Redo third year at OU

Even if she funded it herself? She really needs to improve her degree and going back to do a whole different degree just simply isn't an option for her.

Okay, can anyone suggest any options from this point forward for my friend? She got a third class honours degree. No one is currently rushing to offer her jobs so she's in a really sticky situation

Great, can she also use the uni strikes as grounds for an appeal? She only had a handful of lectures in third year before the uni shut completely due to covid-19... She also had a bereavement that affected her a lot also.

Was the original institution the OU? Or is this the case of, the course was done elsewhere and the OU seems like the best option to swap to and bump up the results...? Since you reference lectures and the university being shut down I presume the original degree course was done at a brick and mortar uni and the latter is the case.

No matter the case, universities should have already made arrangements to accommodate the effect of strikes and the coronavirus pandemic on work; they should speak to them and/or the student union about what has been done. The OU for example used statistical models to calculate final grades, but also lowered grade boundaries across the board from what I can tell for each pass grade level (i.e. classification level).

In terms of the bereavement, this is something that should normally have been highlighted and documented as extenuating circumstances before the assessments that were affected took place. Applying extenuating circumstances retroactively is more difficult. Again this is something the (original degree granting) uni needs to be contacted about.

She already has experience in her subject through work, getting a degree is extremely important for her and therefore she wants to finish it with a good grade. Employers look for both qualifications and experience these days so to have both will really improve prospects for her.

Your friend needs to realise that she has moved from being a child to being an adult. We give children endless opportunities to learn, but society can't afford to fund adults to do the same, nor do they give credit for repeating endlessly.

Once you have been awarded a degree, then that learning is effectively sealed. You can add a new qualification on top of it, but you can't re-open it and improve the grade. She has got a third, and she will always have a third now. So there are two choices, get a job, or get a new qualification.

You can also only apply mitigation once. The individual may have their own view of the impact of issues during the course, but if the incident, be it strikes or Covid is general to all, then in the absence of a disability, a class mitigation can be applied. It will have been applied by the University, whether your friend agrees with it or not.

Getting a job is not like progressing at school, or even at University, where everything is handed out. Getting a job is competitive, and your friend needs to develop a competitive attitude to managing their career. With a 3rd, nothing except work experience tends to mitigate for than in employers eyes. Three to four years of successful work in a single role, and second degrees, Masters, MBAs might become a realistic prospect.

My understanding (and this could be wrong!!!) as a current OU student is that students can fill exceptional circumstances forms regarding family bereavement, illness or another element that would can an affect on a person's study. This must be done within a certain timeframe surrounding the end-of-course date however. Once you accept a degree classification it's complete.

The Open University seem to have a very good credit-transfer system whereby your friend might be able to transfer her 1st and 2nd year credits onto another degree that's very similar in topic area. Maybe this is an option?

A 3rd class degree is still a degree and she should be proud of her achievements. Nevertheless, I do understand her concerns and would encourage her to look into the credit transfer option.

Credit transfers only work IF you haven't finished.

Credit transfers only work IF you haven't finished.

@OP - Your friend got the LOWEST classification for her degree. What makes you think things will change if she does it again? She messed up and now needs to live with it. Anyways, it's not possible for her to re-do the last year.

http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/apply/credit-transfer
"If you’ve studied before you could use your previous study, even if you didn’t complete it, towards an Open University qualification.

Over 6,000 people are awarded credit transfer each year. Applying is free and doesn't commit you to study."


You can 100% transfer credits from previous study. To what extent is dependant upon what was studied and the content overlap. I don't believe someone can get a credit transfer for 3rd year modules though.