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Modular Scheme Regulations

A draft of the Modular Scheme Regulations has been available on the website since April 2004 and the general issue was discussed at the meeting of the Academic Council held on 30 June 2004. Following discussion in relation to a set of fundamental questions outlined in the report Council agreed the following:

  • That there will be provision for three examination series: at the end of each semester and late August/early September and that normally only two opportunities in the session would be available to a student to take an examination;
  • That students have automatic right of progressing from the first Semester to the second Semester in a session;
  • That programmes will consist of a number of stages (for full-time students a stage would correspond to a set of modules taken in one year of study and give rise to 60 ECTS credits);
  • That the maximum number of attempts available to pass a module is 4;
  • That a minimum period of registration for a programme shall normally be one year of full time study, or equivalent;
  • That there should be no maximum period of registration for a programme leading to an award of the Institute except where such a maximum period is approved by the Academic Council;
  • That Levels of Difficulty or Learning of a Module should be established (not to be confused with the NQAI level of the programme);
  • That a minimum number of core and option credits required at the highest level of difficulty/learning leading to an award should be established;
  • That modules which stipulate pre-requisites will establish rules governing the progression of students from one stage to another;
  • That the Regulations shall provide for compensation;
  • That condonement as a mechanism should be used in the final stage only in determining the award and classification of the degree/higher certificate;
  • That two-tier examination boards (Module Board, and Progression and Award Board) should be established.


The above matters were agreed subject to more detailed arrangements being documented.

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Validation of Programmes

The academic validation of all programmes leading to an award of the Institute is an on-going quality enhancement process. However with the goal of having all programmes in modular form by September of 2005 some extra work has been and still is necessary to complete the documentation and validation process. Some of the main new features of the documentaion include: the use of a standard template to describe modules; specific information about the marks allocated to each component and sub-component of a module; additional emphasis on the use of formative assessment; and greater clarity with respect to the learning outcomes.
The schedule of validations during the coming year is shown below together with a short document constituting a check-list for those compiling programme documents.

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Assessment

As indicated above along with re-casting teaching/learning material into a modular form the Institute has been reviewing its policy regarding assessment. The move to include more formative assessment (and less summative assessment ) is underway. The School of Lifelong Learning, in association with the Faculty Heads of Learning Development, have announced the first in a series of faculty-based and Institute-wide activities in relation to assessment for learning. The first two-day event will take place in DIT Bolton Street on 9th and 10th of September and further details can be found on the staff intranet at http://www.dit.ie/DIT/news/2004/assessment.html. This promises to be a most interesting event and includes a debate with the motion 'All examinations should be abolished' .

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The Electronic Gradebook

The Electronic Gradebook (EGB) is a web based application that is designed to allow staff to enter marks and grades for assessable components or sub-components of a module. The data entered is stored in the Banner Student Information system and is used to generate the broadsheets required in examination boards. In addition once marks are ratified the results are ‘rolled’ to the academic record for each student. The academic record is used as the data source for transcripts, the Diploma Supplement, and other records that are required.

A major pilot in the School of Hospitality Management and Tourism, in the Faculty of Tourism and Food, introducing the EGB to DIT is underway and further details can be found at http://support.dit.ie/ISSC/Projects/ISGRP03IS41/.
During the coming academic year staff in all faculties will be introduced to and trained in the use of the EGB. A schedule of training sessions will be posted later.

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Timetabling

This project requires that every module being offered by the Institute is described in the Banner Student Information system. This information includes the module name and code, mode of instruction/learning and duration amongst other data. The information to be downloaded to the new timetabling application has been defined. The overall modularisation project has as one of its main tasks the entry of module data into the Banner system derived from the validated programme documents. Further information about the timetabling project can be found at:
http://support.dit.ie/ISSC/Projects/ISGRP04IS08/

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