Teenager not working at Uni

[Busymum45]

I have a lovely lad who started uni in September, problem is we just found out he's not done any of the assignments and only attended 28% of lectures. Asked him and he said he struggled to get into the routine, kept missing things and now feels so.far behind he doesn't know what to do

We sat down together and he wrote an email to.his lecturer to ask for a meeting. Hopefully he will go and get something sorted.

I fear he can't cope with uni and really struggles to study independently.

Getting myself so stressed over it as pretty sure he will fail the year .

Is it something I should help him with or leave him to.it? They.may be adults at 18 but he is not mature enough yet?

Any advice welcome xxxx

Think it's important to stress uni isn't how it was for us who went a generation ago when only 20% of school leavers got to uni, generally the top performers at A level.

Now uni's are businesses. They need to fill spaces for funding. The more the merrier for most of them. Unconditional offers are pretty much bribes to choose them. Foundation "degrees" again are not really degrees, just very very expensive college courses !! He probably could have got to the same point by repeating his A levels or doing a BTEC or similar at a sixth form college.

Accommodation isn't generally managed by unis, kids are left to sort themselves out. It's hard.

Don't let him pay another £10-£15k repeating the year OP. It really would be a waste. He had a chance to do well at A level, he didn't. He had a chance to get onto a degree course by this foundation year, he has squandered it. The easy thing would be to pay and carry on but why would things suddenly change? If he really wants to pass the year he'll be doing everything he can the next few months.

TeddTess I agree, I went to uni 20 odd years ago and the grades were higher , there were no foundation degrees or anything, I cant help feeling the universities will take anyone to fill the spaces. At ds's uni everyone on his foundation course had unconditional offers, most have bad A level results like him or nothing at all, it doesnt seem right?

Im backing off now and seeing if he really wants this, if he does he will knuckle down, Tbh the work isnt hard, one essay for example is 1000 words on what he has learned so far and how he can improve as a student..........

Personal tutor has met in Sept/Oct as with everyone but not made any contact since.

Offers are on getting 40% on the foundation course.

40%. What’s the subject?

40% is the standard undergrad pass mark across the majority of courses. So they're just asking for a pass on his foundation to admit him to year one. This again is standard.

OP, his personal tutor will have a specific time when students can come to see them without a prior appointment. He needs to find out when that is and go. It really is up to him to seek them out. The student admin office will be able to tell him, if it's not online or physically on their office door.

Bluntness generally 'referral' just means 'resit'. Yes, I know they should just say that.

Psychology.

Op this is really hard on you both. Your ds simply might not be emotionally mature enough yet for uni. And although this can seem like the end of the world it isn't.

My dd completely screwed up her first year at uni.Totally her fault. Spent the next 6 months appealing and eventually was allowed back in her third year to the second year of the course. It taught her a really valuable lesson but it was a very hard year for her. And for us as her parents watching her struggle.

Looking back, she should never have gone to university straight after A levels. She was in a bad place with her mental health. But she had no plan B.

As a parent you just want to make everything right for your child, be they 5 years old, or 20. But you can't. He has to learn from his own mistakes. You sound like a great mum and your ds is talking to you about the situation which is good.

I hope that things work out for your ds.

Doctor doctor thanks.

Op, foundation courses are for students who have not got the entrance requirements for a degree, hence why it’s unconditional entries, that’s the whole point basically. They are basically for those who don’t have the requirements, so by definition need they to be unconditional.

There are other options though, for example he could have repeated his a levels instead.

Those who do have the entrance requirements don’t do the foundation course. So everyone he is with will be in the same boat as him in terms of a levels.

He’s not doing a foundation degree. He’s doing a foundation year to get the required qualifications to be accepted for a degree. The degree then starts when he has passed the foundation year.

Spot on. He messaged me last night asking if i can help him get organised and that he hadnt heard from any lecturers after his email a week ago, he said he;d chase it up. I said happy to help you if you keep your side of the bargain and attend all lectures, he said he will do. Hopefully hes realising now...

