Can a second-year student carry one failed module into final year?

[BlueMum16]

DS has just found he has failed one module in year two.

Uni are not replying to emails just saying someone will be in touch in due course.

Oringally he was told resit in August, if passed continue to finalise year. If fails again then drop out or resit the whole year two again.

DA hates uni. Will not resit year two. Cost would be massive. Time also an issue.

It's one module. What's the chances he can continue in year 3 and maybe just pick up the module as an extra?

It's Bio Med.

This is what I've been telling him throughuyear two, any degree means you apply for a grading job, not necessarily in the field of your study.

I've found a TUI winter season job that is right up his street, qualifications, work experience and references - November to April so perfect. Trying the positive spin of earning, sun, travel but he's just dismissed it completely as more of a waste time and nothing is worth it.

He's back to sulking in his bedroom and won't come out for dinner.

IM WFH again tomorrow so around to gently be here and his dad is taking Thursday off to be here again then.

I'm encouraging him to see his friends and still go on holiday. It will all look better with a week away.

On the MH front there is no way he'll contact someone again, he's emailed and asked for help and it feels like no one cares. Hopefully one of the many people he's contacted will reach out and not just the process of resitting.

Thanks again everyone

He sounds depressed. Would he consider a gp visit?

Dd failed a module in year one and didn’t do the resit due to covid and a nervous breakdown. Didn’t tell me until the end of the year. She had to take a year out and repeat the module and then start year 2 a year later. She went on to get a 1st class degree. Sometimes there is a bump in the road but although it feels like the end of the world at the time it really isn’t.

Based on my experience of over 30 years in higher education, academics taking the whole summer off really isn’t normal at all. The summer vacation is longer than the annual leave allowance.

How is he doing today?

Hmm, I've noticed a couple of people have mentioned the coincidence of getting the same mark twice. And I think they do have a point that he should ask to see his resit paper, just to check it was in fact the same mark again and also to find out where he was going wrong. The mark entry process for paper exams is a manual one, so there is always the potential for a mistake. Or that the system carried his old mark over when it shouldn't have. I think you said the module convenor had left, in which case he should approach either the new convenor or the Head of Department.

Thanks for checking in. Not great and Liverpool uni are just demonstrating how unhelpful they are

Last night i convinced him to reach out to the details provided for 'support and guidance '. We've had a face to face appointment today at 3pm with a Student Advisor.

Advisor basically said they is nothing he came do except do the exam in May and start again in September 27.

He knew nothing about appeal process- sent us to the Guild (we went in person) who are unavailable and only dealing with emails and have a backlog.

DS asked Advisor about same score which apparently Advisor had already queried as very unusual. Apparently it was all correct. DS explained that on the resit paper there was a duplicate question. Exactly the same question twice. The Advisor said he cannon commentary on the paper.

I asked (based on PP feedback) if there is anyone who can take DS through his paper to help him pinpoint what he's doing wrong. Was told to email the module person, which DS has already done without a response since Monday.

Advisor knew nothing about potential costs - sent us to drop in with that team but there were not availability and only dealing with emails.

Advisor he said to contact the Head of (which DS had done on Monday and Tuesday and got not reply) to ask about how to best spend the 12 months. DS has contact them again and have an offer of a teams call at 4.30 but no link yet at time of writing.

I asked the Advisor what support was there for DS and his MH, I felt the uni had a duty of care. He said that was what he was doing - answering question quickly, seeing us quickly and signposting to where DS needed to go. It does not feel like MH support.

DS said it's all f*cked and a waste of our time this afternoon.

Sorry to hear this. I’d suggest he contact the wellbeing team for mental health support. They won’t be able to advise about academics, or appeals, etc but can help support from a mental health pov.

https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/studentsupport/mental-wellbeing/wellbeing-advice/

Try and encourage him to look at the positives? If he can save money by working in the next year it will help with his last year at uni. Or even if he can get some unpaid work experience in a sector he might be interested in working in in the future it could be helpful. Remember he won’t get a student loan so he either needs to work or you will need to support him? Or he can potentially sign on maybe?

This was less than ideal to be sure, and I am sorry for DS’ experience. I am also a bit surprised that Liverpool is so consistently unresponsive and I hope DS has a chance to feed this back where it counts.

Did he get his Teams meeting?

