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

Hi Rosemary
I am now responding to this from my computer rather than my mobile phone.

I now have my Open University exam result.  It was not obtained by official
means in that following an e-mail on this list, I was contacted by the Chair
of BCAB whom I understand is on the Disabled Person's Forum at the Open
University.  He e-mailled me off list and one recommendation was that I
might contact the Open University Students Association.  That was fair
enough and I did this on Friday 19 December as this was going on just too
long.  The person who answered the phone to me was more than happy to read
out my result to me over the telephone.  All I had to give was my student ID
and she read out FAIL, No Repeat.  I was very shocked by this and it was
unexpected.  I have worked very hard this year and this is a Level 1 course
in law.  The Pass rate is 40% in Assignments, we submitted 7, and my average
for all 7 was 61.2%.  In my opinion a clear pass being 21.2% over the Pass
rate of 40%.  The final Assignment submission was Examinable but not under
exam conditions.  I submitted this via the OU's electronic eTMA system.  Now
there is something seriously wrong here.  I get a Fail and am told my result
is Pending.  Pending then gets removed from my Home Page when I start asking
questions via e-mail, even though my questions are not being answered.  I
make a telephone call and nobody asks me any security questions and tells me
my result of Fail, just like that over the telephone.  It could have been
you Rosemary, if you take my point, anybody.  There was no proof it was the
said Eleanor Burke etc etc.  I attended all Tutorials and ensured that I was
there for the final one too to gain any help and support regarding the final
eTMA submission.  There were about 5 of us at that tutorial.  I understand
from the Open University now that there were 18 in my tutor group and 7
failed.  This is indeed a very poor outcome for the Tutor also I would
think.  Now was I directed well, was I a stupid student?  I do not think so
and my performance leading to that final eTMA would not suggest that I was
having difficulty or struggling with the course.  Imagine I did not even get
40% as that was all I needed for that final eTMA.

It is understandable that you would see things from the perspective of the
Open University and I do not knock that but there is something very strange
going on here.
On 23 December I had an e-mail from Mr Stenham at the Open University advising me that my Exam results were then Live on my Home Page so 2 days before Christmas, well actually one day as I did not look at it until 24 December I read my exam result FAIL.
I understand what you say with regard to Pending results but I need now to find out why my Pending result took 2 weeks and what was Pending about it. I need that submission back from the Open University to ensure that it was my work that was marked and graded thus. I remain totally baffled until it is resolved how I could possibly drop to below 40% on a final eTMA having demonstrated a satisfactory performance throughout the course. 
Eleanor
E
----- Original Message ----- From: "Rosemary F. Johnson" <tactical@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: <bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:00 PM
Subject: [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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