DS has failed 2 end of year exams, what is likely to happen?

[Monr0e]

Just that really. He is doing a mechanical engineering degree and this is his second year. It has been very demanding, especially on the run up to end of year. He has been working on 2 group assignments for months then as soon as they were completed, started end of year exams.

He has failed 2 out of 5. He has admitted himself he could have put more effort in throughout the year on these specific modules, but the last few months were taking up so much with his group work. One of which, he was the only one who did any of the work out of 4 of them

He has been told he can resit. But I am spiralling (I have started another thread today about my increasing anxiety!)

What is likely to happen if he fails his resits? Will that mean leaving the course? Can he redo 2nd year? (He really won't want to)
Will it be resitting the same exams or will they give them another one to do?

He failed one by 3 marks and one by 6. He is more than capable but only has 2 weeks before the resits and I'm really struggling with the idea that he may fail thses also.

Thank you for any advice

PS I should emphasise that Exam Boards are anonymous! That is to protect from negative discrimination.

But the number of cases at a Resit Board is usually pretty small, and the Board is geared to helping students. Dd’s tutor will recognise her marks pattern. Board members are invited to speak up based on marks patterns and the Chair can make recommendations.

Academics basically want to help YP to succeed. Occasionally this means not approving them to do things they are not prepared for or throw good money after bad.

@poetryandwine thank you, your words have given me hope 🙏🏻

Looking at the regs, it looks like they'll let them pass by compensation if it's an optional module, but not if it's a core one. Then they'd have to repeat externally. https://www.southampton.ac.uk/about/governance/regulations-policies/taught-students/general/credit-bearing-programme
https://www.southampton.ac.uk/studentadmin/assessment/assess-overview/exams-off-campus.page

It’s a core module 😕

@WaitingForAutumm I really feel for your DD.

I think it us probably best to speak to the uni direct as they all seem to have individual guidelines.

I really hope you get to speak to them soon and they can reassure DD and explain her next steps

@Monr0ethank you for your kind words. We were just about beginning to relax after a very rocky few years of exams and diagnoses. She was for the first time doing well without our intervention. I hope and pray that she doesn’t lose her desire to do well due to this bump.

Thank you for your best wishes and sharing your expertise @poetryandwine
We found out today that DS passed his resit (achieved 66% but capped at 40). Phew, and I don't think he'll want to go through this again next year.
I love MN for supportive threads like this one.

Great news, @MillicentFaucet ! I hope DS has a wonderful year.

We were almost in a similar situation but DS passed his resit (phew).
DS had been told if he didn't pass the resit that he could resit the modules in a repeat year (he would only have to pay for the module he failed, around £3000) and then he could progress onto the next year in Sept 2027.
I guess it will vary by university and course but it's one possible outcome.
I had lots of questions about what that would mean for student finance and accommodation that weren't answered and thankfully don't need to be now, but I totally get the worry.
It's difficult when they're at uni because the university won't communicate directly with parents, which I understand to a point but it's difficult when they're actually still financially dependent on us and sometimes we need to know what's going on.
Good luck to your son, I will keep my fingers crossed that he passes the resits and can move on to year 3 without any problems.

@Skule@poetryandwine
we’ve got the outcome today and it’s what we were afraid of!
she can either resit the module as an internal student or external student or withdraw from the course.
what’s not clear is whether they have applied the ‘special considerations’ that she put in about having an anxiety / panic attack issue during the exam period.
also, since her ‘resit’ is technically not an exam but an essay - will she be allowed to do it in the next few weeks and continue to year2 if she passes.

Planning to appeal anyway as she wasn’t explained the rules when she asked to ‘delay’ the paper. She was only told that her marks will be capped and given a deadline. She didn’t really understand that she’s being failed and put into ‘resit’ or she would’ve given the essay as it was instead of stalling and hoping for a better mark.

we are in chaos and not sure who to ask. Her personal academic tutor is away on leave until mid week. He is also the faculty of her failed essay which is even more baffling as he knows her whole medical situation.

Who at her uni can help us? We have 4 days to choose our option and 5 days to submit an appeal.

Hi, OP -

On the face of it this seems very harsh, especially given that DD has high 2.1 average marks overall and an Internal Repeat seems to mean repeating the entire year at full fees (Sec 2.20 of the regs @Skule linked to). I won’t ask any possibly outing details of the degree programme, but I am surprised.

The Student Union and DD’s Senior Tutor or Director of Studies may be good people to contact. The SU literally works for her; the others should know the regs inside out. This is an unusual situation to say the least, what with the delayed paper and the undocumented panic attack.

I don’t doubt the latter (I have experienced it myself as a student, and felt ashamed) but the reality is that enough students do try to game the system that such episodes are irrelevant unless evidenced.

Is there a possibility that DD’s ADHD may have played into her misunderstanding over the importance of the deadline for this essay/exam? If so and assuming the ADHD has been formally diagnosed, I would lean into that for the appeal. Because, unfortunately, it is quite an unusual misunderstanding. What did DD expect would happen? She will need to be able to explain this and it needs to sound reasonable.

If you use this you will need to justify why it meets the allowable criteria for an appeal. You will also need to enclose medical evidence of the ADHD.In general, it is good to make sure that everything you use in the appeal meets the criteria given. Anything that doesn’t is ignored.

The choice between Internal and External Repeats looks harsh: either repeat the whole year or severely limit your access to resources. If the appeal goes anywhere, DD might consider requesting to carry this course module (repeat it whilst progressing). I would check with the SU about that, however. A uni that does not routinely offer this option may be very resistant.

Good luck

@WaitingForAutumm I am so sorry

Hopefully you will get the correct support to make the best decision for your DD.

They really won’t!

@poetryandwine thank you, there is no fees for the external resit but there is access to mail and online resources, library etc.
Given that the ‘paper’ is a single essay of 2000 words, she doesn’t need huge input or support. She should be able to do it fairly independently. Looks like she can’t submit it until next May, so that’s a huge drag.

Thanks for the ADHD pointer. She has a formal assessment, is on meds, and is well supported by the uni. Unfortunately between thinking she understands the rules and feeling confident of passing, she has failed to clarify the basics. Now that the situation has arrived - it all looks clear!

Even so - they are likely to agree/sympathise, but given they are already offering her a resit, not sure what new outcome to expect? Unless you mean they allow her to pass the subject - which I doubt they will.

The panic attacks at the time are not documented but she’s been under the care of our GP for counselling over summer due to the panic attacks. Not sure if that counts for anything.

I think the only outcome that allows her to start year2 is to be passed in her failed paper. For which we need to prove that she was indeed unwell on the day of paper submission. This is quite hard to prove, as you say.

not sure if there is any point in appealing at all.

I was hoping DD might be allowed to carry this course module into Y2, especially given the low demand nature of the outstanding work. I have no idea whether Southampton has leeway to permit this. The SU should.

Great that there is a paper trail for the ADHD: use it! The fact that DD has been under a GP’s care for panic attacks is also a good thing for her, obviously. Whether it can be used in the appeal is a question for the SU or an eagle eye to the appeals rules. 🤞🤞

@poetryandwineyes, that’s what we were hoping and praying for but sadly it hasn’t happened. SU have also confirmed the outcome.
You are right - I should focus on appealing that she be passed or be allowed to continue to year2 even with the pending essay due to her medical situation.
thanks for listening and the advise.

@Monr0e - thank you for your kind words. It’s a very very tough life lesson for a young person. Hope and pray that she emerges stronger with some work experience at the end of this year.