Exam Timetables

butterball2

Anyone know when the exam timetables might be published?

bscm

With the fiasco that was the lecture timetable, my bet is during/after the exams themselves.

To be honest, I'd bet the individual departments would get information to us sooner than the Examinations Office

Leopold.

butterball2 wrote: »

Anyone know when the exam timetables might be published?

when they are uploaded onto the website.

playedalive

bscm wrote: »

To be honest, I'd bet the individual departments would get information to us sooner than the Examinations Office

Well I was told by my lecturers that they only find out about the timetable the same way we do.

Lawliet

bscm wrote: »

With the fiasco that was the lecture timetable, my bet is during/after the exams themselves.

To be honest, I'd bet the individual departments would get information to us sooner than the Examinations Office

Not according to our year coordinator, he told us he submitted his preferred dates for our exams months ago, but the exam times of every other department and available venues have to be taken into account, so he won't know until the Examinations office sort it out and publish the timetable.

Seannew1

They were out on the 29th of March last year,in 2011 they were out later than that and in 2010 they were out earlier so it's anyone's guess for this year.

Scortho

Seannew1 wrote: »

They were out on the 29th of March last year,in 2011 they were out later than that and in 2010 they were out earlier so it's anyone's guess for this year.

Yeah but in 2011 the exams started later than last year. If my memory serves me right they started after the may bank holiday?

In reality the exam timetable should have been available ages ago. You'd really have to wonder what the timetable office is up to?

Ravelleman

Scortho wrote: »

In reality the exam timetable should have been available ages ago. You'd really have to wonder what the timetable office is up to?

Don´t worry, they haven´t forgotten. You´ll get your exams, I´m sure of that.

Siobhan6

They come out one month before exams begin, so technically you should be able to access it by Monday!

butterball2

From Exam website this morning

UPDATE: Due to the complexities involved in the compilation of this year’s annual examination timetables on top of the introduction of our new examination timetabling system the publication of this year’s annual examination timetables has been slightly delayed. We hope to have all timetables available by April 5th. Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.

Taco Chips

butterball2 wrote: »

From Exam website this morning

UPDATE: Due to the complexities involved in the compilation of this year’s annual examination timetables on top of the introduction of our new examination timetabling system the publication of this year’s annual examination timetables has been slightly delayed. We hope to have all timetables available by April 5th. Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.

More staggering administrative incompetence from TCD this year. :rolleyes: American colleges have their exam timetables published full years in advance. NUIG and UCC have had theirs available for the last few weeks.

Of course it's not their 'fault' and there are 'complexities' yet many other universities around the world are properly organised enough to publish their timetables and have the decency to put their students first. :mad:

Maybe_Memories

Here's a question...

Why can't they just use the same timetable every year / every second year for rotational modules?

Siobhan6

They sent us a similar message at the beginning of the academic year regarding our class timetables and said that, due to the new timetabling system, there had been a "delay" and they hoped to have everyone's timetable available by the 26th september...and we didn't get them until the end of october. If this goes on we'll still be waiting for exam timetables in ****ing July!

EuropeanSon

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Here's a question...

Why can't they just use the same timetable every year / every second year for rotational modules?

Because if there is a clash between the module A and module B exams in one year, and next year a student does module A and module B, they cannot use the same timetable.

Love to know what they're paying for the "system", a person on average pay for a year would likely give better value and someone to hit if it goes wrong.

Lawliet

I wish at this stage they'd just let some departments sort out their exams. We've got our own building, they could just stick us in the lab...

Ravelleman

Lawliet wrote: »

I wish at this stage they'd just let some departments sort out their exams. We've got our own building, they could just stick us in the lab...

Who would supervise the exams? Who would pay for it? Hard to do in classes with more than one hundred students.

Lawliet

Ravelleman wrote: »

Who would supervise the exams? Who would pay for it? Hard to do in classes with more than one hundred students.

That's why I said some departments, and I was half joking.

tenandtracer

Finalised by 5/4/13 - should be out week beginning 8/4/13

galwayjohn89

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Here's a question...

Why can't they just use the same timetable every year / every second year for rotational modules?

Just shows you have no clue as to the complexity of working out the timetables. Last year two exams were scheduled for the same time, but they can't do it this year, because 3 of us sit both exams. There are always changes to each module and which ones can be sat at the same time and others that cant

timmywex

tenandtracer wrote: »

Finalised by 5/5/13 - should be out week beginning 8/5/13

Fixed that.

papu

Vuzuggu wrote: »

Just shows you have no clue as to the complexity of working out the timetables. Last year two exams were scheduled for the same time, but they can't do it this year, because 3 of us sit both exams. There are always changes to each module and which ones can be sat at the same time and others that cant

Its a complete joke and farce tbh. It's not like its the first year they've had to do this , surely by now they know how difficult it is and should come up with some way of doing it on time..

