DD Suspended from Uni

[Velvetlady]

My 17 year old DD has been asked to leave her halls of residence and has been suspended from her course. Last week, she had friends round for a drink and things got out of hand. Neighbours complained to the Police about noise and a window was broken! One of DD's friends invited boys round once DD had gone to bed & one of them stole food belonging to her flatmates! My DD apologized to all involved and replaced the food and paid for the window to be fixed. However, the other day DD got called out of class to speak to the head of her course and the Accommodation Officer. They had a letter from DD's flatmate reporting her for drinking alcohol under age. DD was asked to leave the halls by 5pm and has been suspended from classes until a disciplinary hearing. DD wasn't able to pack her in time and had about half her belongings thrown out by the security guard. I'm so angry at DD! However, I do feel she has been treated harshly for one episode of bad behaviour. Has anyone else had a child go through a disciplinary at uni?

[Boisderose]

Going to university at 16 or 17 seems crazy. Wasn't aware thatwas normal in Scotland. Why??

[manicinsomniac]

Tinkly - yes, there were Scottish students at the English uni I went to. But highers wouldn't have got them in, they needed advanced highers. So 17 would be the youngest, not 16. I would think that good Scottish universities will be the same re not taking normal highers but I'm not sure.

[Kr1stina]

You've had some good advice here about reading the letter and getting some support from the students union. Also the university will have a policy on U18 at university , you need to read this, as well as her accommodation contract.

Did she sign the contract herself or did you have to do it ?

I'm afraid I agree that's there's more to this than she is saying . I've been a warden in a hall of residence , although it was university owned and not a private company , who are much stricter I think. I have broken up many student parties, never checked the ID of those present and never called the police who have better things to do with their time

Also she may have broken the hall rules on alcohol but I'm not sure it's illegal for a 17yp to drink alcohol in what is effectively their own home.

[MaudGonneMad]

The English unis accept a range of different qualifications, not just Scottish highers or advanced highers. All the equivalents should be published on Uni websites.

[EnoughAlready43]

I think your DD is minimising.
Lying to you, to put it in plainer language.
No-one likes an asshole flatmate.

[Kr1stina]

Don't be silly, why would " good " Scottish universities not take " normal highers" , when Highers are a Scottish qualification ?

[TallulahTheTiger]

Just had a Google and code of conduct remains same, for the instant request to leave it would have been a gross misdemeanour which is where harm has been caused to the other residents- and even then they would be helped to find other accommodation. Other unis may be different though!

[InformalRoman]

TinklyLittleLaugh You'd need Advanced Highers (roughly equivalent to A levels) to be accepted to an English Uni. But because of the way the school year intake is structured, you could take Advanced Highers at 17 yrs and 4 months and be attending an English Uni at 17 yrs 7 months.

[OurBlanche]

Fair comment rolling but someone will have broken the law in getting alcohol to an under 18 in a place that is not 'in the home' - and no, halls are temporary residences, so don't count!

Maybe that someone is also in trouble, or OPs DD is also being punished for not identifying them!

[VestalVirgin]

One of DD's friends invited boys round once DD had gone to bed & one of them stole food belonging to her flatmates!

Instead of complaining about the flatmates, who had every right to be very, very angry, I would ask why that friend was a friend, and whether she still is considered a friend by your DD.

My friends would not invite anyone much less male strangers to my flat and much less to a flat I share with other women.

You should a keep an eye on the kind of company your DD keeps.

[EweAreHere]

I find it hard to believe that the University suspended her and chucked her out of her halls on the word of a letter from a roommate. There has to be more to it then that.

If your DD's roommate called the police, it may well have gotten pretty bad living with your DD. And a broken window sounds like a pretty wild party. And then she left a bunch of drinking, partying friends alone in the halls while she pissed off to bed? Passed out might be the more likely scenario... and while she was out, damage was being done and things were getting stolen.

I think you need to sit your DD down and ask her what's really been going on for her first month at University, OP.

