperfeet how do you think SU could help?

Likewise, I was in hospital for 3 weeks in my final year, and as everything depended on the final exams, I was sure I'd fail one paper, my Director of Studies organised and got them to pay for a PhD student to go through things with me. An immense help. He might be able to spend some of his DSA on this if it's not forthcoming from them.

PhD students especially those who wish to lecture often are very helpful.

Some may already be demonstrators in lab classes so know what's required.

That's great news OP! Keep a close eye on him next year (well as much as you can obviously!). I hope he gets lots of support and every thing starts to come together for him next year.