Missing Tutorials

Munkay

Hey, I'm in first year and recently (well pretty much the whole year) my attendence in tutorials has been terrible. I'm not that frightened that I'll fail my exams due to not knowing the material but is there any chance that they could fail me due to not attending compulsory tutorials?

Cheers

nervous_twitch

Yup. Have you got any NS's thus far? If you get an NS in both terms, they can stop you from sitting exams. It depends on how strict your department is; also, if you've been handing up all the required work they're more lenient.

Munkay

NS? I'm guessing that stands for non-satisfactory?? Yeah I have never gotten one of those. Good sign?

nervous_twitch

Yeah, probably. They'd be on your Student Record. Just sort yourself out with an iron-clad doctors note if anything comes up

Corruptedmorals

The handbook for your course should specify this. Generally you cannot miss more than two (without medical certification etc.) without being NS'd. This does depend on the strictness of whoever is taking the course....but this is why attendance is taken (is it?). This does mean non-satisfactory and can stop you from rising within the year. I would ask your tutor if I were you. How many out of the total have you missed? If you take the absolute piss with attendance they would probably be more inclined to NS you (depending on how much of the work you've handed up) than if you've missed 2/3 altogether. Your tutor will know if you don't want to ask whoever takes the tutorials.

Azureus

I got a NS in 2nd year for not showing up to tutorials and I just met with my tutor, gave a reason for it (that wasnt looked into) and that was that. I was allowed sit my exams no bother. If its the workload that you're concerned about then just get tutorial notes from your classmates and learn from them in preperation for your exams.

I think in 1st and 2nd year they are a lot more leniant (in my depertment at least). Exact same happened to a friend when we were in 3rd year and she had to jump through hoops with her tutor. Id make an appointment with yours asap and it there should be no problems.

Denerick

In first and second year I had a terrible attendance record in both lectures and tutorials (seriously, something like under 10%) Never got an NS for some reason. I got my act together in the final two years. But I'll say this. The most important things you learn will be in the library, not the lecture hall. I find that some tutorials and lectures are worth missing, such is the waste of time some of them can be. The tutorials especially; in the freshman years they are run by post grad students who are usually clueless and usually annoyingly earnest.

IvyTheTerrible

Denerick wrote: »

In first and second year I had a terrible attendance record in both lectures and tutorials (seriously, something like under 10%) Never got an NS for some reason. I got my act together in the final two years. But I'll say this. The most important things you learn will be in the library, not the lecture hall. I find that some tutorials and lectures are worth missing, such is the waste of time some of them can be. The tutorials especially; in the freshman years they are run by post grad students who are usually clueless and usually annoyingly earnest.

If you only went to 10% of your lectures and tutorials in your freshman years, how on earth can you know which are a waste of time, and that postgrads are usually clueless?

Denerick

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

If you only went to 10% of your lectures and tutorials in your freshman years, how on earth can you know which are a waste of time, and that postgrads are usually clueless?

Because I went to like 90% of the sophister ones.

RoddyUsher

Pity this is all so negative. As in almost every University worldwide the TAs are post-grads, i.e. they usually have two degrees more than the students they teach and are keen to build experience for academic teaching careers ("earnest"? what would you prefer: wry, arch, sardonic?) Research indicates that the majority of learning takes place in small group teaching environments and it is more often the case that students have difficulty adjusting to participative learning and come unprepared. It is the passive "teach me stuff" attitude of many undergrads that tends to restrict what people get from the tutorials. Prepared, engaged students usually do really well and give superb feedback (from experience).

Denerick

RoddyUsher wrote: »

Pity this is all so negative. As in almost every University worldwide the TAs are post-grads, i.e. they usually have two degrees more than the students they teach and are keen to build experience for academic teaching careers ("earnest"? what would you prefer: wry, arch, sardonic?) Research indicates that the majority of learning takes place in small group teaching environments and it is more often the case that students have difficulty adjusting to participative learning and come unprepared. It is the passive "teach me stuff" attitude of many undergrads that tends to restrict what people get from the tutorials. Prepared, engaged students usually do really well and give superb feedback (from experience).

Ah yes, the problem isn't so much with the teacher as the student, I agree with that. Its a particular modern sickness which I blame on points fetish in the leaving cert and this pathetic Leeson street rich kid racket as well. The forensic dissection of exam papers is a national scandal that is creating a generation of mindless robots incapable of rational thought.