Don't Send your Children to ITB

fedup.with.itb

The college has gone to the dogs..
With the recent increase in student fees, you would think that that money would have been well spent.
Well not at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.
It would appear that ITB must be keeping that money under lock and key.

This year the student body have been subject to cut backs in the teaching times, increased parking charges and sparse resources.

Computers and printers are few and far between, that is of course if they work or have paper!

Lecture Halls that cannot accommodate class sizes, where chairs are broken and projectors with a mind of their own.
This is not all, the college appears to be slowly but surely falling apart; tiles off walls and toilet doors with broken locks.
On top of that their are thieves on campus..

The library is completely inadequate, for the size of the student body. With absolutely no online resources to compensate for this.

Students and staff at ITB pay the highest parking permits out of all the IT's in Ireland. For this outrageous fee, you are not guaranteed a space when you arrive, nor are you guaranteed the safety of your car. What you are guaranteed though is a big yellow clamp if you park with out a permit.

The college campus is situated at a lovely vantage point where you can see the local area with beautiful countryside and roof tops in the morning and evening sun. This too comes at a price, this isolated campus has lead to one company running the one and only canteen on campus, where although food can be quiet nice, it's extremely over price.
To compensate for this the students union have installed one, yes one microwave oven to allow you to heat your food. What the college needs is more facilities and competition.

These are but just to name a few..

It isn't all bad, there are a few hand-picked staff that are amazing and go above and beyond the call of duty, but for how long. How long can these lecturers pick up the slack before they wash their hands of it altogether.

When was the last time a parent "sent" their kids to a college?

If you don't like it, drop out. The college didn't increase fees, you have the government to blame for that. Yeah there has been a massive increase in students and of course this will cause problems. However, nothing can be done about it as it the fault of the funding been cut by the government.

As for parking, yes, it is a complete joke, and I agreed completely with you.

fedup.with.itb

so we should shut up or put up? you sound like the staff..
that isn't a good enough solution.
the course i signed up to and worked my ass to get into, is not the course that is in place now

if this was any other company and we were customers paying 2,500e for a service we would expect high quality services and respect from the companies staff.
what happened to the customer is always right!??

fedup.with.itb

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

so we should shut up or put up? you sound like the staff..
that isn't a good enough solution.
the course i signed up to and worked my ass to get into, is not the course that is in place now

if this was any other company and we were customers paying 2,500e for a service we would expect high quality services and respect from the companies staff.
what happened to the customer is always right!??

I'm not a member of staff, I'm a current student.

We are not customers. We paid registration fees, which in turn are used by the college, however, this is no where near enough to fund the college at all.

In my years in ITB, I have been respected by all staff I've had contact with. A couple of years ago, it was easier to find a free computer, but currently I just bring a laptop as I couldn't be bothered going around campus looking for a free computer, due to massive increase of student sizes.

fedup.with.itb

I'm glad your experience has been a good one.

Sadly that is not the case for all students.

I have encountered many wonderful lecturers in the college.
The cleaners are lovely too.

But for some positions of power have gone to their head.
They treat adult students like children the way in which they conduct themselves is an absolute disgrace.

Without students there would be no college.

We are the 99%

Leejo

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

To compensate for this the students union have installed one, yes one microwave oven to allow you to heat your food. What the college needs is more facilities and competition.

It's not to compensate, it's to offer another alternative for students. They clean and maintain it themselves. Maybe if students didn't stick balls of tinfoil in it and then turn it on, there would be more of them. Or other better services. :rolleyes:

I agree with some of what you're saying, but some of the stuff you're coming out with is ridiculous. "We are the 99%" Seriously? You sound like a certain student who ran for president and just talked about doing protests for absolutely no reason

Richard Hillman

Ive only been at ITB for 2 months but if somebody were to ask me about the place now I would advise against it.

The lecturers are a law onto themselves in terms of when they decide to turn up or how long they lecture for. One lecturer in particular, you would be lucky to get a half hour out of. In the cases of a couple of lecturers, you could really just read the powerpoint slides, never go to lectures and it wouldnt make a difference. Some of them are great though.

Lack of tutorials (1 every 2 weeks for most subjects, really?????)

