University issues

[LadyWhistledownAteMyHamster]

My son finished yr 2 at uni on a demanding STEM course this June, and then discovered he had failed two ‘must pass’ modules. He was allowed to resit them over summer, and had the most miserable summer ever, cramming in his room every day over the heatwave. He found out yesterday he still failed both, with zero improvement in his grades. His uni have now said he can’t progress to yr 3 without them, so must resit them again this year, on a non attendance basis.

my son is struggling to understand what this means- there’s no maintenance loan (no tuition fees either), but he’s locked in to a years accommodation. There’s no academic support which means he’s going to have to self study, which I worry about because that approach has not worked over the summer and so is likely to not work this time unless he really changes something.

He says he’s not sure where it went wrong but doesn’t seem willing to ask questions / ask advice to find out.

I’ve had conversations with him to see if he wants to continue or try to find an alternative course somewhere else that he might be more comfortable in but he says he wants to carry on with this one. Whilst I want to be supportive of his choices I don’t feel confident that he’s grasped the implications or that it’s necessarily the right course for him.

I don’t know know how we will pay for his accommodation- I’ve suggested he seeks a tenancy takeover but he’s not willing to give up his room and says he intends to stay there this year- I’m not even sure that he can do that, does he still count as a student? (It’s private rented house for students).

I feel totally out of my depth, worried sick about him and the finances. I feel like he’s shut down emotionally- he doesn’t seem bothered / upset / anything at all, and it doesn’t seem like a surprise to him either.

I don’t even know why I’m posting other than to see if others have been there or if there is any advice / hand holding.

I worry about his state of mind and whether there is anything I should have done differently.

Agree, SU staff/officers aren’t ‘off’ for the summer and will very much be back prepping for Freshers’ at this point.

I don't want to add to your woes but I think it is highly likely that if he gives two months notice then it would effectively end the tenancy for everyone which would obviously have huge implications for his housemates. That is certainly how the tenancy agreement my (second year) DS has and he said that it is the same for all of his friends. The landlords changed the terms for new tenancy agreements after the Renters Rights Act came into force.

Uni staff work all year round. The teaching might not have started yet but you can be sure the professional services staff and academics are all busying away right now and should be responsive.

You're right that's how it works legally. But in reality the landlord will probably want the other tenants to stay (much easier than trying to replace them mid year) and might just ask them to find a replacement tenant, which is usually possible.

Surely he is still on roll as a student and intends to return to uni so he is still a student for the purpose of both housing and being exempt from paying council tax. I also used to work in Council Tax and Ds's mate failed his first year so had this situation too. He was definitely covered under his student exemption.

For his own sanity I would encourage him back to his uni accommodation, he can get a job to pay for it. It would also mean he is close to any other students on his course who could talk to him about how they approached those modules and where he is potentially going wrong. Ds and others were able to help their mate with revision, keep his spirits up, he also got to talk to the lecturers in the department about it and passed those modules moving onto his second year successfully.

Ds's mate also had access to all the previous slides etc but if your Ds does not does anyone from his course have access and can share them?

I don't have any answers @LadyWhistledownAteMyHamster but honestly, academics are very much there. I am typing from my office! it's way busier now as induction is on the horizon. So keep up with the pressure and I am sorry that your DS is not receiving replies (not okay). This is really shoddy IMO for your DS.

Agree re the SU, they are good in my opinion. Can your son access support from Student Support too (poss not if not a student)? Might be helpful.

Wishing you both luck. It's hard I appreciate.

And I would escalate up to the Head of Department if no joy from relevant people (not my usual advice but this is time sensitive and people should be replying in a reasonable timeframe).

Thank you for this. If we don’t hear from them by tomorrow we will escalate to the head of department, I agree that it’s shoddy- it feels as if the uni drops a massive bombshell and then there is no support in place to answer questions / help at the very time he needs it most. He’s not the most confident person and doesn’t ask for help when he needs it (which I appreciate has led to the problems we are having right now) so when he does ask for help and it’s not there for him, it kind of compounds the problem. I’m not blaming the uni / minimising his role in this but it’s hard isn’t it.

we’ve had a really good chat tonight, talked about options and made a list of the things he needs to do over the next few weeks. I might even take the day off on Friday and go to Liverpool with him so he can knock on a few doors if needs be (I won’t be doing it for him, just there to support if needed)

Thanks for this, this is really interesting, and I’ve asked him to add it to his list of questions when he talks to student support- I would love it if he could go back as I agree it would be good to remain in that environment. Thank you

Also know that he is not alone, this happens more than you think. I think several people failed year 1 of Ds's course even after the summer resits. It isn't necessarily about ability but exam techniques and what the specific lecturer is looking for.

Ds2 was told one way by one lecturer and another way by another lecturer so they just learned to answer the module depending on who was going to be marking it. No consistency.

Yes! This is why I think DS needs access to the lectures and, ideally, the Virtual Learning Environments for these course modules. The latter will surely require paying pro rated fees, though.

My dc was permitted online access without paying fees when she had to resit her finals.

however her situation was a little different in the she got Covid a couple of days before final exams and therefore never sat them and was Also too ill for august resits so there might have been a certain amount of rule bending

Yes, I agree. I was concerned that OP was being given advice that suggested her DS could give 2 months notice and be released from tenancy without impacting other housemates which I don't think is possible. Wrt accommodation, I think there are three options
1/ return to his shared house but accept he may not count as a student and would therefore have to pay the council tax (75%) for the whole house - but he could get a job, earn enough to pay rent + council tax and retake his two modules at end of the year
2/ work with his housemates to find someone who might be able to take over his tenancy - but I think in your earlier posts you thought he might prefer to stay?
3/ give two months notice which would cap his rental obligations but would leave his housemates in a difficult situation.

