What happens if you fail a tma

We all know that studying with the Open University is the most satisfying experience you will ever have. As such it is perfectly natural that you will want to prolong it for as long as possible in the most economical manner. True, this could lead to their graduation being delayed; their overall degree classification being reduced; and revisiting the same old material but these are deemed to be small prices to pay.

The first step in aiming for re-submission is doing badly in your TMAs. The following hints garnered from years of working with such students should help you achieve just this. Furthermore, they are not tied into the learning outcomes and they certainly should not be considered as preparation for the exam or EMA.

This means that the questions being asked in TMAs are only indicative. Answer their question with your own question and then answer that question. Best combined with strategy 5. A good student is one who takes advantage of the technology available to them and who is also unafraid to make their tutor think. Google translate provides the ideal medium for both. An assignment translated into Latin from Ancient Greek via English is bound to be both academic and impressive.

Even better it shows your tutor that you know how to use modern technology. Better still, this approach means that you can avoid proof-reading your answer; checking your grammar; or reviewing your spelling!

A good alternative to the classic languages are new dialects. Emoji and SMS are firm favourites and your tutor will certainly find understanding you challenging whilst still protecting you from the mediocrity of proof-reading and spell checking.

This means that you can save time by not including them; not giving them captions and definitely not making sure that they are relevant. This last point is particularly important. Hes really approachable and Ive found him easy to deal with. The other 1 is a nit picker and some of her comments are so demoralising that it makes me wanna quit!!! Ive got another 2 modules to do next yr for level 1, then another 3 modules to do for level 2! Im dyslexic too, but because my mother lost my paperwork Im not getting any help on that side of things.

I know what you mean, I guess Im a little luckier in that respect as there are a few people who I work with doin this degree, so i can chat to others about the qs. I've also done a nutrition introduction module.

I am going for degree in psychology. I did really well on my Child Psychology course ED ,got on well with the tutor, got great marks and did pretty good in the exam. Needless to say I was jolly pleased with myself. So I started this level 1 course in social science thinking it would be quite straightforward and my first TMA mark was nearly fail.

I was really shocked and quite down. I don't quite get teh subject matter and the course tutor although lovely I don't gel with as well as my last tutor. I feel a bit deflated. My marks are now heading upwards so at least I know it's going in the right direction. Do you go to the tutor groups or use the forum? I find they are really useful. I think it might also be worth asking if your tutor has a chance to meet with you ahead of your next TMA and tell them straight how down you are and what can they advise.

Then there is always the regional centre. What about substitution? Is that an option on your course? I think it's something to do with changing a bad mark into a better average mark. Worth asking about. I'm just rubbish at biology! If when I do fail, I can resit once more, but I can't see it being any different next time around! I don't think I'm going to make it on to the second year of this degree! I did Art History as part of my last degree, and you're right, it's much easier!

Cm are the ones with all the questions online right??? If i'm thinking about the right one then you can have your books with you while you do it or get someone to sit with you and go through them with you so you have defo got hte questions right between you. They are just checking your maths etc and using your books to give examples so I personnally dont see a problem with someone helping you out with them as long as you have understood what you've done by the end of the cma.

General chat Can anyone help me with Toy Story toys? General chat Fleas!! OMG please someone help me It looks easy , super You will manage your time with study etc On the end you pay a lot of money and you are alone with everything! It is my last year and thanks God! He did much less, learnt much less than me and on the end he is scored higher due to percentage!

Guys you can manage your time go on normal university and be happy and proud do not go for it You will be exhausted and upset! I have studied over many years with the OU. I find your comments to be a real recommendation for the rigour and quality of the OU and its courses. Hopefully you will have a great career ahead of you. I have just completed Level 2 second year after studying my first year full time and second part time taking two years, so so far three in total , and yes it has been hard.

Have I wanted to sit there and do nothing? Of course I have! But when I look at the work I have to do on my own, and the higher grade boundary, I realise the opportunity I have in my hands. Some of us do not have the time or money to go to standard University full time, and the OU open up extra options for these people.

To Manoel, thank you for sharing this in depth article. I wish all the best for you and your future, as well to anyone else reading this comment. I would find it useful if OU grades were compared to UK universities, so you would have a good idea how well you were performing.

I agree with you that the lowest mark should NOT be used as your final degree classification. Exactly what I realised when starting an PG Cert. I will stop after my second module right because of this and continue my studies at another university. I am currently on an OU Computer Science degree. I could never understand how the grades worked before reading this. The grading makes a lot more sense now and is very harsh. There were some formal breaks in Christmas and Easter.

You can typically work ahead. It reflects the quality of the OU graduates. No way would I wish them to change their grading system. Did you find you needed or wanted access to an academic library for your degree? You have access to the OU online library- it has thousands and thousands of Ebooks, journal articles and access to other databases- eg C18th primary sources. I am just about to finish my degree, having transferred credits from Warwick from the mid 00s.