They let everyone and anyone into the place, meaning they accept complete dossers. You will have people openly talking through lectures and the lecturers wont throw them out. I really hope I dont have to wait until 2nd year until they drop out. Its like being in play school.

The lack of computers is farcical. I had a 3 hour gap the other day and couldnt find a computer or free room with computers for the whole period.

The student nights are always on a weeknight

My tutorial class in one subject have been waiting over a month for results from a CA

Some lecturers refuse to use moodle. Everything is on the student share. This wouldnt be a problem if there were enough computers to access.

To continue on with lecturers :pac: We have been advised even by the lecturers themselves to make ourselves known to them. It could be the difference between a pass or a fail, A or B etc. Its basically saying a bit of brown nosing will get you far.

I will pass my course, pass it well and graduate but I refuse to get on a friendly bases with some of them because of the way they operate.

I like my course but I dislike the place and the people.



TL;DR Version
Pants college.

KonFusion

Just a gentle reminder folks: No mentioning anyone by name as it could be considered libelous.

And boards.ie takes that very seriously.

Drodan

I am someone who knows just exactly how bad some aspects of the are, but it's not all bad.

The level of students since I started has gone up by I'd say 50%, while the college didn't anticipate that they would need more computers about the place I'll never know but that's hardly a major stumbling block.

Some lecturers can be useless, some are brilliant, however the worse ones do use the "your 3rd level students now therefore it's up to you" a bit much to get away with doing as little work as possible, but let's face it as long as they cover the module with you that's all they have to do.

Parking, yeah that's a total mess.

They've actually done up the lecture halls, with new computers and projectors and new seats and desks (the last ones where vadalised to ****).

On the Ents officer. I've been in the college a while and believe me he's been the best so far. You might not like the events/nights organised (I don't myself honestly) but at least there are events as opposed to maybe two or three a year.

The college does have an awful lot of flaws I know, believe me I know, but it's not that bad.

If you do have a problem, please write an e-mail or organise a meeting with the appropriate people and complain through the right channels so something could be done about it. Moaning here does nothing, and if you're here for 2/3/4 years try make the most out of it and change it while your here to get the best out of our degree.

Richard Hillman

KonFusion wrote: »

Just a gentle reminder folks: No mentioning anyone by name as it could be considered libelous.

And boards.ie takes that very seriously.

Duly noted and edited.

Ging Ging

Are any of you studying engineering? I've heard good things about facilities in that department and would be interested to know if its true. I don't go to ITB now, but I did for phase 4 of my apprenticeship many years ago. I'm studying elsewhere at the moment (no where is perfect by the way)and Im thinking of maybe returning to ITB next year to do a honours degree.

brendanL

Past student now, The conditions of bathroom stall and/or broken seats is the fault of students. Getting them fixed should be one of the colleges priorities ... that and making sure every projector is fine.. I remember in A block there was a lecture theater with a dodgy projector for the majority of my time there, it was painful...


Generally speaking I had a great time at ITB, the pc issue doesn't make any sense, buy a laptop.. they're like 300e for a buisness student one. A computing student should probably invest 500e+ in a decent one that'll last the 3-4 years.


If you want the parking situation to be resolved, become the cause of unbelievable hassle in the local area (organise to block outside a school at pick up time/ local train station/ block everything/ end up on papers).... if the select elements of the community's around ITB get their representatives to put pressure on the local authority then the college will be allowed to do what it wanted... build way more car parking.

It was not a decision to make people pay for parking because they love clamping you, this has culminated over the last 2-3 years. They couldn't get permission to build more car parking. Politicians won't entirely listen to students as most do not vote. However the people in the estates around ITB would, so you have to make it their issue for this to be resolved.

Might be a dick thing to do, but the council created the situation.


Interm's of food options, please, there's blanch shops, there's a shuttle bus at 12:45, and one back at 1:45... if you really need to... go to subway to your hearts content.

However, the price of food in the college cantine itself is retarded. Cheap and good apparently never really appears on their radar. Soft drinks are crazy expensive. These things should be subsidised.. or get some company to sponser 25% off of everything I mean jesus.... they are rediculously expensive.

