University resits are a second chance for students who have experienced academic difficulties. Typically resit exams are sat during the summer break.
But while resits are available to all eligible students, the ability to engage with them is influenced by broader inequalities.
When students fail assessments, the conversation typically shifts towards personal responsibility. The assumption is that students need to work harder or manage their time more effectively to bounce back.
However, this way of thinking can oversimplify a much more unequal experience. Bouncing back from educational adversity, called academic resilience, is linked to wellbeing. Less resilient learners are more likely to suffer the negative cognitive effects of adversity.
By focusing only on individual resilience, universities risk overlooking the inequalities that determine who can make the most of their second chance.
Unequal circumstances
Students with stable housing, family financial support and access to quiet study spaces are better positioned to focus on revision over the resit period.
On the other hand, many students will have a different experience. Some students need to work more to cover basic living costs, while others face housing problems such as paying rent. Financial pressures can reduce the amount of time, energy and emotional capacity these students have available for revision.
A recent research report found that 66% of students work to cover basic living costs, while 26% work to support their families. Students balancing work commitments alongside resits may face disadvantages compared to peers with greater financial security.
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Social isolation and belonging also play a significant role. During the summer months resit period, many students return home or move away from campus. This reduces their opportunities for connecting with other students. Revising alone can intensify feelings of disconnection and perceptions of failure or exclusion.
Belonging is not simply an individual feeling, but is shaped by institutional culture and access to academic support. When those studying at university are separated from this environment, they may feel less connected to the academic community and begin to lose their sense of academic identity.
Summer resits can also leave students with little downtime from university work. This be especially challenging for students with caring responsibilities, including those who are parents.
Resits can result in students becoming more anxious and losing confidence in their academic abilities. They may trigger concerns about disappointing family members, losing financial support or jeopardising career plans. Feelings of disappointment may discourage students from seeking support, reinforcing isolation and disengagement.
In some cases, repeated academic difficulties may lead students to drop out of their degree. Resits therefore involve far more than simply retaking an assessment. They are an emotionally complex experience.
Helping all students
Workshops on exam technique and study skills provided by universities are valuable. However, students often require broader forms of help during periods of academic difficulty.
Research has found that students undertaking resits value clear guidance and opportunities to help build their self-confidence.
One proposed approach for universities arising from our work is the development of “resit roadmaps”. These plans provide students with individualised guidance, structured timelines and signposting to support services. While this could add to academic staff workload, it should help make resit support more consistent and equal.
Support should be proactive and tailored to students’ individual circumstances. Universities can help students by improving the quality of feedback after failed assessments and supporting them to understand and use that feedback. However, it is unclear to what extent universities can fully level the playing field, when many of the challenges students face during resits are due to wider financial and social inequalities beyond institutional control.
When universities aim to increase participation to make themselves open to people from all parts of society, they often focus heavily on access. Less attention is given to how students are supported once they encounter difficulties.
The resulting awarding gaps, where some groups are more likely to achieve top degrees than others, significantly and disproportionately affect students from Black and other ethnic minority groups. If universities are committed to equity and inclusion, support during periods of struggle must become a central part of widening participation strategies rather than an afterthought.
The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.