Christmas exams will be held in the RDS this year, with evening exams likely, after serious strain on College buildings forced Trinity off campus in search of a venue.
The implementation of a new year structure will see Trinity’s first-ever College-wide Christmas exams held between December 10th and 14th this year.
In an email statement to The University Times, the College Press Officer, Caoimhe Ní Lochlainn, confirmed that the exams would take place in RDS Simmonscourt. Ní Lochlainn said that a proposal is currently going through the Undergraduate Studies Committee to determine the timing of assessments. “We are committed to no student sitting more than two assessments per day with a maximum of three per day being scheduled”, she said.
The confirmation of RDS Simmonscourt as a venue comes after months of concerns over where to host the new set of exams.
Ní Lochlainn said that her response was “being issued on behalf of the Academic Registry”.
The implementation of Christmas exams has been a long time coming, with years of back and forths as College tussled with a variety of issues. Students and staff alike were torn on whether or not to support the introduction of Christmas exams.
While Trinity has long held exams in the RDS Main Hall, this is the first time that Trinity students will be sitting them in the Simmonscourt venue.
Trinity has long struggled to accommodate all students in suitable venues throughout the exam season, with limited space on campus. Simmonscourt hall, located of the RDS, is significantly larger than the Main Hall used to accommodate summer sittings. UCD students sit their summer exams in the larger Simmonscourt.
Ní Lochlainn said that the venue, which is regularly used for concerts and other events, was chosen “with the objective of scheduling as many exams as possible”. Students with disabilities, who regularly sit exams in on-campus venues, may not have to sit exams in the venue, with cases assessed individually.
This is the first year in which Christmas exams will take place for all students, as part of the Trinity Education Project – the radical reimagining of how the College delivers its curriculum. The introduction of Christmas exams marks a break from almost 400 years of tradition.
A feasibility study previously conducted by the College found that there was a possibility that exams would have to be held on Sundays, and could run as late as 9pm. These proposals were brought to College to suggest how to cope with the vast changes being made to exam periods under the project. With up to three exam sessions per day, it is likely that students will have to sit exams in the evenings. Up until now, exam sessions were held from 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm. Under the new proposal, exams could be scheduled until 7pm or even 9pm in order to have enough sittings.
The provisional timetables for the new Christmas exam season will be available to students on in mid-November, four weeks prior to the start of exam season.
As part of Trinity’s efforts to diversify assessment methods, focusing more on continuous assessment, the College will hold 11 per cent fewer exams altogether this year. There will also be 17 per cent fewer exam hours.
Students have also returned to College two weeks earlier than usual this year, to facilitate the introduction of Christmas exams and a revised year structure. As part of the new year structure, each semester will end with a week-long exam period, preceded by a week-long revision period. In the past, students had three weeks to prepare for their summer exams.
With Christmas a traditionally busy time for students due to assignment deadlines coming either just before the end of the first term or at the beginning of the second term, staff have pointed out that efforts will have to be made to avoid students being overburdened with work over this period.
Speaking to The University Times, John Walsh, the Chair of the Irish Federation of University Teachers’ (IFUT) Trinity branch, called the possibility of exam sittings extending beyond 5pm and occurring on Sundays “unacceptable”. Walsh said that space was a “really underestimated issue” when it comes to the Trinity Education Project.
In 2016, Trinity knocked down Luce Hall, one of the main campus exam venues, to build the Business School.
To accommodate the overflow of students sitting exams in recent years, Trinity has been using the Graduates Memorial Building (GMB) to hold exams. This led to tensions between the College Historical Society (the Hist), which occupies the building, and the Examinations Office. In December 2017, the prolonged use of the GMB for exams led to accusations that Trinity was breaching its agreement with the Hist and the University Philosophical Society (the Phil).
The Trinity Education Project aims to revert the College’s focus to students and their experiences, both during their time as undergraduates and afterwards. Among its proposals are the improvement of internship possibilities and the facilitation of studying abroad programmes.
As part of the reforms, there will also be a new system of elective modules on offer for undergraduates, in addition to their main subjects.
The large-scale project has already experienced many teething problems, with uncertainty surrounding the implementation of changes leaving many staff and students concerned.
In May, the Trinity branch of SIPTU accused Trinity of failing to engage with staff directly about issues relating to the project. The main concern highlighted by the union was the fact that many staff members in Trinity will be forced to return to work earlier as a result of the new year structure. A motion tabled by SIPTU also criticised “diktats” from the heads of Trinity’s departments, with staff being asked to adapt to “changed work processes, calendar changes and timetabling of opening hours”.
The changes to the academic year structure had to be approved by the Fellows of the College. In February 2017, 62 per cent of Trinity’s Fellows voted in favour of the introduction of the Christmas exam week and an earlier start to teaching. Introducing such changes requires an amendment to the College Statutes – the basic rules of the university. This requires the assent of the majority of the Fellows, which for this change the quota was 123 assents.