If a lecturer turns up half the time(doesn't provide a valid reason), talk to your class rep, get him to represent you and your opinions to the head of that department.

The library does have online resources... through it you have access to tonnes of scientific and social paper databases, which are very handy when writing a paper as resources. I don't know any other reason why you'd want a library other then to find stuff on similar topics... whether it's in the physical books... or in the online databases.

The real problem with the library is the noise, it's worse then a children's library. Sort that **** out.

If a lecturer doesn't use moodle, make a dropbox shared to your class, stick everything into it as it's released or just copy their student share folder.

I did have 2 hours of labs a week and 2 hours of lecture, I think we were a dying breed. If you feel this is really affecting your education, talk to class rep/ head of department again/sit in.

Above all... be smart. You can change the situation.

In answer to the engineering facilities, they have their own labs, generally speaking I thought they were good, probably under pressure with numbers now, but good.

Xios

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

if this was any other company and we were customers paying 2,500e for a service we would expect high quality services and respect from the companies staff.
what happened to the customer is always right!??

Try to remember that you are only paying for the campus with the student contribution. The rest of your Fees are funded by the state. €8,950 per year.

http://www.itb.ie/StudyatITB/feesgrants.html

fedup.with.itb

Xios wrote: »

Try to remember that you are only paying for the campus with the student contribution. The rest of your Fees are funded by the state. €8,950 per year.

http://www.itb.ie/StudyatITB/feesgrants.html

Whether it is the student, the VEC or the Government paying the fees, the college is still being paid for a service.
Any other business that provides the service that ITB at the moment is providing to their students, would be out of business.

fedup.with.itb

College is a stressful time for all students; those coming from secondary level and for those returning to education later in life.
It is a totally different environment to work or school.

But students shouldn't have to be adding to their stress by having to fight for extra teaching hours. They shouldn't have to have the burden of 80e for a parking permit added onto their existing debt.

They should be focused on assignments, essays, projects and exams.

I was really looking forward to college; obviously it would be a lot better if there was no essays etc. but that's life and I was prepared to put the work in to get my qualifications.
But what is happening now is that people are giving up, what is the point of them putting the effort in if the college aren't prepared to do the same.

It is so disheartening to hear that fellow students who have put so much effort into college and made huge personal sacrifices to further their education are now thinking of packing it in. They feel backed into a corner and that their is no one on their side, no one to turn to.

We are not stupid, we are not kids either we are well aware that this whole chain of command malarchy is just bureaucracy gone mad. First you hit one brick wall, then another, then another... before you know it your broken.

layercake1

ITB parking is a total disgrace.... if i get another feckin sticker jesus christ

KonFusion

Posts deleted.

All suitable for one post layercake1. Posting multiple posts within seconds of each other is frowned upon.

johnnykilo

I've got nothing to do with IT Blanchardstown, I just happened to find this thread by accident, I went to college in WIT, however the majority of the complaints laid out here could easily be applied to WIT (and I suspect most other 3rd level institutes in the country).

In WIT all the catering is over-priced, of questionable quality and provided by the same company, parking is an absolute joke (although it is free), some of the buildings and equipment are in a state of dis-repair, some of the lecturers are a complete joke; not turning up for many classes and then when they do only staying for half the time. Due to staffing shortages some lecturers are forced to teach subjects they know less about than the students, etc...

Unfortunately due the the financial situation the country finds itself in, most 3rd level institutes have found their budgets cut, recruitment bans, senior staff retiring with no one to replace them, other lecturers forced to teach subjects outside their remit and so on. This is not an IT Blanchardstown problem, this is a national problem.

fedup.with.itb

Sorry But I think if we just keep fobbing the blame off on; ah sure the whole country is in a jocker, we aren't going to get anywhere.

And I am not aiming this at anyone person, it is the answer to all our nation's problems which to me is why the country and the colleges are the way they are.
Standing around waiting for things to get better, really when has that ever worked? We need to take things into our own hands.
People make changes, the powers that be only implement them..

We are taking the problem and making it so big that it is beyond our control. When this isn't the case. And it really is just an excuse to blame things on the state of the country.

