“On Friday I finished correcting the batch of Repeat examinations that were within my remit. I think the other staff have done likewise. All the marks now get uploaded and cross-checked and before another meeting of the Exam Board the year’s examination process to an end …” (more)
[In the Dark, 23 August]
“A Sinn Féin TD has urged NUI Galway to reverse its decision to charge students almost €300 for each repeat exam. Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh said that any fees charge must reflect the costs involved and the changed circumstances of students …” (more)
[Michael Malone, Galway Daily, 14 August]
“So here I am in my office while the first batch of our repeat examinations gets under way here in Maynooth. They seem to have started correctly so I’ve taken a break to have a cup of coffee and catch up on the news …” (more)
[In the Dark, 12 August]
“Timed written examinations continue to dominate university assessment. In most professions, the need to recall and write down specific information from memory under timed conditions is rare. Yet every year across the world students are crammed into exam halls to do just that …” (more)
[Naomi Winstone and David Boud, The Conversation, 11 August]
“Trinity incorrectly informed 13 students studying TSM or joint-honours courses that they would have to repeat exams, after complications arose over the marking of students’ grades this year …” (more)
[Cormac Watson, University Times, 24 July]
“Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason some colleges are charging a repeat exam fee and most other colleges are not (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 21 July]
“Despite University College Dublin’s (UCD) and the Students’ Union’s (SU) claim that no students, particularly final year students, would be left disadvantaged by the implications of COVID-19, some students have exited college with below expected grades. One such student, who asked not to be named, spoke to The College Tribune to share his story as a final year law student …” (more)
[Adam O’Sullivan, College Tribune, 21 July]
“Galway TDs have called for NUI Galway (NUIG) to review its €295 repeat exam fee, in light of the complications that the coronavirus caused for students sitting exams this year. The university has come under fire from NUI Galway Students’ Union (NUIGSU) over the exam fee, which NUIGSU said should be waived this year …” (more)
[Cormac Watson, University Times, 14 July]
“Irish students have much higher levels of anxiety over schoolwork and exam-related stress than other developed countries, according to a report compiled for the Department of Education. The findings are contained in a report by the National Educational Psychological Service …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 13 July]
“NUI Galway’s Students’ Union has condemned the university’s decision to charge a fee for students who are sitting an online repeat exam this year. Students who do not pass an exam when they first sit them in May have the option to sit a repeat exam in August, for which a fee of €295 is charged …” (more)
[Briain Kelly, Galway Daily, 10 July]
“Students from NUI Galway have slammed the university’s decision to charge them almost €300 to repeat an exam online from home. NUI Galway charges a €295 repeat exam fee, regardless of how many exams the student is resitting. This means the college’s repeat fee is already one of the highest in the country, with other universities only charging students a fee per exam …” (more)
[Aine Kenny, Irish Examiner, 10 July]
“UCD has responded to an issue raised by students earlier today that exam results had been released three days earlier than expected. The College Tribune has now been informed that this early release is due to a ‘technical error’ which has now been resolved …” (more)
[Blathnaid Corless, College Tribune, 19 June]
“Trinity medical students have been warned that cheating in their Ear, Nose and Throat exam today may lead to ‘significant disciplinary consequences’ and possibly prevent them from receiving a grade for the module, after a review of yesterday’s Ophthalmology exam concluded that students had likely cheated on it …” (more)
[Cormac Watson, University Times, 19 June]
“What has been described as ‘serious concerns’ about the future of students on a social care course at DkIT have been raised by Louth TD Ruairí Ó Murchú. Deputy Ó Murchú says that around 42 students, who have just completed third year of the college’s Social Care course, logged onto the examination results system at DkIT last Tuesday to find their results for the year had been ‘deferred’ …” (more)
[David Lynch, Dundalk Democrat, 19 June]
“In among all the other things I have to do I’ve just finished marking my portion of examinations and other assessments in time for next week’s Examination Boards. I have to attend two (virtually), one for Theoretical Physics and one for Engineering Mathematics. You may recall that, this year, along with many other universities, we switched from the usual examination format to online timed assessments …” (more)
[In the Dark, 12 June]
“A College memo advising staff on standards for plagiarism in open-book examinations, when compared to traditional live examinations, was circulated to academic staff only after the end of the assessment period, Trinity News has learned. The memo, which offers guidelines on marking exams that took place remotely due to College’s closure amid the Covid-19 pandemic, was not circulated to students …” (more)
[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 9 June]
“Friday 15th May is the first day of the summer examination period at Maynooth University. I’ve written posts at the start of every examination period I’ve been involved with over the 11 years or so I’ve been blogging but this is definitely the strangest …” (more)
[In the Dark, 14 May]
“Figures for Irish universities’ expenditure on exams have indicated that UCD spent €1.3 million on exams for the 2019/2020 academic year, according to figures revealed by The College Tribune in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. UCD’s spending on exams per student represented the largest in the country according to these figures …” (more)
[Alex Lohier, College Tribune, 7 May]
“So far, I’m not a big fan of the situation that Covid-19 has forced us all into replacing end of semester exams with assignments/projects. Exams designed to assess learning outcomes are not being used, and it has not been easy coming up with replacements in the form of an assignment to to the same thing …” (more)
[Careful With That Axe, Eugene, 29 April]
“Trinity has made last-minute changes to the scheduling of four real-time exams, meaning students in some modules will sit their exams outside of the designated exam period and in a contingency week previously set aside for the return of assignments …” (more)
[Donal MacNamee and Cormac Watson, University Times, 23 April]
