Not going to lectures/tutorials?! (!!!!)

[1st yr student.]

Yo, i am a 1st year student, who has decided i shoudl spend the first year v.loose doing other things that are apparently more appealing than going to lectures or tutorials. This will be a first year thing, as we are at unis to learn, but still, was wondering will missing more than two tutorials will lead to not being able to continue with the course? (e.g. I.R) Heard of this happening? A lot of people round me seem to come up with their stories of not going to tutorials...missing 3 or 4 per semester.. help me here..tell me your thoughts and stories..
Thank you. much appreciated.

[Smith]

It all depends on wether the tutorials are compulsory attendence or not. If they are, then missing more than 2 will most likely see you losing your Permission to Proceed.

However, you can usually get away with missing some by filling in a self-certificate absense form (available at Student Portal)

[hr]

Cake, and fine wine.

[maenad]

And the point of paying thousands of pounds for courses you're not taking part in is ... ? If you have no dedication to your subject now, how do you expect to be able to apply yourself in the coming three years?

To answer your question, I don't know, but as IR (I have heard) is a pretty competitive subject, I doubt they'd mind weeding out people who can't be arsed to work. Guess it depends how good a liar you are.

[cam]

I missed two tutorials in IR last semester and got a letter from the Head of the Department saying that if I missed a third class I would have my Permission to Proceed withdrawn 'without compromise'. And one of these I was genuinely ill, the other I slept in as I was hung-over.

[Lodestone]

Quoting cam from 16:31, 9th Mar 2006
I missed two tutorials in IR last semester and got a letter from the Head of the Department saying that if I missed a third class I would have my Permission to Proceed withdrawn 'without compromise'. And one of these I was genuinely ill, the other I slept in as I was hung-over.

Did you fill out an absence form? The rule is usually for unjustified, unexplained absences.

[KateBush]

dude- is now the time to piss about- when exams are looming in the not too distant future? first semester would've been better!

[hr]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/vasovagalvegan/
POTS and Vasovagal Syncope- not for the *faint* hearted
See me in my wheelchair? Keep staring--I might do a trick!

[Jabez Clegg]

never fear of retribution by the uni aslong as your asences follow the correct procediure.i suggest 'stomach flu' as a very plausable excuse as it sounds as nasty as it is, and everyone thinks that you have been shitting your lungs out anyway so are hardly going to ask questions. personal problems are always a good one as well because in general no one wants to know (family problems are always a good one as you can draw them out when it suits).your lectures really don't care about your attendance as you are supposed to be big and ugy enough to have the commen sense to turn up. enjoy the rest of your term... and during the bountious amounts of free time you have during which i suggest you watch slackers... a great film and life source

[Iain]

Why bother going to University with that attitude?

So what if you "know the stuff" - you'll either come a cropper as you damn well should; or your lecturers will have you marked down as "lazy git" for the rest of your degree. This will hamper your marks.

Fine, if you have your mind fixed on one degree subject and the others are just a case of "strive for a five" but why fall into the trap of doing nowt for first year? Doesn't set you up to be disciplined in honours.

[hr]

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~snpsoc

[Smith]

Quoting katebush from 17:35, 9th Mar 2006
dude- is now the time to piss about- when exams are looming in the not too distant future? first semester would've been better!

[hr]

http://www.livejournal.com/users/vasovagalvegan/
POTS and Vasovagal Syncope- not for the *faint* hearted
See me in my wheelchair? Keep staring--I might do a trick!

Err, I'm pretty sure every subject has exams in the first semester as well...

[hr]

Cake, and fine wine.

[Rosanna]

What a load of crap.

Quoting jabez clegg from 19:34, 9th Mar 2006
"never fear of retribution by the uni aslong as your asences follow the correct procediure."

eh?


"i suggest 'stomach flu' as a very plausable excuse as it sounds as nasty as it is, and everyone thinks that you have been shitting your lungs out anyway so are hardly going to ask questions."


As far as I can see, this person is not asking for examples of (lame and unoriginal) excuses they can use to get out of tutorials. They're simply asking whether or not its a good idea to try and get away with it. ("shitting your lungs out?")


"personal problems are always a good one as well because in general no one wants to know (family problems are always a good one as you can draw them out when it suits)."


Hmm. what a groundbreaking insight.


"your lectures really don't care about your attendance as you are supposed to be big and ugy enough to have the commen sense to turn up."


How clever. Actually, they mostly do. And if turning up is "common sense" why are you so in favour of encouraging this guy not to turn up?


"enjoy the rest of your term... and during the bountious amounts of free time you have during which i suggest you watch slackers... a great film and life source

"


Apologies, but this was just bollocks. Everyone misses lectures and tutorials, but taking that kind of attitude towards it is just moronic. This isn't fucking high school. Noone is gonna think you're cool, especially with those innovative excuses.

Rant over.

[munchingfoo]

Quoting Iain from 19:46, 9th Mar 2006
Why bother going to University with that attitude?

So what if you "know the stuff" - you'll either come a cropper as you damn well should; or your lecturers will have you marked down as "lazy git" for the rest of your degree. This will hamper your marks.

Fine, if you have your mind fixed on one degree subject and the others are just a case of "strive for a five" but why fall into the trap of doing nowt for first year? Doesn't set you up to be disciplined in honours.