Student Unions, Teachers Unions and those who are not part of any union Can take action.
Lectures are waiting on Students to take a stand and students are hoping their 'teachers' will stand up for them.
Sorry but that aint going to work.
Working together might be an idea though...

Direct action is needed. ITB and sadly other colleges, as is the case with jonnykilo, need to be told, we wont put up it their crap any more.

fedup.with.itb

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

Direct action is needed. ITB and sadly other colleges, as is the case with jonnykilo, need to be told, we wont put up it their crap any more.

But students can't take action. They have no power.

If they strike, they only lose out themselves. I can guarantee that most fourth year at this time of the year, won't strike as they are too busy. Mostly be first/second years who will strike.

As a fourth year, if students did decide to strike, and it affected my studies, I'd be pissed and not support the strike what so ever.

Yeah action may be needed, but you will have a hard time getting all the student body to fully support you if you go on strike.

Are there any other options?

Logical_Bear

at least the OP isnt ranting about the quality of his/her education...

fedup.with.itb

Deleted User wrote: »

But students can't take action. They have no power.

If they strike, they only lose out themselves. I can guarantee that most fourth year at this time of the year, won't strike as they are too busy. Mostly be first/second years who will strike.

As a fourth year, if students did decide to strike, and it affected my studies, I'd be pissed and not support the strike what so ever.

Yeah action may be needed, but you will have a hard time getting all the student body to fully support you if you go on strike.

Are there any other options?

Yeah they have 4th years by the balls.
However, 4th years could encourage other years to take action on their behalf. Contact students from other years, tell them you completely support any action they take to change the current situation. All students, will hopefully be 4th years at some stage and will completely understand.
If students take action it will not effect your studies. Lecturers will still have to make themselves available for teaching. As did the lectures who were due to teach the 2nd years that had a sit-in last semester.

And again about those 2nd years, a small group, took action and made a change albeit a small one. A lot could be learned from them..

fedup.with.itb

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

Yeah they have 4th years by the balls.
However, 4th years could encourage other years to take action on their behalf. Contact students from other years, tell them you completely support any action they take to change the current situation. All students, will hopefully be 4th years at some stage and will completely understand.
If students take action it will not effect your studies. Lecturers will still have to make themselves available for teaching. As did the lectures who were due to teach the 2nd years that had a sit-in last semester.

And again about those 2nd years, a small group, took action and made a change albeit a small one. A lot could be learned from them..

Indeed. When I said affect my studies I was implying that a strike may prevent access to the college from driving etc.

This content has been removed.

fedup.with.itb

Please continue to voice your opinion on ITB here, word is that staff are now taking notice..
This is an anonymous forum, the perfect place to have your voice heard.

KonFusion

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

Please continue to voice your opinion on ITB here, word is that staff are now taking notice..
This is an anonymous forum, the perfect place to have your voice heard.

Word is from where? What is your source?

On a side note: I would argue that while voicing your opinion on here is all well and great, make sure you're voicing it to somewhere with more of a direct importance.

• Class reps
• Student union
• Course Co-ordinators
• Lecturers
• Heads of department
• Local TD's
• etc

All of this would have a much greater impact than complaining voicing your opinion here.

FYI: There isn't all that much traffic on this forum.

I would also argue to not do it anonymously either. A voice with a face is much stronger than someone giving out on an internet forum in the hopes that someone of importance from the college (or elsewhere) will see it . You could be anybody.

Why would you want to be anon anyway? If what you're saying is actually how you feel, it should be fine to make it known. If anything it'd add more credibility to your opinions.

I'd also suggest that you outline where the problems are in any feedback that you do give. And be as constructive, factual, and specific in doing so.

Saying that ITB should "Get Their Act Together" is pointless. It may help vent a little steam which is all well and good, but I don't think it will achieve anything.

tastybatteries

fedup.with.itb wrote: »

The college has gone to the dogs..
With the recent increase in student fees, you would think that that money would have been well spent.
Well not at the Institute of Technology Blanchardstown.
It would appear that ITB must be keeping that money under lock and key.

This year the student body have been subject to cut backs in the teaching times, increased parking charges and sparse resources.

Computers and printers are few and far between, that is of course if they work or have paper!

