Contingency plans

 If I've muffed S283, I have narrowed down my next move to four options.

1. Take the resit in September.
   This is the the best option, and also the cheapest, but it does mean that I'm revising for two exams at around the same time because the MST124 exam is on 15^th September. This clash might affect my chances of success with both modules. Another disadvantage is having to go through the revision process for S283, which I found soul destroying the first time around. I really don't want to put myself through that again because I'm doing all this for fun. Apparently.
   
   
2. Wait until S287 Planetary Science in October 2027.
   There is some merit to this because it will be the same subject as S283 so the material should be familiar, but without knowing much about the pedagogy and assessment regime of this new module, its a bit of a gamble. It could be better, the same, or (Mog forbid it) worse. Until its debut in October 2027, it is very much an unknown. Taking the first presentation of a module is always risky because the teething problems have yet to be discovered, let alone resolved. An advantage of taking this option is the ability to still claim for the Certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science as an intermediate qualification if I pass, but it also means that my studies will be extended by a year.
   
   
3. Enrol on M140 Introducing Statistics in February 2027.
   This is regarded as an 'easy' module to study, and somewhat light on content, but is not particularly interesting and much of it is not relevant to the physical sciences. It does however have the advantage of not having an exam, just an untimed End of Module Assessment (EMA), which allows for much more flexible time management.
   
   
4. Enrol on MST125 Essential Mathematics 2 in February 2027.
   This is a very good module to take, and directly relevant to my future studies, but has the disadvantage of being proctored by a real cowboy outfit called Meazure Learning, using a platform called ProctorU. According to the OU, proctoring involves 'invigilating an online examination where an invigilator (proctor) will monitor you via a live feed of your study environment and screen'. I've got nothing against this in principle, but ProctorU has a very bad reputation. According to Trustpilot, 'students heavily criticize the platform for highly invasive monitoring practices, severe technical glitches, and stressful testing environments'. It scores an Earth shatteringly appalling 1.2 stars out of 5.