Welcome to all new students and those returning for another Academic Year.
Your results are now out and some of you are very happy, some reasonably relaxed and some, very surprised at their results and disappointed, wishing that you’d done better. There have been a lot of successes this year, many students received first class honors or distinctions in the Diploma in Economics and over 150 students will be studying at excellent universities in UK after obtaining a degree via the External System. Others are continuing on the External programme, or are now in good jobs, whilst others are still searching.
For those who are continuing with the EMFSS degrees and Diplomas, results are important as they can be very good indicators of your strengths and/or weaknesses. Use the Examiners Commentaries if you were surprised at your results to see why you may have received the mark you did. The Examiners Commentaries for the past three years are available from the home page of every unit in the VLE. The 2009 Examiners Commentaries are coming in thick and fast and will be available shortly. Reviewing these should help you work out what you need to do to get good marks in the next set of examinations.
If you have failed a subject our system allows you to take it again, up to a maximum of three times. Think about why you have failed, most of you will know why. Some of you have not understood the language or approach of the discipline. If this is the case approach the subject afresh, start again by reading the subject guide and text books carefully and make sure that you understand the core concepts. Some of you ran out of time, especially those who were taking Accounting or Statistics subjects. If this was the case you need to practice more, working through examples in timed conditions. Some of you will have done some question spotting and the questions you prepared for did not appear. Question spotting is very dangerous! Examiners can ask questions on any part of the syllabus and will do so, you must cover the whole syllabus (unless the syllabus specifically indicates otherwise). Some of you may not have answered the questions directly, in our examinations this is probably the most usual case of failure. We ask specific questions and therefore the examiners require specific answers! For further advice on preparing yourself for the upcoming academic year, examinations and learning skills please do make use of the Supporting your studies area of the VLE and Strategies for success.
Our examinations are very carefully marked and checked. You can of course ask for your marks to be re-checked. You cannot, however, ask for your papers to be re-marked as they have already been marked by at least two Examiners and in many cases checked by a third.
For those who have just completed a few units, this is an important time. Many of you will be applying for postgraduate study and will need to apply after your second year on the External programme, if you are completing in three years. Therefore any results that you have will be scrutinized. It is a much better idea to get excellent marks as you go along each year rather than wait until your final set of examinations. Most universities and companies look at the spread of marks as well as the overall degree result so the ‘transcript matters’.
So welcome to the new session. Use your subject guides, associated reading and online resources on the VLE. And remember, you can contact and support other students via the VLE discussion forums. Please see my previous blog “Learning from each other” here.
In all cases, think strategically, think skeptically and remember that you need to cover the whole syllabus in order to do well as examiners have a tendency to surprise!
Rosemary Gosling
Director, LSE External Study
September 10, 2009 at 6:27 am
Hi Ms Gosling,
If a student fails 1 unit during his first year (three years in total), does he/she still stand a chance for at least second upper class honours?
Thanks.
September 10, 2009 at 6:52 am
The “TAGS” box appears to be too “cluttered” and the links should be organised more simply like the
“Useful Resources”. Users want to access separate links quickly and simply. The way they are know looks very untidy!
September 10, 2009 at 8:38 am
Dear Edmund
Yes of course, you can re-sit the unit, up to a maximum of three attempts.
September 10, 2009 at 8:40 am
Dear Robert
Thank you for your feedback, the tags box is a ‘tag cloud’ so it’s not meant to be a ‘list of links’ per se, however I have taken your comments on board and have tried to reduce the amount of tags used to make the cloud less cluttered and easier to find relevant blog posts.
Many thanks
Craig
September 10, 2009 at 10:00 am
Hi,
somehow I survived the first year. It would be helpful, very, to know about the marking of my particular paper(s)…Legibility, Focus, Repetition, Deviation etc. If your marking is thorough, which I am sure it is, this information will be available by candidate. I live in a home where my partner marks final year university level papers in English and each student gets this feedback as a matter of course even though the exam mark is only about 30% of the final score for any unit. Also, statistics of pass/fail/class by unit would be informative. Studying alone with, essentially a reading list, and a few pointers is a challenge compared to institutional environments which give feedback, community, and marked “target practice.” Finally, in my incontinent rambling (feedback welcome), it would be nice if the authors of the study guides welcomed comments on the courses. They fence themselves with the “pressure of work” barrier and really ask for proof reading rather than discourse. I am sure that you read some of the course communication flow and will understand the mushroom like cultivational environment the lone studiers experience. Many thanks. John
September 10, 2009 at 11:02 am
Hello Rosie,
I hope you remember me. I am one of the Sociology students that took your lecture in Cairo, Egypt. My question is how do i inform University of London that i am going to do the degree in 4 years.
