WWYD College son? Update 1st post

[abdmom]

I would have him start over next fall. But I would also see if there is a course or two that he could take for general interest starting in January. That way he could keep in the habit of going to school

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Ultimately it’s my son’s decision but I want to hear your input.

I have 3 sons. 2 are great in school and the third one well...

There has been a college strike for 5 weeks and the teachers only returned this week because the government intervened and made them go back. The strike started during midterm exam week.

DS19 is not a strong student. 5 weeks worth of missed work will have to be crammed in tight to finish the semester.

College is giving the option to finish the semester with cramming in all this work or refunding tuition for the semester and starting over next September, therefore losing a year.

My son is concerned he won’t be able to do it
I am concerned he will be home for a year and possibly lose interest in finishing

It’s his decision but he values my input and also I am paying fully for his education

What do you think?

Take the BRASS RING while it is offered! My dd is on a two semester sabbatical for medical reasons. PITA but she goes back in January.

It is NOT your son's fault he wont be able to cram.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The program is not offered in spring. It only starts September or January. He went to Student Services on the day back from the strike. He went almost 2 hours before they opened and he was told January is full.

That sucks.

Can he take "fluff courses" next semester? Or would he rather work?

 

[NHdisneylover]

That sucks.

Can he take "fluff courses" next semester? Or would he rather work?

as a PP already noted. Canadian college and univerfsity programs (much like those in Germany, and I expect a good amount of the world) do not really have "fluff" courses (or core curriculumn)--- every course taken is generally major specific and required.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

as a PP already noted. Canadian college and univerfsity programs (much like those in Germany, and I expect a good amount of the owrld) do not really have "fluff" courses (or core curriculumn)--- every course taken is generally major specific and required.

I see. Good and bad with your colleges. Thanks

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

Are there any gen ed courses he could take in the spring or electives? If so, I'd have him do so. If not, I guess the only option is to come back in the fall or cram. I'd probably take the refund myself.

 

[fimac]

Having a son that fell behind on a college course due to medical problems. I would ask him to put his name on a wait list for the Jan course and see if there are any evening classes or day classes that would interest him, even if they are not part of his course just to keep him in the college mindset

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

For different reasons I had a very encouraging conversation with my son like this:

In the REALM OF YOUR FUTURE PLANS ( there wasn't anything concrete) Will it really matter whether you graduate in 4 yrs or 5? The important thing is THE GOAL and THE GOAL is TO GRADUATE. Graduating with a degree will be YOUR REWARD and it will not matter IN THE BIG PICTURE of your life, if it takes an extra year.

HE SPENT AN EXTRA YEAR!! AND GRADUATED!!

 

[lifesavacation]

I would encourage my child to stay and arrange tutoring to help.

 

[Disney_Alli]

When I was in my last semester of a two year program at Algonquin the college went on a 3 week strike exactly one day after we got back from reading week. It was a total PITA and I hated the diminished level of my course after the strike as they rushed us through the course work with just 2-3 weeks to go before exams. One course the take home midterm originally worth 25% of my grade (with 50% scheduled to be a practical demonstration in the last class week) became my entire grade - and we never had another class in that course. I was a good student (3.97 final GPA) and I struggled to keep up with the course load that was handed down. We weren't given any recourse other than to finish on time but I still wish I'd been able to ACTUALLY experience that final semester and if my plans at the time had been different (on the break I bought a condo on the other side of the country and moved away that summer) I might have fought to redo that semester. If I was your son I'd push for full time hours through the spring and summer and start back next fall. YMMV.

ETA I also tutored in college and while tutoring helps there's only so much a tutor can do with such a heavy work load placed on the students in this situation already.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Honestly if the OP is Canadian that would have been helpful to know. As is I don't know the structure of the Canadian system, the expectations, the grading system, the culture of higher education even and as you can see for those of us who are unfamiliar with it our (edited: corrected word) advice isn't helping. I don't mean that in a bad way it's just my advice and clearly others is not working since our system is set up differently as I have sorta found out from others comments.

Having said that are community colleges a big enough thing in Canada? Only reason I even mention that is if some of the courses (unless they are too specialized of courses) the OP's son would take in the program not offered in the Spring were available at a community college or something like that where it would allow the son not to fall too far behind.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Just my $.02 but a lot of people have mentioned fluff classes. I have two in college right now and I'm not seeing a lot of fluff. DD has an Art course as an elective this year and she's spent more time on it than any of her other classes, plus the tests are HARD! (I'd kind of warned her about that given my own history with a Music elective - also one of the hardest classes I ever had - for me!) DS is taking an Astronomy class this semester he thought would be fluff but it's kicking his butt. So, so much for that! I suppose there are some out there, and much of it probably depends on what they are and where they're being taken. DD took a summer course at a different school this year and it did seem a little easier than the courses she takes at her own school - the same course that all her friends this year have been complaining how hard it is. So there's probably a lot of variation, but most courses will probably involve a decent amount of time and effort.

