Failed an Assignment or Course?

What if I am struggling academically, or facing preclusion from University due to poor academic progress? 

If you have failed an assignment, remember to keep things in perspective. Chances are you can still pass your course. You might need to put special effort into passing your exam, but this can be done. If you take the time to talk through your failed assignment with your tutor, and discuss a good strategy for approaching the rest of your assessments, then you will stand yourself in good stead.

If you have failed a course, again it is worth keeping things in perspective. Your academic transcript is important, and from time to time in life employers will ask to view it (although probably less often than you’d think). If your transcript shows a pattern of failure it might be a bit hard to explain away, but a one-off failure is probably unlikely to put off a future employer. A single failure is generally explainable, especially if it is out of step with your other results.

Keep doors open

Low course grades, whether you fail or not, will impact your grade point average. This may be important for you if you want to keep the door open to Honours or postgraduate study, or even if you enrol in a different undergraduate degree later in life. If in the future, for example, you decide to apply for a Masters degree, not only at UniSA but at any university, your grade point average will be one of the factors considered.

Some professions may also take more notice of grades than others; competitive fields such as law, for example. If you are worried about your grades it would be worth doing some research into your industry to work out just how important your academic transcript will be.

Look up

Be realistic in your assessment of your failure. Don’t beat yourself up: instead take positive action to learn and improve. Don’t let fear of failure stop you trying again.

If you would like to discuss your progress at uni, or your personal experience of failure, you might like to come in and speak with a counsellor.