Trinity’s library is to extend its opening hours this year in the five weeks leading up to the first-ever College-wide set of Christmas exams, The University Times has learned.
In an email statement to The University Times, Helen Shenton, the College librarian, confirmed that “to take account of the new academic year structure, opening hours will be extended for a period of five weeks leading up to the exams before Christmas and for a further five weeks leading up to the exams in April 2019”.
Shenton said: “We will be monitoring usage closely to ensure that the Library continues to provide a high quality service that meets the needs of our many users.”
In previous years, the Library has been particularly busy in the weeks leading up to exam period. Student usage has been tracked by various means, such as “footfall in the buildings, circulation of print collections and usage of online resources”, Shenton stated.
The introduction of Christmas exams this year breaks with almost 400 years of tradition, after the College’s University Council approved the changes to Trinity’s academic year structure in 2016. The move was one of a wave of reforms introduced as part of the Trinity Education Project – a radical re-imagining of the way that Trinity delivers its undergraduate curriculum. The exams will take place between December 10th and 14th.
The implementation of Christmas exams came after years of debate between students and staff alike, as the College battled a variety of issues.
In September, The University Times revealed that Christmas exams will take place in the RDS, with evening sittings likely. In an email statement to The University Times, the College Press Officer, Caoimhe Ní Lochlainn, said a proposal was going through the Undergraduate Studies Committee to determine the timing of exams.
“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 move to the RDS was forced by the serious strain that the introduction of Christmas exams placed on College buildings. Speaking to The University Times in February, John Walsh, the Chair of Trinity’s branch of the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT), said that space was a “really underestimated issue” when it comes to changes being implemented as part of the Trinity Education Project.
In 2016, Trinity knocked down Luce Hall, one of the main campus exam venues, to build the Business School.
Concerns have also been raised by members of staff about the possibility of Christmas exams overburdening students. Christmas is traditionally a 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.
Despite the introduction of Christmas exams, Trinity will hold 11 per cent fewer exams this year than in 2016/17, with the number of exam hours also expected to drop by 17 per cent. This decrease is in line with a concerted effort being made by the College to move away from an emphasis on exam-based assessment.
