I just found out one problem about distance learning. I just sat for a proctored midterm. When I was working on the questions, an power outage occurred. There were no lights, no air conditioning and the computers were beeping for 30 minutes. The proctor said that she was not allowed to give me 30 minutes to compensate for the lost time. I contacted the RA DL college where I am enrolled. The DL college said too bad and sorry for the bad luck. Next time I take a college course, it won't be via DL. I'll be a student at a local accredited college. Does anyone have a similar situation? How was the problem resolved?
Sunday I would not accept the colleges current reply on the "too bad". I am sure there is a policy in place for exam scenerios that do not have acceptable environments. Don't give up on this. I suggest you do a little research into the printed policy and contact the president of the college. Hille
If you let one bad experience dictate your overall view of DL, maybe you should drop it. Have you ever had a bad experience at a B&M school?
I had a similar experience in a B&M school. I was running an "A" in a course for which I missed the final exam for being unavoidably late. The only person I could find to explain to my situation was the department head. He didn't care and told me there were no make-up exams. I later found my prof. who gave me a make-up exam. Appeal to your prof. in private message to see if anything can be done. Later (don't screw the prof. up if "special" arrangements are made), let the school know of this problem.
Re: Sunday Every DL course/exam I have looked into or taken has had this clause. Challenge them on this one - just like you would challenge a grade at a B&M!
Your experience is outrageous, whether it happened on campus or through DL. A University's responsibility to provide appropriate quality of environment for its examinations is unqualified. The Quality Assurance Agency in the UK would have something to say about a report of such a situation and the reported comments. If the environment provided means you cannot pass, then you cannot fail either. At the minimum a new venue and new examination must be provided. In our over 350 exam centres off campus (many on somebody else's campus, so please do not blame DL uniquely!), occasionally things have gone wrong over 12 years (strikes in an Australian university which penalised students not the administration; incorrect instructions as where the exam was; an exam being moved without telling anybody, including the invigilator; the wrong paper being delivered; Queen's jubillee holiday; no papers being delivered; fire alarms; band practice next door; riot in the streets; and last year - SARS). Immediate arrangements were put in place on each occasion. It is not uniquely a DL problem. Keep the faith.
Thank you very much for your feedback. I know it's strictly not only a DL problem. I never had any problems at the 2 B&M RA colleges from where I graduated. In addition, I never had any problems when I worked on my MBA courses and exams via DL. I will continue the assignments for this course. I will let you know how the exam situation is resolved. Cheers.
