Sweet and sour bittersweet

Sour:
Yesterday the University I have been chasing during two years to top up my degree changed the degree name to exactly the same name The OU uses for its flexible degree. I was trying to escape from that name since 2010 but that name follows me.

I feel I'm jinxed on this, cannot I just have the degrees with the names I want for God sake?

I contacted them trying to see if I can claim the old degree instead of the new one. It's not possible, I have stopped my application process yesterday and I'm back to point zero in my research on finding a University that would offer this degree online (with good modules if possible).

Only one Uni found at the moment and it was the one I discarded in favour of "the mutator one" :-).

This is very sad for me, the Uni had no exams, had a very good approach to the materials, fantastic modules, it's one of the UK Universities with the highest percentage of people going into work straight away after they finish...and it's even cheaper than The OU.

Sweet:
My M263 results have been published. I got a 88% OES, with a 91% OCAS. Providing that I finish all my modules on time I have now mathematically a 2:1 degree. Just having a 40% in the two modules I have ahead that will be the minimum grade I will be having.

Now I have 10% of probability to have a First, 90% to have a 2:1.

The new unofficial table is as follows:

Repeating myself

M363 Last year was TMA01:88%, TMA02:87%, TMA03: 80%
M362 This year:       TMA01:88%, TMA02:87%

In both modules the same tutor was assigned to me as well (I'm very pleased that's the case as my tutor feedback when marking is high level quality).

Can you see the pattern? LOL.

87%, Not bad for exactly 12 days of work - for the Units and TMA all inclusive - but a bit annoyed that I always make the same mistakes (repeating myself again).

My weakest point is not the programming bit, that part is always graded as excellent, it is to explain things in assessments, it's not that I do not know them well, it's that I always assume some parts are so evident that do not really need an explanation and other times I just do not explain part of something because other thing or perspective was asked but as my tutor perfectly explained in his feedback if I mention something I should give enough reasons for backing it up.

Everytime this happens to me I see myself crashing against a wall in TM470 next year ;-).

Let's be positive and see if I break the loop for good with my TMA03 and achieve higher than the 80% I did in M363 TMA03 last year, I'm not renouncing to have an 80%, at the contrary I wish I will have at least an 80% in my TMA03 this year as that will be the minimum to keep the Distinction opportunity for the exam (as it also was last year of course, even with different percentages in the grading distribution, I ended up having the same situation this year again with exactly the same TMA percentages). Déjà Vu to the maximum expression :-).

All in all, considering that only 27 days of study were dedicated for the first two TMAs I cannot be happier with the results, I'm just a bit frustrated for not having more time to dedicate to this module I think. I'm really enjoying it.

If everything goes according to plan I would be uploading the TMA circa 3 months in advance this time. It was a month and 20 days advance for TMA02 but I would like to have those 3 months to dedicate seriously to review everything and prepare the exam very well. I do not want to make a bad TMA though, so I will upload it only when I'm happy with my work on it, even if I need to wait until the cut-off date...priorities are clear, let's hope everything goes fine and I have a good result.

Currently I'm already highlighting the Units for my TMA03, first unit already done, second unit in process. 3 days working on TMA03 for now.

Let's go!

Uncertainty but with some good points and a lot of hope

The University I'm going to do the top-up of my Dip HE Comp & IT is now doing changes to their planned modules. The contents will be unveiled near September. I now do not know if they will change the module contents as well or not.

I liked the old modules and their practical approach, they were the reason for me to decide to study with them, now everything is a bit uncertain until they will publish the new structure.

For now I know they are going to increase the number of credits per module from 15 to 20 and thus will be reducing the number of modules in the top-up year from 8 to 6. I also know that they are now asking for an English qualification for foreign students.

Another good point with this degree is that from the 8 modules they had they only had 1 exam (that was equivalent to the 40% of the module grade only!). That was another reason for me to select them as even when I do not fear exams at all I was searching for a practical approach that would allow me to use the knowledge in my day-by-day work at the same time I was learning it.


Good points: I will have less modules meaning I probably will reduce a year of studies.

Hope: I just hope they accept that if I have finished an undergraduate degree already with a good grade that demonstrates I can study another undergraduate level in English and would accept my application without any academic English qualification exam to be sit. Should that's not the case I will probably search for another University that be more open minded on this point as I just do not want to have to waste 6 months - or a year - of my life going to an academy course just to pass a stupid exam I do not need at all.

I also hope the modules I liked the most still remain in the new structure.

I'm happy these changes are happening before I'm going into the degree instead of while I'm inside. I do not want to live the situation of starting a degree that is being created on the fly so I will probably wait to finish my BSc with The OU before starting it, leaving them another year to define their modules and have them all in place.

Transitional arrangements

I have registered today for TM470.

In fact, I had to do it anyway if I want to keep the transitional arrangements and next year is also the last one for me to claim my degree, so unless I die before 9th January I would have done it sooner or later.

I did it as a way of forcing myself to look forwards instead of feeling that even small situations are perceived as things that repeat themselves in a infinite loop that I would like to break for once and forever (see yesterday post).

Replanning has now (hopefully) finished for me.

From now until I complete M263, M362 and TM470 I just hope The OU doesn't make any changes  in their rules that could avoid me to claim my degree in December 2014. I honestly cannot cope with more changes or replanning again.

