Can a College Refuse to Teach Units?

[ChocolatChip]

I know this is not in the right section, but I was hoping with the vast majority spending their time on Chatterbank, then someout out here may be able to help me;
I study at a college in the West Midlands, and I have had some problems with the teachers and their lack of support and 'unbothered-ness' that they have shown.
I am due to complete the course within a few weeks, and I was hoping to get a scholarship from Coventry University, due to achieving a high grade. But due to the fact that the college have not taught all the units that are meant to be, I am short of UCAS points, which means I will not get my scholarship. I do not have a huge amount of money, and that scholarship was vital for me to go to university. And no matter how hard I worked, I would've never had the chance to achieve these points.
I am so angry, and feel that I have been treated unfairly. Is there anything I can do In order to get these points? I need them desperately.
Please help!

[bednobs]

i dont really understand - how can you complete the course if you haven't done all the modules/units?

[bednobs]

if you had done this course somewhere else, are you saying you would have had to do more modules to pass?

[ChocolatChip]

Because you're allowed to fail one a year I believe, but the teachers have compromised this, and told us that we're not allowed to complete the course if we fail a unit. And taken units out so they don't have to teach them. (hope that makes sense!)

[bednobs]

not really, sorry :)
have you tried approaching the college about it? How long is the course? When did you realise you'd be short on modukes?

[mollykins]

I thought it would be in their best interests or as many people to pass as possible.

So, say you can do 5 units but fail one and still pass, you are doing 4 but have to pass them all?, meaning you have a larger chance of failing, but on the otherhand, more time to spend on them. But i don't know how long each unit takes so don't now if taking out one unit will help get the grades of the others up.

[mollykins]

How many units should there be, what subject and exam board is it?

[ChocolatChip]

It's reall confusing to explain unless you're actually on the BTEC course. But each unit equals a certain amount of BTEC points (which later are translated into UCAS points) So you can normally afford to fail some units, and still get enough points to change into UCAS point so you can go to university.
You need 320 UCAS points in order to get a scholarship, but because they have taken out some of the units, I cannot achieve the amount of UCAS points to get a scholarship.
I was not asked if I wanted to have the units removed, because I knew I wanted to get the highest grade possible, but I feel that the College hasn't been bothered by this fact, and it means I will no longer get my scholarship

[ChocolatChip]

Its a BTEC National Diploma in Health and Social Care, I believe the examing board is Edexcel.

[mollykins]

I'm doing gcses and know a bit about btec subjects. I jsut can't see why the college wouldn't want as many people to pass as can possibly do so.

[ChocolatChip]

Everyone will pass (I think anyway), And can still achieve Distinctions within the course, but there are not enough to units for me to achieve a scholarship, due to the fact they have removed units.

[sophie_1003]

Seems it's a bit late to be questioning it now, would you be better off doing another course for a year to boost your UCAS points? Also, if it's a degree course (or any Higher Education course) you should be able to get grants and loans to cover the cost of tuition and living fees.

[bednobs]

How long is the course? When did you realise you'd be short on modules? TBH i would think a few weeks before you are due to finish is a bit late

[factor-fiction]

It may be a bit late now.
Are you saying you haven't been entered for enough exams?
Or are you just saying the teachers haven't covered all the topics you will be examined on?

[hc4361]

Getting a scholarship is next to impossible these days, it's mainly student loans.

[sherrardk]

HI CC - they probably have only delivered the bare minimum as the more contact time you have with teachers the more expensive the course is to run. There's also the question of the entry cost of each unit too. It all comes down to money I'm afraid.

[mollykins]

factor, the people that do h&s btecs only do coursework and assessments with no written exams.

[Prudie]

I was going to ask what you mean by a scholarship, who is going to pay for you to go to Uni?

[ChocolatChip]

Well, I've only just found out this information myself! They did not orginally discuss with us that they were going to remove units, they told us that they had done so less than a week ago, when they handed us the sheet to calculate how many UCAS points we had, which had the removed units still left on the sheet.
I already had a year out due to illness, and I don't want to leave it any longer.
And the idea is that it's a few hundred pound grants, and then a £16,000 loan. £1500 to £3000 would've really helped towards that.

[factor-fiction]

... and the college's judgement as to whether it's worth teaching topics to pupils /entering pupils taking account of their ability and prospects of success. Sometimes it's better to focus on doing a few things well than trying to cover everything.
Is there any self-study you can do?

[sophie_1003]

What course is it you want to do CC?