University Rant Thread

[Shift]

Well I deemed it worthy enough to share with you guys the absolute disgraceful actions that my university have only recently taken here in Manchester.

My mate jonny was telling me via facebook how he had been excluded from university. We are in the same year but he was doing business, I was doing music tech. Basically just this year alone they have introduced a scheme whereby students only get 'attempts'. If you do a normal year, redo a year or do resists at the end of the year, each one takes up one attempt. If you use all your attempts and say have a few resists to do at the end of that year, you will unable to do them and will be excluded.

Jonny did his first year, then his second but mucked it up so redid his second which was this just passed. Rang up today for his results and they told him he had be excluded because he had passed 5 out of his 6 modules, and because he had used his three attempts he could't redo the coursework in the final module.

I myself may be in similar position tomorrow when I get my results. I did my first year, mucked up a few things so did a few resits but passed, and did this year but I was expecting a few resists again but knew I could pass them again very easily. Now they have thrown this stupid rule on us, I probably won't be allowed to resit them and will be thrown out.

The insane thing is, you can't even redo an entire year, you use your three attempts in one course, then that's it for you and the university. Not only will students drop like flies considering how popular resists are in the university, but they will loose a **** load of money because people won't even be given the option to redo their year. What's even more insane is the fact that neither myself or Jonny, was told about this scheme at all, it wasn't mentioned once all year.

Its an absolute ****ing disgrace.

 

[Dynasty]

I can understand the hardships for those at are already at the Uni doing retakes, its a bit unfair, and as far as im concerned shouldnt be applied to students who started their degree(s) from before x-date.

But at the same time, I think its whats needed. 1st year at Uni you just piss away, well most of us do. This is a way of clamping down on those people who do their work last minute. I mean, for my degree, we only needed 40% and above in each module (a pass), and you went through to 2nd year. Only in 2nd year did the modules start counting toward your final grade. 1st year was a laugh of chasing women, getting drunk, partying etc, and then doing the work the night before to get 40%.

If you follow the bloody module guide to the letter, you cant fail at all.

''You say what they want you to say, and then from that they grade'' (thanks Jimmy).

Its a good way of, more importantly, making degrees matter by effectively 'scaring' students and making them want to work harder so as to not fail. These days every man and his dog has a degree, theyre just not as special anymore. Some companies are having to resort to looking at A-level grades and GCSEs to seperate candidates.

I feel sorry for the sports teams. The students will focus on their sports, probably fail their degree and end up with huge debt and nothing to show for it.

 

[Shift]

Well I agree it can make people work harder, but for people like us midway in our course, its hellishly unfair to apply to it straight away, and take into account all previous actions before the policy was initiated, we weren't even told about it at the start of year meetings, none of the lecturers mentioned it at all. Had this been the case when we first started we may have worked even harder to make sure we weren't landed with any resists at all. I know a few others in my class who are really worried about it too and may end up getting dropped.

They should basically apply it to us, but from last year, not when we ****ing started. Its stupidly unfair.

 

[Kaptain H]

It may be a little unfair regarding the rules, but life is not fair. Students should be always fully dedicated to their work and held to the academic standards, with or without consequences. Otherwise, standards eventually and the quality of the education is compromised.

It sounds like you had many opportunities to improve your grades along the way, more than I would expect to be given. In the program I recently finished, failing one major assignment or even a weeklong sickness/family emergency is cause enough to fail a course, and thereby fail the entire 18-month, $60,000 program and get sent to Nova Prospekt to become a Stalker.

Ultimately, I feel that shakeups like these are healthy for universities, as the value of a degree is not what it used to be.

 

[Eejit]

If you don't know how to spell "re-sits" you don't belong at university

 

[Kaptain H]

If you don't know how to spell "re-sits" you don't belong at university

I wasn't familiar with the term re-sit and it took me until the end of the post until I realized what he meant to say.

 

[Shift]

Typos. They occur all the time when I touch type, that's what you get with ranting haha. And yes Kaptain, it is healthy for the universities, but the difference is we weren't told about it, and previous years and re-sits were applied with this new rule, when they were done when the rule wasn't even around. So its hardly fair. If they just started using the rule from last year only then that would be fine, but they taking into account our entire stay here, as far back as three years ago.

 

[Kaptain H]

Typos. They occur all the time when I touch type, that's what you get with ranting haha. And yes Kaptain, it is healthy for the universities, but the difference is we weren't told about it, and previous years and re-sits were applied with this new rule, when they were done when the rule wasn't even around. So its hardly fair. If they just started using the rule from last year only then that would be fine, but they taking into account our entire stay here, as far back as three years ago.

Sure it's not fair, but we must always try our hardest to avoid things like this. Something similar happened to me in my second year of college, after switching to a new school, and 1/10th of a GPA point (over a professor's error) prevented me from switching into the major that I wanted, confining me to fine arts. In the end, I'm so glad I stuck with that over the illustration course I wanted, as it helped me find a much more interesting career path.

I'm hoping you'll learn from the experience and find some way to benefit from it in the long run.

 

[AJ Rimmer]

Good idea, let's make it harder for people to get an education.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

My University changed some major requirements and stuff but it only applied to incoming freshmen and future students.

 

[Kaptain H]

Good idea, let's make it harder for people to get an education.

Exactly.

 

[Stigmata]

If this continues, the university experience will be a continuation of the stifling and inept one-size-fits-all bureaucratic approach to primary and secondary education. I can only hope this doesn't spread to Canada.

