[bcab] Re: Fw: The Open University On-Line

Hallo Eleanor,

Let me get this right: the exam result you are awaiting wasn't an 
"exam" per se, but an extra TMA, done at home in your own time 
and marked by a different tutor from your usual one?  And that, 
according to the person from OUSA reading on her screen, your 
score for that final TMA was significantly different (lower) 
than you had been getting on the other TMAs?

In that case:

First, it doesn't surprise me the OU wouldn't be writing to you 
about special exam arrangements, if they didn't have to arrange 
a special room, equipment, invigilator, etc, since you were 
using your own home and computer, etc, to write another TMA.

But most importantly, it sounds like the system has been 
working, and it has flagged up quite correctly that you have got 
a score on your last TMA that is markedly different from the 
scores you were getting on the others, and has prompted an 
enquiry into whether there is a particular reason for this that 
the OU ought to know about.  [There could be a number of reasons 
for the discrepancy; one might be that you had special 
circumstances that ought to be taken into consideration.  Other 
possibilities might be that one of the tutors was marking too 
harshly or leniently, or that the course team had realised that 
they had written an ambiguous question that some students had 
in terpreted in a way they hadn't expected.  And plenty more.]

I do not know how the OUSA person was able to read your score 
when you could not; nor whether she ought to have read it out to 
you.

And I do still think that you ought to have been getting a more 
helpful response, with an explanation of what a "pending" result 
means and what you can expect to happen next, rather than a 
blank stonewall.  It shouldn't be too hard to realise that you 
might have more difficulties than some students finding out this 
information.

As regards why the result was set as "Pending" in the first 
place, please do give them a bit of credit for trying to help!  
They are trying to be fair and find if there is any credit they 
should be giving you, for example for Special Circumstances, 
especially as you are on record as a disabled student.  It 
would, no doubt, be far simpler for the OU to mark all exams 
(and TMAs) on a strict cut-off basis, and say simply "Below 45% 
- fail.  Resit whole course."  Putting certain results on 
Pending so they can investigate more carefully is giving them a 
change to find a grounds for giving that little extra credit so 
they can let more people through after all.  While a result is 
still on Pending there is still hope - if you want to look at it 
like that.

I do hope it all gets sorted out soon, and in a way that is 
satisfactory for you.


As for your 2007 exam - what a horrible experience for you! (and 
Pedro.)  I'm so sorry that happened to you.  
 
Rosemary

-- 
Rosemary F. Johnson

2012?  Not in my name!!

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