I’m so sorry that all sounds really unsatisfactory.
I’d be reassuring DS you will help him navigate the system.
I’d definitely push re possible duplication of question as that’s potentially reduced marks available.

A few years ago our godson was treated appallingly by a uni. They attempted to cancel his course after 2 years and after pushback from the students then agreed to run it off. But no staff as they’d made them redundant and it was a case of shoe horning them into existing courses sort of a that will do approach. So he was environmental type course and they just said do some geography modules but they weren’t officially part of geography so got missed off emails etc.
He totally disengaged and had MH issues. All came to a head when didn’t graduate.
His transcript had gone from 1st/high 2.1 all work completed on time to him dropping off face of earth yr3 after Christmas. No one from uni contacted him. He could have been dead for all they knew.

Long story short he gave my husband authority to speak to uni on his behalf and eventually he got through to someone senior. It took time and tenacity but eventually it was agreed if he did two things he’d graduate in December with a 2.2 which he did.

I was truly appalled by how he had been treated and lack of care. Plus he was paying for this privilege. It was a post 92 uni.

He’s now working, has a girlfriend and doing well in his mid 20s.

Thanks for the further replies. I believe it was the wellbeing team we met with. Awful whoever they were.

Yes Teams called happened and she was lovely and so helpful. DS had a very honest conversation with her. We were sat in the car so I heard it all and typed up notes.

Summary is:
Use the year to explore what he wants to do, if it's not science, is it management, is it people facing, is it data, is it somewhere else.
Use the 12 months to relax, travel and complete some work experience/intern to put him ahead of others graduating.
It turns out it was a new module and based on feedback it will be different this year.
He will have access to campus, library and recorded lectures for the module but just can't attend in person.
She recommends spending time earning for now and deciding on the future then get in touch with module tutor Dec/Jan to plan for resist.
She offered to catch up with him in two weeks after his holiday once he's had time to reflect.

She was actually really kind, honest and gave direction.

On the way home in the car his mood switches, he's agreed it's shit and nothing he can do. He's not going to appeal as this takes 10 days to lodge, 90 days for them to review and decide so it would be too late for this year anyway.

He's going on holiday. He's told his friends. He's framing it as a gap year to anyone who asks as everyone knows he's been unhappy.

He's talking about travelling.
He's talking about applying for jobs, both interns and full time jobs that will occupy him until next September.

We've come home much more positive. He's had a shower, he's gone to GP for tea. He's no longer avoid his sister.

We didn't get the answer he wanted on Monday - doing year 3 now - but it doesn't seem as bleak

Thank you everyone for helping me, listening, guiding and checking in. We wouldn't have got through this without you.

Only question remains is how much it will cost him and we'll wait for a reply in the email for that one.

As an academic I once gave my students an exam with a duplicate question. It was pointed out to me and when marking I just removed one of them from my marking calculations. So if the answer had been worth 5 marks for each one and the exam overall had been worth 150 marks I now had an exam worth 145 marks and worked out the percentage based on that.

They really should address this as it could potentially make a difference depending how many marks it was worth. I think you said the module lead has left? It needs raising to the programme lead and if they’re not responding then the head of school? Because if it does make enough difference to scrape a pass he can start year 3 this year. Again this is something the SU could potentially help him with.

Thank you. I'll mention it.

If it helps my ds was in a not dissimilar position - ie doing a resit with no tuition. Cost was £300 for library and IT access. My institution doesn’t charge.

I'm glad to hear your son has finally got some good advice and is feeling a bit more positive. I hope he finds a way to enjoy some things this year and maybe work out more about what he hopes to do as a career in the end. If he has really struggled with his academic advisor I'd recommend asking to be switched to somebody else when he next speaks to the HoD.

Are you sure he can’t attend lectures in person? It’s not unusual to have people attend lectures who are not registered on the course.

I mean lectures, not labs, seminars or tutorials etc.

I was also wondering about this. When I enquired in my School, the claim was that university insurance would not cover anyone not enrolled on the module in case of a catastrophe. So only enrolled students are allowed.

This makes sense, sadly. But I have rarely had lecture rooms with restricted access. Usually anyone could walk in off the street. When students in DS’ situation have asked, I’ve relayed the official position, then said that I always approve of learning and do not take attendance. With a smile.

They told us categorically that he cannot attend in person. The lectures are record and he'll be able to access them.

He did say afterwards though that no one checks as they are large lecture theatres and often friends sit in each others lectures to pass the time