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attendance in BTEC level 3, does it affect progression?

asking for a friend, just curious.

if you had very poor attendance on your BTEC level 3 course, and by poor attendance i mean 50% or less, missing at least 2-3 or more days each week, will this affect progression onto the 2nd year if in 1st year, or progression onto uni?
does it depend on the college if they allow you to continue into second year?

do universities look at attendance within level 3 BTEC and consider within your application?

Reply 1

Original post
by sciencegirlpink
asking for a friend, just curious.
if you had very poor attendance on your BTEC level 3 course, and by poor attendance i mean 50% or less, missing at least 2-3 or more days each week, will this affect progression onto the 2nd year if in 1st year, or progression onto uni?
does it depend on the college if they allow you to continue into second year?
do universities look at attendance within level 3 BTEC and consider within your application?

they wont necessarily "reject" you more like try figure out the reasons why the attendance is so low and if you do get a Uni interview most likely ask you and if your reason is something like "i woke up late" then most likely they will put that into the reasons why you wont be that great since you lost most your lessons time, however if you have a specific reason for example your a carer for a family member then they wont just reject you they look at the whole picture. Also if your missing 2-3 days a week and your doing a BTEC they can kick you off the course since your not taking it seriously unless again there's a specific reason. I've seen it happen people get kicked off for low attendance

Reply 2

Original post
by SHARK33
they wont necessarily "reject" you more like try figure out the reasons why the attendance is so low and if you do get a Uni interview most likely ask you and if your reason is something like "i woke up late" then most likely they will put that into the reasons why you wont be that great since you lost most your lessons time, however if you have a specific reason for example your a carer for a family member then they wont just reject you they look at the whole picture. Also if your missing 2-3 days a week and your doing a BTEC they can kick you off the course since your not taking it seriously unless again there's a specific reason. I've seen it happen people get kicked off for low attendance


does level 3 btec require a specific attendance level, or does it depend on the college before you get kicked off? and this persons reason is due to making excuses, she doesn’t have anyone to care for, or any home life excuse, she just cannot be bothered to attend the lessons.
Original post
by sciencegirlpink
do universities look at attendance within level 3 BTEC and consider within your application?


There is no permanent record or attendance info passed on as part of an undergrad application

BUT...

This is the kind of thing that might be commented on, or strongly alluded to, in the academic reference. After all, how can the referee describe their relationship with the applicant, or their suitability or motivation for the course at hand if their didn't attend 50% of the course? It's the kind of thing that fosters a very weak reference.

I'd also note that if your friend isn't motivated to attend college for a BTEC, things are likely to get worse at uni.

Reply 4

Original post
by Admit-One
There is no permanent record or attendance info passed on as part of an undergrad application
BUT...
This is the kind of thing that might be commented on, or strongly alluded to, in the academic reference. After all, how can the referee describe their relationship with the applicant, or their suitability or motivation for the course at hand if their didn't attend 50% of the course? It's the kind of thing that fosters a very weak reference.
I'd also note that if your friend isn't motivated to attend college for a BTEC, things are likely to get worse at uni.


this is what i am thinking, she has been like it throughout her academic life. secondary school and college alike, her old college would not let her progress onto level 3 year 2, so i was wondering if our college may be the same.
and exactly, an academic reference is key, and if you’re not going to put in the effort to attend, then why even apply for uni.
is there a certain of days missed that needs to be recorded before you’re kicked off, or is it to the college discretion?
Original post
by sciencegirlpink
this is what i am thinking, she has been like it throughout her academic life. secondary school and college alike, her old college would not let her progress onto level 3 year 2, so i was wondering if our college may be the same.
and exactly, an academic reference is key, and if you’re not going to put in the effort to attend, then why even apply for uni.
is there a certain of days missed that needs to be recorded before you’re kicked off, or is it to the college discretion?

Unfortunately I can't answer this, as I have never worked at a college.

Reply 6

As above, the attendance record won't be passed onto a uni, but the college itself can and will remove someone eventually for not taking the course seriously. I've seen it happen a few times.

We had 1 senior lecturer who did the academic references when we applied to uni, and she made it clear that if she doesn't 'know' you, that you a simply don't get a reference.
As someone that works in uni admissions, I've seen multiple references that basically said they'd like to comment on the applicant but had never had any substantial interaction with them.

Reply 8

Original post
by sciencegirlpink
does level 3 btec require a specific attendance level, or does it depend on the college before you get kicked off? and this persons reason is due to making excuses, she doesn’t have anyone to care for, or any home life excuse, she just cannot be bothered to attend the lessons.

Yeh she's going to get kicked of most collages kick you out if you don't meet a certain attendance mark, Also some Btec courses do technically relay on attendance (more like low key implied) for example some modules are worth more then others so missing 2-3 days a week will 100% affect her grade.

Reply 9

Original post
by SHARK33
Yeh she's going to get kicked of most collages kick you out if you don't meet a certain attendance mark, Also some Btec courses do technically relay on attendance (more like low key implied) for example some modules are worth more then others so missing 2-3 days a week will 100% affect her grade.


i’ve been trying to tell her, but she hasn’t been taking much notice. it’s not as though she has any care responsibilities. do you think progression to year 2 would definitely not be possible?

Reply 10

Original post
by sciencegirlpink
i’ve been trying to tell her, but she hasn’t been taking much notice. it’s not as though she has any care responsibilities. do you think progression to year 2 would definitely not be possible?

not likely and your wasting your breath trying to change her mind, i suppose you could try scare her into it show her articles of people who havnt got any jobs/qualifications, also she could technically still get a job it wouldnt be a great job but depends on her GCSE's also if she does go to collage then she most likley wont go to work so idk but if nothing works your wasting you time focus on yourself
(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 11

Original post
by sciencegirlpink
i’ve been trying to tell her, but she hasn’t been taking much notice. it’s not as though she has any care responsibilities. do you think progression to year 2 would definitely not be possible?

No one here can tell you the definite answer to this

In my experience your relationship with the staff is important. To an extent they can make allowances or cover for you, but past a point they'll lose patience or respect for you and the rules suddenly get enforced by the book. I saw a couple of students fall foul of this, their poor attendance was treated as a running joke right up until it suddenly wasn't and they were bewildered, but I know for a fact that the lecturer personally lost patience.

Reply 12

poor attendance may be down to unmet support needs which are being masked - this is exhausting for the student and can lead to poor attendance and lack of understanding from tutors. It doesn't mean the student is lazy or can't be bothered or isn't able - quite often 'they would if they could'... Many students struggle with undiagnosed poor processing speed, focus, attention, anxiety, sensory overload etc... which can lead to poor attendance. Try and talk with college tutors to see if they can address the barriers to attendance - they should try and support - emphasis on 'should'... depends on the college I guess...

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