 

[Viperidae]

In the program I recently finished... a weeklong sickness/family emergency is cause enough to fail a course

This is retarded. Why stop there? Why not just have a campus-wide lottery every month, where one lucky student gets thrown out?

 

[Kaptain H]

This is retarded. Why stop there? Why not just have a campus-wide lottery every month, where one lucky student gets thrown out?

In the case of my school (the smallest grad school of SMU), it had to do with the way the program was designed. All courses were mandatory, no electives, and you go through the program with the same cohort from start to finish. There's no other classes for you to roll back to, and the only option is to start over in the next cohort. It's scary, but it's a risk the students find worth taking.

I know a lot of people who failed out as programmers and went back in as level designers, and another lazy ass who failed out twice by the same professor. One guy failed a class a month before graduating, when he had to take care of his mother who was dying of cancer. He was able to work it out with the professor to make up the work, and has since gotten his diploma. The school wasn't out to get us, it was just a very unforgiving program.

 

[Shift]

Good idea, let's make it harder for people to get an education.

I am not saying its a bad program, but what I am saying is that should only be applied to those who are incoming to university, anyone past first year shouldn't have it imposed because they are already half way into the course itself. Having a mandate like that imposed on you at the start completely changes your entire outlook at how you approach the course, because re-sits are no longer a definite source of passing the year.

Still will get my results today so will find out for sure what is going on. I was talking it through with my parents tonight, as to sort of brace them for the worst, my mum didn't take it lightly. But my dad made a good point, it doesn't make any sense. If someone was do first year, fail, do the re-sits and pass, go on to do second year and pass, that's already three attempts, so what? They don't let him do his final year? The difference is between me and Jonny, is that Jonny failed is second year first time, and so re-did it, and was again landed with re-sits, so it could be that is why they won't him do them.

Still I will find out today and post my findings, could be a misunderstanding.

 

[kupocake]

I was about to be a jerk about this, but since I came close to violating this 'rule' before getting my 2:1 (one retake, one intermission), I'll shut it. Except to say as ever, the system is broken... they just seem to be ignorant of how to fix it.

 

[LadyNapkin]

This is a good case for an act of spontaneously planned arson.

I went to Glamorgan uni, and they managed to mess up my results every year for the three years I was there. Their organisational skills leave a LOT to be desired and communication just doesn't exist between the advice shop and the faculty.
I don't know how I'd fare in your situation. In my first year I failed 3, (one wasnt my fault), did the exam again for the second one and resat the module for the third one.
Can't you go to the Students Union? Or start a protest?

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Wait, I dont get why you'd have to re-do coursework? I'm not trying to be an ass, this is a question- are these terms just other words for failed courses? Here in the US we just have standard grading

A- F

F is failing, and most universities and colleges consider D a failure as well.

If youre going for free and failed a course I dont see why you'd expect to have them let you attend again for free. Here in the US we can essentially attend for free (Pell Grants from the fed gvt) but if we withdraw or just fail we cant just reuse another pell grant for the hell of it.

Sorry it's hard to understand because of all the difference in jargon "Resists, modules, attempts, etc"

We dont use those terms here so Im just guessing what they mean

 

[kupocake]

Course fees are 3,200. You get a substantial loan with certain payback perks, but no, there's nothing for free, unless you're below certain low income thresholds.

 

[Shift]

Yeah exactly, so considering the amount you already pay for it you should be granted as many re-sits as you want. But oh well, my results STILL haven't come but I've already started to prepare for the worse, job trail next week at a hotel near me

 

[morgs]

This is why I hate the education system, it's like they don't want you to pass.

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

Course fees are 3,200. You get a substantial loan with certain payback perks, but no, there's nothing for free, unless you're below certain low income thresholds.

wow so its almost as if the US has the better 'free' education after all

 

[ríomhaire]

We have free eduction, mostly. There's still registration fees and books/equipment to be, but then there's also grants for people below a certain income. In the end it's not really free, but it's cheaper than other places. But, if you fail a year or change course you have to pay up. Unfortunately there's talk of bringing back fees because everyone's broke now (makes sense).

 

[RakuraiTenjin]

We have free eduction, mostly. There's still registration fees and books/equipment to be, but then there's also grants for people below a certain income. In the end it's not really free, but it's cheaper than other places. But, if you fail a year or change course you have to pay up. Unfortunately there's talk of bringing back fees because everyone's broke now (makes sense).

Makes sense to me. How can the state afford to pay for luxuries such as that when it can barely afford to maintain vital infrastructure? Certain priorities come first when money is tight or else everything goes to shit.

 

[Shift]

After all that, results came today. Had re-sits but they are letting me do them, only a few bits of coursework and an exam so easily passable. My mate must have been disallowed on the account that he re-did his second year again and ended up with failed modules. Thought I would update anyway

 

[Dynasty]

Im pretty sure at any Uni if you retake a year and fail modules again you cant try again anyway.

Re-sits are relatively easy because you atleast get your work back with the mark (I hope), so you certainly can see where you went wrong.

Its obvious of course, but some people will just redo an essay or coursework without referring to the module guide's specifications and not look at their old work.

 

[kupocake]

Re-sits are relatively easy because you atleast get your work back with the mark (I hope), so you certainly can see where you went wrong.

Really? We never got any work back, and the resit was different anyway. Any other way would be daft.