University too hard/no fun ?

It seems like the one drawback in DU is when you have Sims going to uni and you're playing a multi-household universe, you feel 'forced' to stay within the same household for at least three 'sim weeks' to ensure your student-sim does not suffer poor grades to delay graduation. Your game clock, ageing, and sub-plots in other households may be out of sync.

Is there any way to play other households whilst your household with a student-sim is in uni for a prolonged period without the latter suffering poor grades?