OP, I really feel for you and you sound as if you are doing everything you can to support your DS. Really hope he gets responses from the SU and academic advisors etc which help him clarify next steps.

My understanding is that he would only "count" as a student if he is attending - your original post suggested the Uni was saying that he must resit the modules on a non-attendance basis. I think he should certainly ask if there is any possibility that he can resit the modules on an attendance basis but that would mean a pro-rata payment of fees. But he would haveobviously have access to the lectures and virtual learning environments etc etc.

If I had a student in this situation, and they emailed me, I would make sure they had all the appropriate materials.

I would also provide all materials informally. It is wrong for universities to limit access to material students will need for upcoming exams, and I say that as someone who generally believes that the public don’t appreciate how expensive it is to run a university.

But some colleagues would disagree.

Ime, students in a rented student house almost certainly have to have guarantors (usually parents) in order to rent, and unless I’m mistaken, most letting agencies will have all guarantors jointly responsible for any default of rent payments, so unless a replacement tenant is found, the letting agency aren’t just going to waive the OP’s ds’s share of the rent.

He should also look at whether he can download things now.

In my institution, if someone defers from a course, they lose access to the online materials, but they are usually advised before they defer to download anything they might want before they officially return.

Great idea.

No, if he is not in attendance then he will not be is a registered student for the coming academic year, and will be liable for council tax.

There may be grounds for an appeal to request that he be allowed to actually retake the modules. So enrol as a part-time student for the year but that depends on many things specific to the university and degree he’s taking. He would need to review Appeals policy, programme rules etc, and quickly, as there are usually time constraints on the appeals.

But in any case, having further reassessment on a year out is not that unusual, he should consult his personal tutor and the module lead to make sure he retains access to their teaching portal for notes etc and can get help if he has problems.

I don’t see why he can’t stay in the shared flat - he surely would get a job this year and use that income to pay rent if he wants to. Plus the full council tax because he’s the only non student. Even if he wants to move home I would not expect parents to support a full year out, he’s an adult so needs to pay his way just like everyone else. Hopefully he passes everything and then returns to normal university arrangements next year.

Having said all that, I agree with pp he should honestly reflect on what has gone wrong here - either he did not work as hard as is needed for this degree, or this is not the degree for him. Taking another year to work that out is just a waste of time.

@bucketsoflove Ds's mate worked for a year whilst still registered as a student. Even though he couldn't attend any lectures etc the intention was to return so he was still on roll at uni. He failed his first year summer resits and then took them at the end of the year of working.

I was asked about council tax because I used to work in council tax and he would have been moving into a shared student house. I still have the messages about it. I worked in a university town and the university would contact us to tell us if someone was no longer a student so we could remove the exemption.

It would depend how the university sees it and whether he is still classed as a student. You only get a student exemption if you are a full time student, not part time.

This can absolutely be about exam technique and knowing how to answer the question. My friend's DD ended up with a private tutor as the uni she was at were useless at feedback and she failed her first year. As there were no mark schemes available to her she had no choice but to get a private tutor.

This happened to my DD’s flatmate. I have ti say it was a bit of a nightmare. He was allowed to,access the university library and watch the lectures online. He wasn’t a student so we also had the council tax nightmare and I didn’t get involved with it at all. As far as I know, they or just he lied and said he was a student and told absolutely nobody that he wasn’t. He worked to pay his rent and bills and studied and took the exams again and failed for a third time. Then he went home and he’s started a new degree whilst living at home. The same year that the people who he started with had graduated.

We've been in a similar boat this week. Is it uni of Liverpool?

DS failed a bio Med module and his August resist. We've found the uni awful.

We got an appointment yesterday with an advisor yesterday, was meant to be welfare but provided not MH support.

Basically at uni of Liverpool resit with attendance is at a reduced cost. You need to email the finance team for exact amount.

He will be allowed on campus, in the library and recordings of all the modules.

Advice from Head of school year was to use the year to think about what they want after graduation and get a job, intern or even just work experience to build the CV. They encourage.a gap year it's that our DC have now had one forced on them.

Advice was to ask module tutor to go through paper so DS has an idea of where he went wrong so he can correct it next time.

There is an appeal process but mainly about extenuating circumstances. DS has no grown to appeal. At Liverpool you must appeal in 10.days but then takes 90.days for outcome so won't be resolved in time to start at the end of the month.

My DS really took the news badly but after finally speaking to Head yesterday it was a turning point. He's now looking at some expeditions travel as well as work options.

We're lucky as he commutes on the train each day so no accommodation.

Good luck..it will work out ok..just takes time to ask all the right question. I found the academics on here a fabulous support.

Also to add if he is not employed currently he should sign up to universal credit and he will get a housing amount to pay his rent. When he gets a job he will lose uc for every £1 earns but will probably still clear enough to pay his rent. The council taX issue is far from clear and he might not have to pay. Look at the relevant council website

With regards accommodation and giving notice it depends if it a joint tenancy or each house mate has own tenancy agreement. If joint then he would need to find someone to take his bit over