I only decided to go for it last year as you can only transfer credit from other institutions within 16 years and so I would have lost it if I had continued to dither. I wish I had done it sooner. I am due to graduate this summer and have three offers from red brick universities to start a masters in September.

I am planning to become a data scientist for pharmaceutical company in the future, may i seek your advice? So I can only give you general advice. However, if you think you might change your mind, then computing offers more breath and flexibility to reorient your studies as your goals become clearer over time.

Very informative article. No one should be in any doubt though: taking a degree with the OU is no walkover and you have to maintain the self-discipline to study on a regular basis. I would recommend attending the online tutorials offered by several different tutors, rather than just those given by your own tutor. I generally attend three or four tutorials each given by a different tutor for each TMA.

I find this ensures the best possible coverage. Face to face tutorial sessions are out this year due to Covid, obviously, although I attended quite a few in — Again, I chose face to face events given by a range of different tutors. I have found the tutor quality to be generally very good, although of course some are better than others. This is a really good and true outline of the OU.

I am in my final year of a psychology degree with honours. I have enjoyed all of it. You need self-discipline, but as mentioned, you can work ahead with the online materials. The support has been fantastic. Sometimes you can feel alone when distance learning, but tutors and student support are always there, along with online tutorials and student forums. I also think the grading system is good. These days it would seem that brick universities are handing out firsts like sweets and I do wonder if it is to make themselves look appealing to future students.

I totally recommend studying with the Open University. A most informative post on the OU — thank you. Grateful for your opinion. Thank you. I can confirm that, as of Jan , this information all still is pretty much exact.

Even though I know their system now — thank you for putting this together as I am sure it will be a great help to someone else trying to decide to make the jump. Oh, how nostalgic I felt reading this article, which really shows its author knows the OU very well. I graduated from the OU two years ago, after 10 years of very enthusiastic study in the fields, mainly, of Astrophysics and Biology, with a few other subjects Maths of course, but also a bit of Literature and Art thrown in.

After an initial goal of studying towards a Physics Degree, I opted for the Open Degree because it suited my wide interests in Science and because of changes in my pathway; I never regretted it. However I must say that I did feel the OU was undergoing a rapid decline because of budget cuts and some not too wise decisions like the move to online-only courses. Of course, to study at the OU you must develop resilience, strong willpower, and find ways to keep motivated during the long path to your goal.

All in all, a great adventure that strengthened my self-esteem, made me discover a new world and put me in contact with a lot of interesting people all over the world. What a fantastic and accurate article, this will be a Godsend to new OU students and those thinking of taking the plunge. I am halfway through a BA Honours in History.

The courses have been varied and interesting, early ones included Art history and early Greek and Roman philosophers. The third year is from the First World War to and you can do a thesis on local history. Hopefully I will have my degree in my 70th year. Maybe I will use some savings and go on to do a Masters degree.

Hallo everyone I just want to be clear ,i understood that the OU certificate is recognized in uk ,ist it also recognized is Europe? OU honour degrees should be recognized across Europe like any other UK degree. I like visiting you site since I always come across interesting articles like this one. Great Job, I greatly appreciate that. Do Keep sharing! I have heard that Open uni has a lot more student support but I am worried about it being looked down upon. But the University of London is prestigious although I do not know how much student support they offer.

In my experience, for-credit online education still sometimes suffers from an image problem, but the situation has improved a lot, in particular since the pandemic prompted an exodus to online education even in traditional universities. The University of London has more cachet, their BSc Computer Science via Coursera seems to be more affordable than a comparable OU degree, and they even offer taster courses so you can get an idea of how the program works before commiting to a full degree.

If it did, I would definitely have considered it. Now I want to study the Masters degree but maybe with a different online University. However, nearly all universities requirements are asking for classification — grade. My question is, is it possible to study the Masters with a OU open degree in a different university? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Tags Online Degrees Open University. Manoel Cortes Mendez Software engineer and online graduate student in computer science passionate about education, technology, and their intersection.

More articles from Manoel Cortes Mendez. Comments Thank you for the in-depth information. Hi Michaela. You can always give them a call for more info. Can I take part from Bangladesh. Hello — Very nice article and fairly detailed. Hey what is the timeschedule like..? Hi Jonas, usually the courses start in October and March. Hope that helps. You can decided what works best for you: you can take one course at a time or several.

Fantastic information. You inspired me to join OU more. I have to say, out of all the comments published here, I find this the least exact. Please make sure you spell and grammar check your negative comments before posting. Had I known this I would not have bothered to study with them.

Thank you for your detailed article. Its very helpful. Cheers M. Hi Sharon Did you find you needed or wanted access to an academic library for your degree? Thanks in advance. It was so easy to access what I needed. Hi Manoel, very nice to read your article on OU.