Hmm - lets see. I have exactly that attitude, and I got offered a PhD without applying thorugh normal procedures. I go to very few lecture (less than 1/4) but I know my stuff. Do you not think it shows a greater level of intellect if you can work out how to pass with amazing marks without being spoonfed the information by a lecturer?

[hr]

Tired Freudian references aside - your mother played my mighty skin flute like a surf crowned sea nymph trying to rouse Poseidon from his watery slumber!

[Guest]

forget the lectures, just go to the tutorials - if you have any sense at all pick courses that dont have tutorials eg - 2nd yr finance modules, russian lit etc. or sign up to ones that are about 3pm (that means watch the dept boards every day in the first week) - should give you enough time to sleep off that hangover even if it was a 7am bender and not too late to spoil an early evening session.

[exnihilo]

Just an observation from the point of view of a tutor...

We're not stupid.

We know who works.

We know who doesn't.

We give the benefit of any doubt to those who do.

We give no breaks at all to those who don't.

We've heard every excuse going.

We have no time for wasters.

That's all.

[Smith]

It's not really very nice pulling out the excuse of "family problems" or "personal problems" either.

Because some people actually do have family problems and personal problems, and it really isn't fair on them to pull that sort of excuse.

[hr]

Cake, and fine wine.

[Iain]

Foo - grand; but I wonder how it make the tutors/lecturers feel? I'd be glad on the one hand that the student could do the stuff without tutoring but I'd feel pretty worthless.

I could have done geology backwards in first year (?!?) and hell I missed all of about two lectures.

Exnihilo has given a viewpoint that maybe doesn't now apply to all but if I missed classes; no matter how good I did in continuous assessment; I'd not get good marks. Lecturers and tutors are sick of people not trying. This is especially true in first/second year; Dr Donaldson in Geol said pretty much "we're sick of people who only start working once they get to honours." The exact phrase escapes me.

[hr]

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~snpsoc

[Bizarre Atheist]

Missing lectures, is perhaps understandable - the books are there in the playpen for you to do the work yourself.

Missing tutorials however, is just pathetic. Particularly if you have only three a week in first year, which is entirely possible for artists. I personally have six, three at 10am and three at 3pm. I have never missed one and I don't intend to. How monumentally behind must you be?

You get what you deserve, in University and the real world, and it sounds like you deserve nothing, let alone a degree.

[hr]

Nolite te bastardes carborandorum.

[womble chris]

my lecture attendance:
1st year: around 30 out of 300 odd
2nd year: around 20
3rd year: around 15 first semester
1 so far this semester

im doing economics degree

marks in that have been 18,17,16,9.9 and averaged a 16.4 last semester.

you dont need to go to lectures for economics. they often do internet notes. they often teach from the text book.

if you work your arse off the 2 days before a class test, or essay and the 12-14 days before end of semester exams youll do fine.

and this way i can do whatever i want for almost all days during the semester; wake up whenever, do whatever, generally have a great time.

those who are berating about not going to lectures; there not fun, there no where near as productive as an extra hour of revision when coming to exam time.

i am only saying this in terms of economics. if i was doing a different subject maybe it would always go to lectures as they'd be worth spending an hour of my time going to.

anyone who has said 'you are wasting the tuition fees you pay'. you can tell your not economists. its a sunk cost. youve already paid for it. you do whatever you think is preferable given all factors. if you paid to have a doctor cut your nose off, would you still go through with it becuase otherwise it would be a waste of you fees you paid. no, of course not.

anyways, as i said, this is becuase i do economics and for other subjects it may be a good idea to go.

[Duggeh]

And on the flip side, im a philosophy student, who actually quite enjoys his lectures and finds them interesting, but was actually genuinely ill for about 2 full weeks earlier this term.

Understand though, im not denying that im a slacker, i do just as much night-before as the next student does. Just that when I do miss things which are important, its only for a proper reason.

[hr]

IMAGE:www.macintyre42.plus.com/images/tb2-100.jpg
Duggeh: Master Of Ceremonies

[exnihilo]

I should point out that I was not talking about lectures, to my mind lectures are a resource offered you in the same way the library is. I was talking about tutorials. Tutorials are compulsory. Why? Not so you can learn from the tutor so much as so the tutor can aid you. You are meant to do the talking in tutorials, you are meant to bounce ideas, ask questions and broaden your understanding. This is also an opportunity for a tutor to assess you, and to see who cares, who works and who is a waste of skin - that last group will, as I said, never get the benefit of the doubt when the same tutor comes to mark their work and discovers anything ambiguous or out of the ordinary. You damage yourself by not attending, and if you honestly think we don't talk to each other, you're very much mistaken. And we talk about you.

[amore vincit omnia]

On the subject of lectures, personally I prefer going to them to reading..it's far more engaging and interesting, especially if you have a good lecturer (or a really boring textbook!!)
For example, recently in Scottish History lectures, Prof. Mason has explained Scottish dynastic patterns using "Godfather" analogies, waxed lyrical for hours about Scottish rugby and its effects on modern scoiety, and hypothesised that the best thing for early modern European politics would have been for Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I to marry each other...with some pretty convincing arguments to back up his case Makes Monday afternoons so much more interesting

[hr]

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. - Aristotle