On Wednesday, 22nd July, Online Module Enrollment opened for continuing undergraduate students to select modules for the upcoming year. According to the Academic Registry’s website, the function was published for those eligible to select modules on Trinity’s online portal, MyTCD, at 1 pm. However, students reported being unable to access it until as late as 1:30 pm. The portal will remain open until 5th August.
Once the feature had loaded, the trouble continued for many. Besides being strikingly slow, the website repeatedly showed a variety of error messages when students clicked to confirm their module selections. This continued even after students attempted to restart the entire process, and regardless of whether they were using an IOS or a Windows device. Some say the portal only worked on some browsers. Additionally, despite students being advised to use their desktop rather than their phone “as the options appear clearer,” multiple students have reported that only once they accessed OME through their phone were they able to finally confirm their selection.
This is not the first time students have faced difficulties selecting modules. According to voices of third- and fourth-year students, online enrollment is a yearly struggle. While OME instructions advise students to “contact the OME team at AskTCD” in case of problems, their response is consistently unhelpful. One Senior Sophister Student was informed that “[the team is] aware that some students experienced difficulties logging into the system […] due to a large volume of connections occurring simultaneously,” which she felt was not only unhelpful but even ridiculous.
One Senior Sophister student reported that going into it, they were expecting to be forced to set aside at least an hour for a process that “should only take a few minutes”. Certain students need to take time off work, or go through the process while on a shift, which makes the time pressure even more significant.
Not only does the selection process appear to be riddled with technical issues. In the process of preparing for enrollment, students reported that module descriptions were inconsistent. For instance, modules would be listed under Michaelmas Term, while the module outline document indicated that it would be taught in Hilary Term. Last year, certain modules also appeared as available, and only after OME were the students informed that they would not be run that year.
Moreover, the descriptors the enrollment portal redirected to were inconsistent with those listed on the TCD website, both in terms of content and teaching staff. For some, this resulted in confusion about the details of the modules they signed up for, which remains unclear.
In addition, there have been reports from STEM students who are still unable to enrol in any of their optional modules. This is despite the fact that the Academic Registry’s website states that online enrolment “opens for [all] continuing undergraduate students on Wednesday 22 July”.
The Academic Registry has been contacted for comment.
