“The President of NUI Galway says there will be a need for flexibility in the early stages of the new semester as students and staff return. Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh says the planning process is being navigated in a similar fashion to semester one, with a view to being back on campus for the most part …” (more)
[Galway Bay FM, 11 January]
“The Letterkenny Institute of Technology has reached an agreement with the college’s student union after a stand-off over exams. The college had deferred all in-person exams due to begin last week, but students were left with serious concerns when it emerged that management had no plans to move exams online …” (more)
[Donegal Daily, 10 January]
“Universities and colleges are set to reopen from next week, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has confirmed. It follows a meeting on Friday between student, staff and management representatives to discuss the resumption of on-site activity …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 January]
“Students of Letterkenny Institute of Technology are calling for remote exams to be introduced. Last week, the college announced that all semester 1 in-person exams were being postponed until a later date due to rising cases of Covid-19 …” (more)
[Highland Radio, 7 January]
“The end of Christmas exams is accompanied by a sense of relief for the majority of students. For those second-year students opting to take the Foundation Scholarship (Schols) exams, however, this marks the time when the stress truly begins to build …” (more)
[Abby Cleaver, University Times, 6 January]
“Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) has issued a statement calling for College to move all exams scheduled for next week online, in light of the current public health situation. The union said that the current plans for the assessment period are ‘not reflective of the current public health advice’ …” (more)
[Jack Kennedy, Trinity News, 6 January]
“… The timing of the academic term for staff Maynooth University is doing us some favours. On Friday 7th we start the examination period. Across the University, 95% of the assessments taking place are online. In my Department that is 100%, so neither students nor staff have to travel onto campus …” (more)
[In the Dark, 5 January]
“Management at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) has confirmed, that the student exams that were due to begin this week, will now be moved online due to Covid-19. The decision to move the exams online was communicated to students on Friday last …” (more)
[Donard McCabe, Dundalk Democrat, 3 January]
“So I find myself almost at the end of the Christmas break as I did on the same day last year. Tomorrow is officially my first day back at work. I don’t think I’ll be going back to my office on campus in the morning, though, as I think I can probably manage all the things I have to do from home …” (more)
[In the Dark, 3 January]
“The Letterkenny Institute of Technology is to defer its Semester One Exams because of Covid. The exams were due to take place between January 6th and 21st …” (more)
[Donegal Daily, 1 January]
“Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) has announced major changes to written exams due to start next because of the Covid wave. All written in-person exams will either go online or will be deferred until March …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 31 December]
“Irish college students have been claiming they tested positive for Covid as a result of recent in-person Christmas exams. With December 25 just days away, many of them will be spending the festive season isolating themselves in their rooms for up to 10 days …” (more)
[Sophie Collins, Irish Mirror, 20 December]
“Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position in relation to exams in NUI Galway; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that students are being forced to sit exams in venues without social distancing or ventilation; if his further attention has been drawn to the added stress and anxiety caused to students and staff that are fearful of catching and spreading the virus in exam situations without proper social distancing and ventilation measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 16 December]
“Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if it is planned to introduce health regulations in relation to the holding of in-person third-level examinations between the end of November and Christmas 2021 in the Technological University of the Shannon, Athlone in view of the risk that the institute might become a super-spreader events and cause Covid-19 to be reintroduced by students returning home for Christmas to households throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 14 December]
“Concerns have been raised by students about queues outside MTU exams. Some students in the Kerry campus of the Munster Technological University had exams in the Kerry Sports Academy today, which is part of the campus in Dromtacker …” (more)
[Radio Kerry, 14 December]
“A UCD student has expressed his frustration after he received a positive Covid diagnosis right before his final year exams …” (more)
[Amy Donohoe, DublinLive, 14 December]
“Upcoming Foundation Scholarship (Schols) exams could be held online if public health restrictions mean they are unable to be held in person, The University Times can reveal …” (more)
[Emer Moreau, University Times, 10 December]
“Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education Rose Conway-Walsh TD has called on the government to show ‘common sense’ and engage seriously with students and staff regarding concerns about mass indoor exams. After raising the issue in the Dáíl with the Tánaiste, Teachta Conway-Walsh said …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 10 December]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if students returning from placements in healthcare settings such as student nurses will be expected to sit in-person exams; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 8 December]
“There are calls for the Munster Technological University Kerry campus to hold their Christmas exams online. Exams are scheduled to go ahead in person at the Kerry campus …” (more)
[Radio Kerry, 9 December]