Lecture Halls that cannot accommodate class sizes, where chairs are broken and projectors with a mind of their own.
This is not all, the college appears to be slowly but surely falling apart; tiles off walls and toilet doors with broken locks.
On top of that their are thieves on campus..

The library is completely inadequate, for the size of the student body. With absolutely no online resources to compensate for this.

Students and staff at ITB pay the highest parking permits out of all the IT's in Ireland. For this outrageous fee, you are not guaranteed a space when you arrive, nor are you guaranteed the safety of your car. What you are guaranteed though is a big yellow clamp if you park with out a permit.

The college campus is situated at a lovely vantage point where you can see the local area with beautiful countryside and roof tops in the morning and evening sun. This too comes at a price, this isolated campus has lead to one company running the one and only canteen on campus, where although food can be quiet nice, it's extremely over price.
To compensate for this the students union have installed one, yes one microwave oven to allow you to heat your food. What the college needs is more facilities and competition.

These are but just to name a few..

It isn't all bad, there are a few hand-picked staff that are amazing and go above and beyond the call of duty, but for how long. How long can these lecturers pick up the slack before they wash their hands of it altogether.

Colleges don't like to advertise this fact, but the handbook you are given when you accept your offer is infact, legally binding. With this in mind, you should research the document and note any instances of promises which don't match the reality. In short, threaten sue them for breach of contract if they don't treat you fairly.

Not only do they not want the media attention, but if you have a clear case, you will win. Research Contract Law in Ireland. You have a Constitutional right to enforce/void your contract with the College, if the College isn't living up to their end of the bargain.

tastybatteries

tastybatteries wrote: »

Colleges don't like to advertise this fact, but the handbook you are given when you accept your offer is infact, legally binding. With this in mind, you should research the document and note any instances of promises which don't match the reality. In short, threaten sue them for breach of contract if they don't treat you fairly.

Not only do they not want the media attention, but if you have a clear case, you will win. Research Contract Law in Ireland. You have a Constitutional right to enforce/void your contract with the College, if the College isn't living up to their end of the bargain.

Yeah, I don't believe that.

Care to provide any links to backup that comment?

tastybatteries

Deleted User wrote: »

Yeah, I don't believe that.

Care to provide any links to backup that comment?

http://learn.uvm.edu/downloads/legal/Student_Challenges_to_Academic_Decisions.pdf

tastybatteries

tastybatteries wrote: »

http://learn.uvm.edu/downloads/legal/Student_Challenges_to_Academic_Decisions.pdf

Didnt read the whole thing, but seems its about USA.

So how about something with regard to Irish institutions?

tastybatteries

Deleted User wrote: »

Didnt read the whole thing, but seems its about USA.

So how about something with regard to Irish institutions?

It's generally accepted that your third level education is a property right. Property Rights are subject to Lawful Judicial procedure, and nobody can deprive you of that right unfairly.

(3) 2° "The State shall, in particular, by its laws protect as best it may from unjust attack and, in the case of injustice done, vindicate the life, person, good name, and property rights of every citizen."

tastybatteries

tastybatteries wrote: »

It's generally accepted that your third level education is a property right. Property Rights are subject to Lawful Judicial procedure, and nobody can deprive you of that right unfairly.

(3) 2° "The State shall, in particular, by its laws protect as best it may from unjust attack and, in the case of injustice done, vindicate the life, person, good name, and property rights of every citizen."

After a while searching online, I cannot find anything that states education is a property right, with regards to Ireland (after searching for a little while to find out what a property right is, still not too sure).

It's been a few years since I started in ITB, but I don't remember getting a handbook for my course (probably did, but binned by now). But if you attempted to sue a college for not providing a service stated in the handbook, I'm pretty sure the college would say it due to funding cuts, and most judges will side with the college.

Still, I don't accept that the handbook is a legally binding contractual agreement. Other things may be, but I believe the college would have agreements meaning they can change what they want, when they want, with regards to course material.

KonFusion

This thread again eh?

I believe it's run its course. If anyone disagrees then please feel free to pm me.

I also don't believe the handbook is legally binding, unless otherwise stated in the handbook, or the college's terms and conditions.

Furthermore, sue the college. Sue them like crazy. Let us know how you get on.

Locked.