What happens if maths students do not pass the Calculus Driving Test?

Anonymous submitted on

Monday 27th November 2017

Complete

As a first-year maths student, you are required to pass a Calculus "Driving Test" with a mark of 80% or above by Week 10 in order to pass the module. I know some first-year students are becoming concerned as they haven't passed the test yet and we are required to have a passing score by the end of Week 10. 

I have been informed that this is the first time this test has ever been implemented at Southampton. As a student who is concerned that they will not be able to pass in time, I am interested to know what will happen to students who do not reach the pass mark? Is there any flexibility? As all of us come from different educational backgrounds, some of us were not equipped with the proper knowledge to pass this test in our first semester. Personally, I feel it is a bit unfair to expect students to pass a test on material that we have just started to cover in our lectures at Southampton in the last month. 

Answers

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Samuel Dedman submitted on

Wednesday 6th December 2017

Complete

Hello!

Thanks for getting in touch - I know that we are fast approaching the end of Week 10, but there are still a few things you could do in order to answer some of the questions which you have. If you haven't already spoken to the module leader for this class I'd recommend doing so, especially since they are probably best placed to answer your questions. Equally your Personal Academic Tutor (who you should have met by this point) will likely be able to offer some guidance and support when heading into this assessment. 

The Students' Union also offers a number of support mechanisms which might also be of use to you. Your Academic Reps are always a good point of contact with things like this, and all of their details can be found on the Representation pages of the Union's website (https://www.susu.org/education/). There is also the SUSU Advice Centre (https://www.susu.org/advice), which provides confidential and impartial advice on a range of topics to students at the University of Southampton. Both the Reps and the Advice Centre are fantastic resources, and I'd wholeheartedly recommend getting in touch with them if speaking to your lecturers doesn't leave you with a satisfactory response. 

Apologies for not being able to directly answer your question, but hopefully the above should point you in the right direction for getting some answers. As always, don't hesitate to drop me an email (vpeducation@susu.org) if you have any more questions!

All the best,

Samuel Dedman (VP Education, 2017/18)