The DIT Academic Calendar

Presentation to DirectorateDecember 1st 2009

Nóirín Hayes

Presentation overview• Introductory observations• Terms of references/sources• Review of national context– DIT and other HEIs; Induction; Review week; Examinations

• Impact on student learning– Semesterisation; Teaching; Assessment; Learning

• Impact on scholarship• Community impact• Impact on administration• Apprenticeship education• For consideration - - - - -

Introductory observations

• The Academic calendar review team• Nature of this presentation• Un-addressable issues• The DIT context and culture– Teaching, research and scholarship – what does it

mean to teach at the DIT? How flexible are we in this regard re hours/type

Terms of reference – May 11th 2009

• The DIT academic calendar will be reviewed:– To examine the impacts associated with • Learning

• Scholarship

• Community

• Administration

Terms of Reference

• The review team will• Describe and analyse the current environment based

on the existing semester calendar• Seek to examine whether the current semester

structure is the optimal one for DIT• Examine whether a different calendar might more

easily accommodate academic staff teaching concurrently on apprentice course and wholetime programmes

Sources

• Findings from Modularisation Survey - 2007• Report from the student retention office• Student satisfaction data• Report from Campus Life• Report from the apprentice community• Faculty Administrators• Minutes of academic council meetings

Review of national context

• DIT as compared to:– Carlow IT– University of Limerick– University College Dublin– Waterford IT– National University Ireland, Galway – first years– National University Ireland, Galway – remaining

yearsSee chart

Induction/orientation/registration

• Early September commencement for first years constrained by CAO timing

• UCD find early capture of first years good - - - as students settle and may not leave if offered a second round place elsewhere

• NUIG different commencement times for first years and all others

• DIT later than most to start in Semester 1

HEIs on review weeks

• No consistent approach• Only DIT offer a mid semester review week• WIT acknowledge the first semester break as

Mid-term• Most HEIs offer a revision week in semester 1

and a study week in Semester 2• Timing of Study week varies• Review week - - field work/placement as

teaching

Examinations and supplemental examinations

• All HEIs reviewed offer some examinations before the Christmas Break

• CIT offer one exam week before and one after Christmas• WIT – supplemental examinations in August• UCD – in most subject areas offer no supplemental

examinations [exception Medical School] - - -under review.

• DIT significantly different in respect of the post Christmas period

Impact on student learning:

• Issues arising:– Structure of the current calendar– Teaching style and practice– Assessment load, style, timing– Retention of students– Progression from year to year

Semesterisation in DIT

• Modularisation and semesterisation are not mutually dependent

• Modularisation survey responses often about semesterisation and the calendar rather than modularisation

• Particularly relevant were questions 8, 9 and 10

Survey responses – Q8

• Has modularisation impacted on your teaching style– 125 responses– 99 reported negative impact• Pressure to cover content in too short a time• Too little time for learning• Rushed teaching, no reflection/review

– 80 of the 99 located the problem with semesterisation [rather than modularisation]

Survey responses – Q9

• Has modularisation impacted on assessment?– 110 responses– 87 negative• Less time for feedback• Less integration• Less depth• Too short a time

– Majority related to semesterisation rather than modularisation

Survey responses – Q10

• Has modularisation impacted on student learning?– 121 responses– 92 were negative• Too rushed• Overloaded in too short time• No opportunity for reflection, synthesis• Shallow learning

– Majority related to semesterisation rather than modularisation

Semesterisation -other issues• Particular impact on first years – retention report– Prolonged pauses in the calendar

• Fragmented semester 1– Delayed start– Induction week– ‘rag week’– Review week

• Short and fragmented semester 2– Gap between Semester 1 ending and semester 2

commencing– Impact of Easter– June 20th

Students views

• Taken from Student Satisfaction Survey– Review week seen by many students as time off –

in Semester 1 [mid-term break]– Exams before Christmas preferred option– Pressure to study for exams rather than for

learning– too little ‘down-time’ for reflection [a concept

needing to be made visible as a part of HE learning]

Impact on Scholarship

• Structure and language of the academic calendar

• Allow for varied student populations• Acknowledge 3 semesters – – to recognise the scholarship of staff across the

third period from June through to September– To acknowledge PG supervision work for taught

MAs and research students

Community impact

• DIT as a community– Value of the review weeks– Density of the teaching weeks– Gap between semesters– Use of ‘study weeks’– Ragweek???

• Bedding in the social/community

Impact on Administration

• 3 assessment periods problematic – would prefer 2

• Supplemental examinations and registration a problem

• Manual compiling of exam timetables – electronic scheduling would improve

• August supplemental examinations – IR/HR implications need to be addressed

• Exams before Christmas would be possible

Apprenticeship education

• Options for handling the apprentice timetable were presented to the team

• Likely impact on student learning• Can DIT ‘walk and chew gum’??– Different academic calendar– Address the timetabling issues as they arise

For consideration

• Re-structuring the calendar– Earlier start in both semesters– Different start dates for first years

• Review the first semester for first years

– 12 teaching weeks? – Acknowledging assessment as a part of the process of

teaching?– Examinations before Christmas

– Review week?

For consideration

• Review supplemental examinations– 2 exam periods - - - supplementals within

semesters– 3 exam periods - - - supplemetals in August– 2 exam periods and no supplemental

examinations

For consideration• Reflect the diversity of programmes with different

calendars• Re scholarship - recognise the period of June to

September through the language used [vacation/research/scholarship]

• Accompany changes with expectation of:– varied approaches to ‘teaching’ – less emphasis on examination - if that is what is believed

in • Locate the drive for change within the context of a

response to staff and student views