 

[ronandannette]

Honestly if the OP is Canadian that would have been helpful to know. As is I don't know the structure of the Canadian system, the expectations, the grading system, the culture of higher education even and as you can see for those of us who are unfamiliar with it our (edited: corrected word) advice isn't helping. I don't mean that in a bad way it's just my advice and clearly others is not working since our system is set up differently as I have sorta found out from others comments.

Having said that are community colleges a big enough thing in Canada? Only reason I even mention that is if some of the courses (unless they are too specialized of courses) the OP's son would take in the program not offered in the Spring were available at a community college or something like that where it would allow the son not to fall too far behind.

One thing I've gleaned is that the word "college" is a term used by Americans to refer to any type of post-secondary education. That probably caused some confusion in this thread.

The OP's son IS in college, not university. Colleges here have specific, skills-focussed 1, 2 or 3 year diploma or certificate programs in fine arts, technologies and trades. They do not offer "liberal arts" or what you might refer to as "academic" courses. College programs (generally) do not have any general education components that transfer one-to-another. They are not "starter-university". One would not enrol in college here and consider it a stream into university. Students who choose college have a specific career path in mind and the OP didn't tell us if her DS is particularly passionate about whatever it is he's studying.

 

[Hikergirl]

Just my $.02 but a lot of people have mentioned fluff classes. I have two in college right now and I'm not seeing a lot of fluff. DD has an Art course as an elective this year and she's spent more time on it than any of her other classes, plus the tests are HARD! (I'd kind of warned her about that given my own history with a Music elective - also one of the hardest classes I ever had - for me!) DS is taking an Astronomy class this semester he thought would be fluff but it's kicking his butt. So, so much for that! I suppose there are some out there, and much of it probably depends on what they are and where they're being taken. DD took a summer course at a different school this year and it did seem a little easier than the courses she takes at her own school - the same course that all her friends this year have been complaining how hard it is. So there's probably a lot of variation, but most courses will probably involve a decent amount of time and effort.

I thought the same thing about the fluff courses. It really depends, my dd is in general studies. This semester I would say her only fluff course is a creative writing course. While the content may be fluff in the sense that if she missed 5 weeks she wouldn't really miss anything, the work load is not fluff, it is a ton of writing (obviously LOL).
Next semester it is an online art course. She considers it fluff because it is a requirement and she has no interest in art. Who knows what the work will entail though.
In the past 3 semesters she has filled her electives with things like Chem 1 and Chem 2, Calculus, Bio 2, Ecology and some other sciences because they will transfer to her desired major at the University. Definitely not fluff classes, and no way could a student miss 5 weeks and then be taken easy on by the professor/teacher and continue on to more academically challenging classes with success.

 

[mom2rtk]

Just my $.02 but a lot of people have mentioned fluff classes. I have two in college right now and I'm not seeing a lot of fluff. DD has an Art course as an elective this year and she's spent more time on it than any of her other classes, plus the tests are HARD! (I'd kind of warned her about that given my own history with a Music elective - also one of the hardest classes I ever had - for me!) DS is taking an Astronomy class this semester he thought would be fluff but it's kicking his butt. So, so much for that! I suppose there are some out there, and much of it probably depends on what they are and where they're being taken. DD took a summer course at a different school this year and it did seem a little easier than the courses she takes at her own school - the same course that all her friends this year have been complaining how hard it is. So there's probably a lot of variation, but most courses will probably involve a decent amount of time and effort.

Almost no fluff classes in either of my sons' college experiences either. But one was an accounting major and one was a Chem E major. Maybe liberal arts is different?

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

One thing I've gleaned is that the word "college" is a term used by Americans to refer to any type of post-secondary education. That probably caused some confusion in this thread.

The OP's son IS in college, not university. Colleges here have specific, skills-focussed 1, 2 or 3 year diploma or certificate programs in fine arts, technologies and trades. They do not offer "liberal arts" or what you might refer to as "academic" courses. College programs (generally) do not have any general education components that transfer one-to-another. They are not "starter-university". One would not enrol in college here and consider it a stream into university. Students who choose college have a specific career path in mind and the OP didn't tell us if her DS is particularly passionate about whatever it is he's studying.

Thank you for that clarification. I vaguely remembered previously learning here on the DIS that college and university were not the same thing.

Here college and university are the same thing. It's just people tend to say "I'm in college" rather than "I'm at the University". Community colleges here aren't just starter universities--plenty get the 2 year associates degree that comes with just a 2 year college. But they are also ways of getting certain classes taken. I for example took an intro math class during the summer of my high school graduation and the beginning of my freshman year of college. Then the next summer I took both a biology class and the biology lab at the Community college (more because I didn't like the schedule my college had for the courses during the year). Technically I had been a student already at the Community though as I had taken french classes in high school for college credit.