Regards
Waqas
September 12, 2009 at 11:23 am
Hi Ms Gosling,
Thank you so much for the enlightenment. I was going mad thinking i probably will lose the chance. Some of my peers got 2 or more failures and were kinda worried too.
Others were unsure about the technique of how to write the essay questions, and does it mean we have to really follow the entire content from the study guide ONLY?
Regards,
Edmund
September 12, 2009 at 12:06 pm
From a student who has not done any exams (yet) for the EMFSS programme (because I have been doing them elsewhere)…
Just wanted to say that sometimes I “cringe in embarrassment” when I read some of the questions on here. The Strategies for Success booklet clearly sets out in the clearest possible manner, what needs to be studied (the entire syllabus) and then advises how to go about doing this in the most efficient and productive manner. Therefore when academics and administrators are being asked questions that are already answered elsewhere, it means that their time is wasted in “real time” because the students who are really working hard have to wait longer for replies to questions that deservedly warrant a reply.
September 13, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Robert, i definitely agree, but this question was forwarded to me by some “nice” friends of mine. They just want to SEE an answer out here. Not through the strategies for success. Of course i do tell them to refer to the booklet. I think it’s awesome.
No offences, but im just giving a helping hand since im constantly logged on.
September 16, 2009 at 7:18 am
Dear,
Ms.Gosling
I graduated this year and had a wonderful experience being a part of the UOL.
I have two questions; would i be allowed to retain my UOL email account even though i have graduated and secondly would i have an advantage when i apply for a masters programme(regular programme) as an alumni?
September 18, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Hi,
I was wondering if the exam papers taken by UOL External Students are the same as those taken by LSE Internal Students? Meaning that UOL external exam papers are just based on syllabus set by LSE for the External system, but not the same as that of LSE Internal students’ syllabus?
October 1, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Hi? … anyone can answer my query?
October 1, 2009 at 1:35 pm
LSE external students are examined to the same standards as internal LSE students (can’t comment on exams specifically as LSE Ext staff can answer that), however you can infer from this reply that in the eyes of the “outside world”, the students with LSE diplomas from either the Internal full time programme or the LSE External programme EMFSS would be regarded in the same light….hope that helps….Cheers, Robert , London, UK
October 2, 2009 at 2:36 am
Hi,
Actually i’m trying the address the degree programme, but it’s also examined to the same standards as you have said.
I do not think UOL external students and LSE Internal students will be regarded in the same light. Think of this, if you were a LSE internal student, would you want to be mixed with a UOL external student (who never attends on-campus lessons and stuff) and say we are of the same standard? (because it is much harder to get into LSE but relatively more easy to get into the UOL external programme via teaching institutions, who does not offer the same teaching facilities and expertise as LSE)
Sadly, this is the current mentality in Singapore which sees UOL students in a very bad light.
October 7, 2009 at 8:50 am
Hi, as I understand it, a UOL EMFSS degree will simply say LSE and have no mention of whether it is externally or internally achieved. So, those in Singapore with a hang-up regarding external degrees should not be concerned. However, a prospective employer might ask the question of whether the degree was obtained through external study. If I were such an employer, or an academic institution looking to select postgrad. students, I would be very impressed by those with the self-discipline and sheer guts to gain a degree by the UOL external route and, grade for grade would be inclined to look favourably upon their application.
October 7, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Well said John, I did not mention this (yet) to Creme Brulee, but after I posted my response (see Oct 1); I have had confirmed by a senior member of LSE personnel, that in essence both what John & I have said is correct! On now to another topic, done and dusted! Cheers, Robert
October 7, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Well said.
But sad to say, this is not the reality in singapore. In singapore, people only choose to go into the UOL External program or any distance learning program for that matter, only when they can’t make it into the 3 local universities in singapore or they have no money to go overseas for their degrees. Hence, the UOL External program is seen to be inferior to that of the 3 local universities in singapore. This doesn’t help when local teaching institutions teaching the UOL external program enrol students without any concern for academic standards (only requiring students to meet minimum requirements and filling up facilities to the brim for revenue’s sake).
I can only dream that one day, what you have said becomes a reality in singapore.
October 8, 2009 at 2:30 am
I have no idea which universities are worth attending in Singapore or how easy it is to get into the teaching institutions, but I do know that actually passing the courses and graduating with a degree from UofL external/LSE will require a great deal of ability and effort. Fortunately in most other parts of the world, employers and graduate institutions recognize the value of a UofL degree. Sometimes people are so worried about what other people think that they miss out on the real opportunities in life.