Incompetence of the highest order.

Taco Chips

papu wrote: »

Its a complete joke and farce tbh. It's not like its the first year they've had to do this , surely by now they know how difficult it is and should come up with some way of doing it on time..

Incompetence of the highest order.

They're the exam and timetables office, they have all year to plan this. It's just not good enough and as I already mentioned other colleges have the same complexities and are much better organised and publish their timetables appropriately. Bottom line, not good enough.

languagenerd

I get that it's a complex job and that there are hundreds of different groups and module combinations to put together - but :
(1) They make a timetable every year (it's not something they're trying to work out how to do for the first time)
(2) They've known for at least a year when the exam period was (it's not a surprise that a timetable needed to be made).

What the hell is going on in the Exams and Timetables Office?!!!
(*To be clear, I'm not blaming the staff in that office, as whatever caused the hold-up doesn't necessarily originate with them)

languagenerd

Maybe_Memories wrote: »

Here's a question...

Why can't they just use the same timetable every year / every second year for rotational modules?

Because even if all the modules stayed the same from year to year (they don't), the numbers doing them wouldn't be the same every year (so the venues would end up over-filled). TSM combinations, in particular, change hugely from year to year, and in other courses, students have different choices of modules to combine.

It would only be possible to use the same timetable if all modules were compulsory and the numbers allowed to sit them were fixed.

languagenerd

languagenerd wrote: »

Because even if all the modules stayed the same from year to year (they don't), the numbers doing them wouldn't be the same every year (so the venues would end up over-filled). TSM combinations, in particular, change hugely from year to year, and in other courses, students have different choices of modules to combine.

It would only be possible to use the same timetable if all modules were compulsory and the numbers allowed to sit them were fixed.

If only they had like 5 months to take that all into account.

Ravelleman

Ultimately, you know what exams you have and you can assume that they´re all in May so there´s nothing left to do except to get studying.

It´s easy to be angry about these things but in the end what´s the point?

Taco Chips

Ravelleman wrote: »

Ultimately, you know what exams you have and you can assume that they´re all in May so there´s nothing left to do except to get studying.

It´s easy to be angry about these things but in the end what´s the point?

What's the point? Only that this level of service is not acceptable, why shouldn't people be upset about it? What about international students who need to book flights to get home? What about students who need to start working as soon as they can but have no date to give their employer?

Morgase

Taco Chips wrote: »

What's the point? Only that this level of service is not acceptable, why shouldn't people be upset about it? What about international students who need to book flights to get home? What about students who need to start working as soon as they can but have no date to give their employer?

This - there's loads of people in my class who are doing internships abroad this summer and can't book flights (meanwhile the flight prices keep rising) or tell their employers when they can start. It makes Trinity look bad as well as inconveniencing students.

languagenerd

Also, it's hard to know what to study first. The exam period lasts a month. You could end up spending this week revising something only for it to turn out that you won't need it til the end of the exam period (8 weeks away) instead of focussing on the stuff you'll need in 4 weeks time.

languagenerd

languagenerd wrote: »

Also, it's hard to know what to study first. The exam period lasts a month. You could end up spending this week revising something only for it to turn out that you won't need it til the end of the exam period (8 weeks away) instead of focussing on the stuff you'll need in 4 weeks time.

Yup, it's not like the Leaving Cert where studying during the exams is last-minute stuff, there'll be long gaps that you could fit entire subjects into.

Ravelleman

I was being facetious but I would struggle to maintain a constant level of indignation. For those that need to book flights home it is obviously an inconvenience. But for most people it's a reality that has to be worked around. There's nothing left to do except get studying.

Taco Chips

Ravelleman wrote: »

I was being facetious but I would struggle to maintain a constant level of indignation. For those that need to book flights home it is obviously an inconvenience. But for most people it's a reality that has to be worked around. There's nothing left to do except get studying.

Sure, but it's still not good enough. The college administration in general is lacking compared to other universities and if TCD purports to a top tier institution in Ireland it had better start acting like it. This is one thing in a long list of screw ups and when fees keep rising every year it's getting harder to stomach.

Maybe_Memories

And apparently exams are now finishing the 27th despite it being on the calender all year that they're finishing the 24th. Jesus f-ing christ I have flights booked for the 25th for a gig in london on the 26th!!

Edit: From the SU; The reason 27th is stated as the end date is because in the event of an exam not taking place as scheduled it will be pushed back to Saturday 25th. Obviously this is unlikely to happen but it would be irresponsable of us to advertise the exam period as ending definitively on the 24th when there is a small possibility some exams may take place on the 25th.


Heart attack over.

Big huge timetable PDF: https://www.tcd.ie/vpcao/administration/examinations/assets/pdf/annualexams2013.pdf

enda1

Could someone please post up a 4th yeah physics timetable. Thanks.