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

        Having just completed my 10th OU course, I can say with confidence
that the final exam or end of course assignment is always the toughest of
the lot. Not only does it cover the entire course, as opposed to a single
study component, but the questions themselves tend to be more difficult.

        It's disappointing to fail a course, there's no getting away from
that. It does happen though, and I'm sure there are few people on list who
haven't failed an exam at one time or another. You've clearly had some
problems getting hold of your results as well, which can't have helped
either.

        Of course, it is possible that a mistake was made in marking your
assignment, it's possible there was a computer glitch with the website
reporting your results. It does sound as though there was a fairly high fail
rate amongst your tutor group though, so it's possible it was simply a tough
course. You may be right about it being a poor outcome for your tutor
though.

        Either way, it seems most likely that the pending status was removed
from the website once your results were known. The reason for the pending
status could have been any number of perfectly logical things. The problem
seems to have been that the OU failed to communicate this pending process,
or your final results to you appropriately.

        Don't lose heart though. Studying long distance is much more
difficult than going on-site to university. I've got friends who barely made
it into a single lecture at uni and still came away with a good degree. With
the OU, things are much more stringent because of the long distance aspect
and you don't get much leeway for taking it easy. Ask about options for
retaking your final exam and remember, if you're studying for a degree,
you're first level courses don't count towards your overall degree grade.


Léonie.
-- 
http://www.tink.co.uk/
 
-----Original Message-----
From: bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bcab-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Eleanor Burke
Sent: 29 December 2008 13:13
To: bcab@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [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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