Hello everyone,
Yesterday, 24th March, the Irish government announced that school and college buildings would remain closed at least until 19th April. We were expecting this announcement. This means that our online teaching and lecturing will continue as it is now working. Also, all of our exams for the foreseeable future will be online.
Some exams have already taken place online in recent days and they have gone very well. Others will continue to take place throughout the rest of March and into the early weeks of April. Our main summer exams will start online on 17th April. All students have already received a communication about exams saying what is happening, and as more information becomes available it will be communicated to you. You can now be sure, though, that your exams are going ahead; they will be online; and they will take place in accordance with the timetable already released (and available here). Therefore you should continue to attend your classes online, do your revision and get yourself ready for your exams, as normal. And, as I have said many times already, you will need a laptop, an internet connection and a quiet place to take your exams. For our international students who have returned home, you too will be able to take your exams online, as if you were here in Dublin. Remember, though, that the exams timetable is in Irish time and exams will be released online, via Moodle, at those times. Be sure to get that time right if you are in a different time zone.
Everything is different this year because of the changes caused by the spread of the coronavirus. Everybody has to do things differently. That includes you, me, your lecturers, DBS support staff and many more. We are all depending on each other. Because the exams this year are online instead of an exam hall, we have taken as many measures as we can to ensure that our assessments are of the highest academic integrity. You have an important part to play in this. So, even though we are able to significantly monitor and support you online while doing your exams, we are depending on you to do the right thing, making sure that your exam fully reflects your work.
Our accrediting body, Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), has asked us to remind every student taking exams in these extraordinary times, to play your part in ensuring the integrity of exams by behaving honorably. They also asked us to remind you about new laws that have come in to force recently in relation to the provision of cheating services.
Good luck to everyone in your continued studies and in your exams, And take care.
Andrew Conlan-Trant
Executive Dean