Do I have to do Oral Assessments at University?

I don't mind doing an oral assessment in front of less than 5 people, but if its anymore than that then I would have a panic attack. So could I say no or ask for an alternative.

Reply 1

PhoenixFortune

21

Original post by confuseddddd

I don't mind doing an oral assessment in front of less than 5 people, but if its anymore than that then I would have a panic attack. So could I say no or ask for an alternative.

Oral presentations are quite common at university, and may count towards your module marks (usually only a small percentage). Depending on the number of people in whichever module you're doing the presentation for, it could be very few to many people.

You can't refuse to do a presentation that is summative (i.e. counts towards your marks), but your university may allow you to ask for less people in the audience or other reasonable adjustments. Some universities may ask for proof of your anxiety such as a doctor's note in order to make these adjustments, while others may not.

Reply 2

username4563104

OP

10

When I go to open days for universities would I be able to find out whether Oral Assessments are included in my course.

Original post by PhoenixFortune

Oral presentations are quite common at university, and may count towards your module marks (usually only a small percentage). Depending on the number of people in whichever module you're doing the presentation for, it could be very few to many people.

You can't refuse to do a presentation that is summative (i.e. counts towards your marks), but your university may allow you to ask for less people in the audience or other reasonable adjustments. Some universities may ask for proof of your anxiety such as a doctor's note in order to make these adjustments, while others may not.

Reply 3

claireestelle

22

Original post by confuseddddd

When I go to open days for universities would I be able to find out whether Oral Assessments are included in my course.

Email admissions and ask if you can have course specs that will tell you what the assessments are. At uni for one presentation they let people pre record their voice and then just click to move the slides if they had a a difficulty.

Reply 4

UniversityOfSunderland

Official Rep

14

Hi there,

Can I ask what course you're considering?

Oral assessments can be common at university but it does also depend on the course that you plan to study. Some courses require this form of assessment more than others so it's worth looking into with your university admissions team, or even the academics themselves if you can find their details online (staff profiles are great for this).

If it turns out that this is a required part of your assessment, please do not let this change affect your decision in taking the course.
Instead work with the tutor to see if there are alternative methods, or even ways in which they can help you cope with this. It may be that they allow you to present privately or with a smaller audience. Your tutors are there to help and support you, so do let them.

Hope this helps :smile:

Original post by confuseddddd

I don't mind doing an oral assessment in front of less than 5 people, but if its anymore than that then I would have a panic attack. So could I say no or ask for an alternative.

Reply 5

Good bloke

19

I thoroughly recommend that, if you are at all ambitious and wanting to develop a white collar career, you use the opporunity to conquer your fear of public speaking at university while it is as painless as possible. Managers and senior technical staff are likely to have to make fairly regular presentations to audiences as part of their jobs and nobody will be making any allowances if you cannot do it well.

Reply 6

username4563104

OP

10

Hey, I'm thinking about doing a Criminology & Sociology Degree.

Original post by UniversityOfSunderland

Hi there,

Can I ask what course you're considering?

Oral assessments can be common at university but it does also depend on the course that you plan to study. Some courses require this form of assessment more than others so it's worth looking into with your university admissions team, or even the academics themselves if you can find their details online (staff profiles are great for this).

If it turns out that this is a required part of your assessment, please do not let this change affect your decision in taking the course.
Instead work with the tutor to see if there are alternative methods, or even ways in which they can help you cope with this. It may be that they allow you to present privately or with a smaller audience. Your tutors are there to help and support you, so do let them.

Hope this helps :smile:

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 7

doodle_333

19

I imagine a presentation would come under coursework. I second trying to overcome uour fear of public speaking as a huge number of jobs demand it and uni is fairly low stakes for making mistakes.

Original post by confuseddddd

Hey, I'm thinking about doing a Criminology & Sociology Degree.
I was looking at the University of Salford and on the website it said 100% Coursework and 0% Examination. Does that mean they don't do Oral Assessments?

Reply 8

MidgetFever

21

It'll depend wholly on your course/university.
I have to do quite a lot of oral assessments and although they only count to a very small percentage, they've actually helped me a lot!
I'm awful at public speaking but I've had to do it infront of much larger groups now, and although it is daunting it helps build confidence.

Reply 9

PhoenixFortune

21

Original post by confuseddddd

When I go to open days for universities would I be able to find out whether Oral Assessments are included in my course.

Probably, or you might be able to find out how each module of your course is assessed on the university's website. Don't let your fears prevent you from choosing certain modules or degree courses though, as it's all great practice for later in life. Public speaking is a great (and employable) skill to have, and actively avoiding it won't make it any easier.