Sounds like the process is quite different there in Canada.

I know for example most of my specialized psychology classes were at least a 300 level (generally though not always considered Junior year courses) along with 400 and 500 level courses. You would not for example have Conceptual Issues in Psychology as a freshman nor would you have Intimate Relationships as a freshman or the Psychology of Women as a freshman. You would first start out with Intro to Psych and then Personalities. And then before you were admitted into the Psychology program you first have to complete X number of other courses like Humanities (Western Civ for example) and in order to receive a Bachelor's of Arts degree a foreign language was required with 4 semester's worth, etc.

This is my experience as other programs vary. My Psychology degree was from the Liberal Arts and Sciences school as a Bachelor's of Arts. My husband however has a Bachelor's of Science degree from the School of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering. His classes were much more specialized from the start though he did have to take just a few outside courses. I believe one of them he took was a history one for example. Both him and I went to the same college which is called the University of ___ lol.

So for the OP's son I just wouldn't know what to advise since it seems very different. But I do get the concern of losing interest. Most of my friends...once they left college (either a 2 year or 4 year school) they didn't come back. But to their credit they were already balancing work and school and once they left..making money (even at a minimum wage job) became much easier than trying to pay for school and work and have money for anything.

 

[luvsJack]

I have the impression that college in Canada are similar to our vo/tech programs here.

If a kid here was in say a surgical tech program and this happened. You would not want to go back and either have 15 weeks of class crammed into 5 weeks or have them skip any of the information. There aren't really any "fluff" classes. Besides, it would be a waste of money and time.

Is there any way he could work in something close to his chosen field between now and when he can go back? Even if it is an internship or volunteer type thing? Something to keep him interested in the field and wanting to get his degree or certificate.

 

[monsterkitty]

There are more questions really than whether your son should wait the year or try cramming everything into a short period of time.

The main question I would ask, is college something your son really wants to do? I understand that college and university are different in Canada. Is he in college for a specific trade, or is he in college because it was something that was expected of him?

I teach middle school, and while it is far different than college students, the types of students are still the same. I see students who would do well in a time-crunched atmosphere. I see students who would do okay in the situation. Many students would not do well in this situation. These are the students who would become very stressed and not enjoy their learning. In fact, the stress would probably hamper the learning and studying.

We all learn at our own pace. Forcing a student to move faster than what they need does more harm than good. I would encourage my son to get the refund and wait until September to start again. So what if it takes longer to finish. Maybe in this year he will discover that there is a different path he wants to try. That's okay as well. How many times have we, as older adults, changed our paths or careers? It's about growing and learning (not just academic learning, life learning as well). As long as your son is happy, growing, and learning, that's what is important.

 

[StarGirl11]

REFUND THE CLASSES.

As a fellow college student I will say this cramming will not help you learn the material. This is the equivalent of taking the accelerated classes. I’ve done three of those none in the subject I’m majoring in. Why? Because not are those weeks some of the most exhausting but it’s very hard to learn and retain everything that gets tossed at you. If these classes are foundation classes for his major he really shouldn’t try to cram the material.

Is it annoying to start from scratch in the fall? As someone who has had to retake classes due to medical reasons: very much so. But it’s better for health and learning wise to not cram it.

Only consider cramming if these are extremely important to the major.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I thought the same thing about the fluff courses. It really depends, my dd is in general studies. This semester I would say her only fluff course is a creative writing course. While the content may be fluff in the sense that if she missed 5 weeks she wouldn't really miss anything, the work load is not fluff, it is a ton of writing (obviously LOL).
Next semester it is an online art course. She considers it fluff because it is a requirement and she has no interest in art. Who knows what the work will entail though.
In the past 3 semesters she has filled her electives with things like Chem 1 and Chem 2, Calculus, Bio 2, Ecology and some other sciences because they will transfer to her desired major at the University. Definitely not fluff classes, and no way could a student miss 5 weeks and then be taken easy on by the professor/teacher and continue on to more academically challenging classes with success.

I understand. DD is a Nursing major so in the same boat. For the Art class, three times they went offsite to different art museums for class, and had assignments to do there looking at the different artwork. (Which I think she really enjoyed!) She had to scramble to get there and back in order to go to her other classes. She had one weekend project which was really over the top as she spent about 12 hours just on that alone, and it still wasn't done, she had to finish it in class. She's a good student but the midterm test was hard and she didn't do that well on it. Fortunately she'll get credit for actually making it to the museums and doing all her projects so it will turn out fine, but man, it was a lot! She also spent quite a bit of money on supplies. Definitely not fluff!