October 27, 2009 at 3:28 pm
dear creme brulee, I am a UOL external student in singapore @ SIM.. I can totally understand how you feel and what you mean.
dear DBP: in Singapore, the public universities NUS, SMU, NTU are where top students and most of the other cohort go for their degrees after the GCE Singapore Cambridge A levels. Getting into them would depend on your grades and the number of applicants that apply for that academic year, but a rough gauge would be straight Bs for EMFSS and for med school or law, it would be straight As. Unfortunately, external degrees are put in a bad light in Singapore. With regards to public universities and external degrees in singapore, it is truly a vicious cycle. Most of the cohort applies to the public university, due to excessive applications, the rest of the students are rejected and take external degrees. Eventually, due to misguided information that the public has, there is a consensus that academically weak students take the external degrees. However, what the public fails to come to terms with is that the UOL external exams are no less weaker in standard that public universities, that the syllabus is no less rigourous, and that for students that didnt make it to the cut for public universities, obtaining good grades for the external degree is no less tougher than local public university students.
There is also this common misconception that because the external degree is offered in so many places and so many people are taking them, the degree has dropped in standard. I would say that, indeed, unfortunately, Singaporeans are very narrow-minded when it comes to university education locally because we are constantly brainwashed that our local “Ivy League” is the only place where the degrees conferred are of value. I believe that this is a reason why Singapore faces constant brain drain as external degree holders are not recognised to their fullest potential in civil jobs and most private sectors. The lack of recognition deteriorates when the Singapore Board of Legal Education doesnt recognize the external LLB. There is not even “support” for external LLBs as they do not qualify for legal conversion courses.
The problem that we face here in Singapore is very real, the part about us being so worried about what other people think of us external degree holders.
I would love to go to UK where my degree would be much more recognized to seek out my career path. Alas, news about how tough it is for foreigners to find jobs there are aplenty.
October 27, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Dear raelynn: My sentiments exactly. I am from SIM too and just graduated.
“There is also this common misconception that because the external degree is offered in so many places and so many people are taking them, the degree has dropped in standard”
This is especially true in Singapore where anything distance-learning will immediately take a backseat in the minds of employers, because the idea is that as long you do not have any on-campus learning from the university faculty, you are not equal in standards to on-campus students, no matter what your degree transcript might say. People like to make distinctions, especially in Singapore.
It also doesn’t help when there seems to be quite a number of private teaching institutions teaching the UOL External Programme such as SIM, Stansfield College and PSB, just to name a few. And it appears to me as an SIM student, SIM is taking students for the UOL programme not based on academic qualifications but rather based on the size of the campus. As long as the student did not fare too badly and meet the bare minimum requirements, the school will accept the student just as long as they can squeeze one more student into the lecture hall. Ask any SIM student and they will tell you the school is grossly overcrowded (furthermore with other distance-learning programs available in SIM). It’s not surprising that people will belittle the UOL Degree. I had even heard of one lecturer commenting that UOL should start doing some quality control. If UOL wants to gather feedback on its programs, please ask the students for their heartfelt opinions, not the private teaching institutions.
Education is a lucrative business, but my only hope is that UOL or LSE for that matter, will seek to do something in Singapore for the sake of it’s reputation, not just for revenues.
Raelynn, there is only so much we can say or do, like what DBP mentioned, we should not get so hung up on what people think of us and we start missing the real opportunities in life. Lest we being accused of being just complainers or naysayers, let’s take constructive steps to seize the opportunities in life and excel in our careers. Otherwise it would really be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
October 30, 2009 at 8:36 pm
In response to the creme brulee, i have something to say. I’m a UOL external student myself, and i think that it is not for institutions to determine the quality of UOL degrees and it’s worth. To me, they SIM and the like are merely learning centers. I have noticed that the exams have increased in it’s difficulty, and although it’s true that any tom dick and harry can get into it’s programmes, not everyone can graduate with a good honours degree. It eventually boils now to the individual and whether he/she is willing to put in the effort. Trust me, as more and more people find it demanding (its the situation now), the impression of it will improve.
if you look at it from another angle, a uol degree, although classified as a second rate degree locally, will definitely be recognized internationally. so, i urge you to look at the big picture.
Well, to each his own. What matters is to do your work, and do it good.
lets work together.
James
Bsc Business Yr 1, 2009
uolstudies at live dot com