@Bluntness100 aren't they what we used to call 'access' courses for those who didn't have the traditional route into higher education? I know many mature students who ended up with Masters following that old route. He has to knuckle down. My DS didn't and he dropped out. All the same 'reasons' as OPs son has given but now, 2 years on he has admitted he didn't go to lectures, never met his tutor, didn't go to the library and smoked, drank and drugged his way through the two years before his wake up call. Sad but he has learned a lesson of sorts from it

Ok, to get organised, has he got a list of every assignment he needs to submit and the dates to do so on what he has missed?

Then a list of what the content of those assignments are, and what resources are available for him Ie on line lectures, study notes, books etc, to enable him to complete them?

Does he have any exams he has missed? What study is required for those, and the content?

Then the order in which any elements were taught in case it increases in complexity?

Then he needs to understand what’s required from now on, what lectures, what contact time, what assignments etc, and how long they realistically take, what self study is required, because he needs to plan his days round doing his current assignments, and then factoring in the previous ones.

Once he has all this then putting it all together into a daily work plan with him, would help him get organised.

He can then start collating the resources he needs, how he accesses study notes, on line lectures, books etc,

In the mean time, how is he feeling about doing the current work? Is he able to do it, if he’s not got the back ground of what has been previously taught Ie can he understand it if he’s starting from scratch on it at this stage?

It might be then also worth factoring in, how he gets up to speed on what is currently being taught, so he stands a chance.

I’d then ask him to review it with his personal tutor, to see if his plan works or he is missing something.. potentially he could ask to see the personal tutor say weekly or fortnightly to discuss his progress additionally to the current contact time, depending on if they have the time available.

I’d factor in daily calls with him to go through the plan and check each element has been completed and see how he is faring. So pick a time that suits you both, and spend an hour or so each morning or night going through what he’s achieved that day, and any areas he is struggling, start to then amend the plan accordingly, so he can spend extra time to deal with those issues.

So over, I think so yes, my friends son did one as he tanked his a levels.

he hadnt heard from any lecturers after his email a week ago

Is he at a university where the lecturers are currently striking?

Nope but apparently lecturer replied today ( took.a week!) They are meeting next WK .

Is he actually attending lectures / doing assignments in the meantime?

Hopefully he says he is. Wants me to help him organise the assignment catch up when we see him soon.

I have two daughters. My eldest is finishing her Masters this year. She has always been very independent and self disciplined. Whereas my youngest is starting her third year and has decided to take less units per semester as she struggles with uni work. We support her decision and help her in any way we can.
Not all children are the same and not all children learn the same way.
Good luck to your son.

@Bluntness100 aren't they what we used to call 'access' courses

No access courses are stand alone courses usually at FE colleges, yo have to be 19+ to be on one.

Foundation years are, as others have said, an extra year before the start of the degree proper. It can be for those who missed A level grades, it can be to get a skill to the required level for a degree, eg sign language interpreting has a requirement to have a certain level of BSL which you can't do through A Levels so a foundation year gets you those skills.

There is one uni that does a foundation year for medical disciplines, how you do on your foundation year dictates which medical career you can continue on to, so it is a mix of people who bombed at A Level, mature students and those who took arts/humanities rather than science.

A foundation degree is a different thing, it is a 2 year course with a qualification n its own right and the ability to upgrade to an honours degree, it starts at the same level as A Levels and goes up to the first year of uni. It's similar in that respect top an HND.

What do the access courses, er.. access, in that case?

Access courses allow you to access HE, entering at year 1.

So, just like A levels.

Or foundation years...

Access courses have traditionally been aimed at mature students who haven't studied for some time. Sadly, mature students have been mostly put off full time degrees now due to the fees changes. Foundation courses are aimed at teenagers who need a leg up to get onto the course they want. Same final aim but different demographics.

Oh, I see.