I just want this to finish well (no issues, no surprises, no more bad news or changes) and then my brain will delete all the not-so-good things as it normally does and I will remember the fantastic academic level The OU provides, the freedom of studying online, the moment when I decided to study with The Open University, I will face what will mean for me as a person to have reached what it was probably my dream since I was 12 y.o., etc.

But overall I will remember all the people that have helped me to be the person I am and that somehow my goal is theirs as well. Those that passed away and those that are still with me, without their love and support I would have never reached the point I'm now nor have the opportunity to culminate my dream.

Just a bit more than a year and a half in front of me for all that to be a reality.

Unnecessary automatic substitution?...again?

My results in the M263 TMAs are already released (TMA01: 88%,  TMA02:93%, TMA03: 90%, TMA04: 91%). Grading (OCAS) before substitution: 91%. Grading (OCAS) after substitution: 91%.

(drums) Ladies and gentlemen, once again in my life: Unnecessary substitution!

It happens to you when the grading in a module before and after substitution is applied is exactly the same but not all your TMA gradings are the same.

First of all, I think substitution is not a help at all else a way of masking mediocrity. How many times people that is not good at something have appeared as they are just because of substitution? How many of those helped by substitution would have jump in a job queue over others that have had the same grades in a different country where substitution didn't apply? How many of the "helped" ones that didn't need the substitution at all have been harmed by the unnecessary textual "gift" added? If one of your TMAs is at 50% level why should other TMAs compensate your ignorance in that part?

I hope that this time The OU has solved their issue and it doesn't appear the mention "(Substitution applied)" in my module description document.

The OU has "gifted" me with the textual mention already in other 3 modules I have completed 2 years ago, where my grading before and after that "substitution" was the same (M255: 94%, M364: 90%, M256: 88%).

In fact the only real substitution I have had in all my OU studies was in M359 that year also where a 91.25% was converted into a 92% (oh, thank you ever so much indeed for such a huge difference).

Just to start: Did I really need any kind of substitution in those cases? For a Distinction only 85% is needed ...wasn't really clear for the OU that I did not need any "help"? Second, if my grading before and after is the same what substitution has been applied? Third, what kind of help is adding a "substitution applied" text in a case like this? Fourth, why is not allowed to opt out of substitution? IMHO They are harming hardworking individuals through those mentions in their academic statement records, benefiting only the mediocre ones through the substitution practice.

The issue with the mention seems to be due to an OU rule stating that if not all your TMA grades are EXACTLY the same this textual mention will appear because the substitution system will fire (even if the system has really not added any value to you with the substitution!).

Sometimes I wonder if the person that dictates this kind of rules really thought about all the possible scenarios and decided that in a case like this the system would include the textual mention anyway or if it's a bug.

Just a helpful code in case it's a bug:

if (valueBeforeSubstitution != valueAfterSubstitution) then {
  //print the "helpful" mention only in this case.
  //No worries, the other cases do not need your "help", believe me
}

Coding that was easy, isn't it...well, not if we look at how The OU answered my email two years ago when I contacted them regarding this case. They replied me inviting me to use a form that is in place to claim should you're not happy with your grading.

...and that wasn't exactly the case, was it?

Alea iacta est

The dice are cast.

My M362 TMA02 has been already marked two days ago but I will need to wait exactly a month (26th June) to know my resultant grade on that. In this case every TMA will decide if I can continue to dream with a Distinction at level 3 or not and therefore if I can keep dreaming on a First degree or not. So the dice will need to be cast again just if this time I was a winner.

In a certain way it would be a relief if the distinction option disappears for M362 as it would mean I just need to focus on having a 2:1 degree and that is almost already done. In fact, if I achieve a distinction in M263 this June - I have now that option as yesterday my results were published and I achieved a 91% in the TMA04 - I mathematically will have a 2:1 degree just passing M362 and TM470 (just a Grade 4 is needed in such a case). On the other hand it would be a great disappointment to have done so many efforts and renounce to so many things and finally end up with something I could have reached doing half the effort. "Pathetic" would be a great term to define that situation.

TMAing during holidays

I'm almost finishing M362 TMA02, only some theory question counting for 10% of the TMA remains and I'm now again on track with my study plans... this is a good point.

To do this I have been working very hard to end M263 TMA04 exactly the day before (21st April) I took my holidays to come to Gran Canaria to visit my family.

I'm here since 22nd April, coming back tomorrow and during my stay here what have I done?
 Did I go to the lovely beaches? Did I visit 100 friends and partied all day?

Nop, I highligthed the first Unit of this TMA in the airplane while coming and have been working very hard on my M362 TMA02 since then, so I can now study for my M263 exam in my return, 39 days free of interruptions to dedicate to M263 exam preparation!!.

Wow!! It does sound fantastic, doesn't it? I hope you can feel the irony in my writen words. Welcome to my OU life :-)

Even better, I have just enough time now to end the remaining bits before fliying tomorrow, I will arrive at UK at 4:05am on Sunday morning and start studying for the exam from 5th or 6th May onwards. Coming back to work on 7th.

For sure you just hate me for how fortunate I am (and feel right now) after such great lovely holidays in a paradise that one can see through the window of the "office".

I know all of you are green of envy reading this, LOL!

At least I have enjoyed time with my family while they were around and just one TMA remains for this year. These are also good points.

"Let's see the bottle half filled" and carry on... or I will cut my veins :-).