[OhNoNotMyBaby]

My 18 yr old DD - nearly at the end of her 1st year - rang me in tears one day, asking if she could come home [of course!] because she was so scared of one of her flatmates who had taken drugs - AGAIN - and had smashed the door - and was being generally aggressive. She was petrified and really upset.

I'm not saying your DD was on drugs OP, but what I am saying is that it's really scary for other students when things get out of hand. And the neighbours were right to call the police.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

Have googled and discovered Scottish degrees are 4 years. So if you have A levels do you miss the first year?

[DrDreReturns]

The only time I heard of someone getting expelled from hall at University was when a bloke came back pissed and urinated over his room mate who was in bed. He wasn't thrown off his course though and he found other accommodation.
I agree there must be some things you aren't being told here.

[APlaceOnTheCouch]

It wasn't necessarily the room-mate that called the police. It says 'neighbours'. If they were external neighbours (ie the halls are in a residential area) then the university would take a very dim view of having to fend off disgruntled neighbours. Especially if she's in Scotland where lots of universities are trying to extend their accommodation provision and hence rely on good relations for planning applications, etc.

[InformalRoman]

Tinkly For many degrees (not sure if it's for all degrees) if your A level or Advanced Higher grades are good enough you can enter direct to Yr 2.

[Velvetlady]

I tried to speak to DD's personal tutor but she couldn't tell me anything due to confidentiality. I spoke to the accommodation officer who said that DD is now released from her contract and I will get my deposit back. She stated there had been personality clashes in the flat and the Student Warden is now moving in to DD's old room to keep an eye on things. Also there have been problems in that block of flats with DD's flat phoning the police about the flat upstairs and the accomodation officer did think that there was a bit of "tit for tat" going on. She is sending me a list of private landlords that the university for alternative accommodation for DD.

[manicinsomniac]

Kristina - because surely highers are equivalent to AS levels and advanced highers to A2 levels? You have a whole year less of education if you stop at highers. It was my belief that it is unusual for a student to go to a university without advanced highers? My sister was at St Andrews and although she said there were plenty of 17 year olds she never met a 16 year old. Much the same at the English but Northern university I attended - Scottish 17 year olds not uncommon at all but that was because of the difference in the age cut off for academic years, not because they'd actually had a year's less education.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

So if you have A levels do you miss the first year?

With some degrees you can go straight into the 2nd year depending on what qualifications/subjects you've done. I believe that even if you do the 4 years, you only get charged for 3 but can't remember for certain.

Scottish students with advanced Highers can also sometimes skip the first year.

[19lottie82]

Scottish students sit highers.
Highers are worth a certain number of UCAS points, just like A Levels.

A Levels are worth more points but You can sit up to 5 in 5th year of high school. Then in 6th year you can sit more highers or do advanced highers.

You can go to Uni after 5th year if you get the right results. Some kids go to uni after 5th year at 16/17 and others stay on and do more exams in 6th year (either due to results or wanting to do the final year in school) then go to uni the following year.

[19lottie82]

Essentially you could start Uni @ 16 years and 7 months in scotland.

[Marbleheadjohnson]

She might be better off in private accommodation. Maybe see if there are some private halls as well? And yes, tell her to get better friends! Someone who invites strangers to your home and lets them run riot is no friend.

[dancerdog]

I went to Uni at 16, as did my sister, brother and best friend. In Scotland, you can go to Unit straight out of 5th year. it was fine.

[manicinsomniac]

I know you can Francis But you can be 17 and still have completed the education system and therefore taken advanced highers, no? Of course there will be lots of Scottish (and some English) 17 year olds at both Scottish and English universities. But a 16 year old with just highers? Fair enough if that is also common practice but I didn't think it was.

And I don't know much about RG, I just meant universities with higher entrance requirements than others - ie, I can imagine that a university that counts UCAS points or accepts lower grades would take a student with only highers whereas a university that doesn't work on points and wants higher grades would require advanced highers.