Exam Timetables?!

muchunseen

So...any word on when the exam timetables will be posted? I'm starting to get impatient about making plans for the summer.

hfallada

Well 2 weeks ago they were supposed to be done and then it was supposed to be this Friday and now this week they are supposed to be out. None of the lecturers know

muchunseen

I've been hearing that they were meant to come out every day since the first week of March and every day it's proved false. And I'm extra impatient because I know that the head of my department has a copy of the timetable, she's just not allowed to share it with students yet...

Extrasupervery

I know this is a personal failing and nothing to do with the exams office, but I feel I can never properly get down to concentrated exam study until I've seen the timetable and know the order my exams will come in. C'moooon.

Maybe_Memories

Well exams start April 28th, so if previous years are anything to go by I expect we'll have the timetable some time in May.

Abby19

I think they are supposed to be released one month before exams, but can't seem to find that. But did find this.

https://www.tcd.ie/teaching-learning/administration/examinations/examination-dates.php
Annual Examinations 2014
Monday 28 April to Friday 23 May 2014 inclusive.
Some Schools will hold examinations throughout the year. Please consult the Almanack in the Calendar. Timetables for annual examinations outside of the main Annual Examination session will be published a month prior to examinations taking place. Timetables for the Annual Examination session will be available in March. No notice is required of intention to take an annual or supplemental examination in the course for which students have registered.

languagenerd

Last year, we got them on the last day of term. In the evening, just before the Trinity Ball started. Cause nothing gets you in the party spirit more than discovering you have no breaks between your worst four final exams :pac:

We'd been promised them in March, got them April 5th.

Taco Chips

The 'Examinations' Office must be the most incompetent in all of Trinity. There are delays every single year in getting this timetable out and it's an utter joke. It's not like there are huge upheavals in the schedule every year requiring redesign of the process. They should have a formula down at this stage, it's like they're starting from scratch the whole time. And its not like they're a highly in demand office. It's in their name FGS. What are they doing all year if not this? Why are other universities able to manage this is due time but its just beyond the capacity of this office? The SU said two weeks ago that they should be available within days.

Lawliet

Apparently the school heads have the timetable, they're just not allowed tell us what it is yet. Its pretty ridiculous if that's the case, I don't know why it has to be such a secret.

Taco Chips

Lawliet wrote: »

Apparently the school heads have the timetable, they're just not allowed tell us what it is yet. Its pretty ridiculous if that's the case, I don't know why it has to be such a secret.

If thats true then it's even more inexplicable. Some of the policies still in this college only seem to exist to obfuscate and slow things down.

anothernight

I was told that my lecturers have the timetable so that they can notify the office if they require any adjustments, and after that's done they'll release them.

Not sure if that's how it works in every department.

lfqnic

A teacher of mine from America made the good point that, over there, your final exam is sat during class-time, so there is no risk of clashes, everyone knows when it'll take place, and there is no need for a bloated centralised system. I'm sure it has its own downsides but I remember thinking it sounded a lot more sensible than our weird-ass system.

muchunseen

I definitely know that the heads of my departments have the timetables already. But if they need a few weeks to review them, why didn't they start the process in January.

And lfqnic; I'm a Visiting Student from the states. Some schools sit exams during their class time, but at my University their scheduled outside of normal classes. However, the exam is scheduled based on the class timetable. So anyone in any class that is M/W 11-11:50 might have their exam scheduled for Tuesday at 10 am during exams week. Or all classes that are Tues/Thursday from 2-3pm might all be assigned an exam time of 4 pm on Thursday. Because it's sorted by when your class takes place during a normal week, there's no chance of overlap where you'd have a student with two classes that have exams at the same time (because that would mean that their regular class meetings are at the same time too...which would mean the student would need a time turner.)

Our exams also all take place during one "Finals Week" rather than over a four week period, so no matter when your exams are scheduled, you know that you'll be finished within a week. I seriously don't understand why Trinity students need four weeks to sit exams in.

muchunseen

muchunseen wrote: »

I definitely know that the heads of my departments have the timetables already. But if they need a few weeks to review them, why didn't they start the process in January.

And lfqnic; I'm a Visiting Student from the states. Some schools sit exams during their class time, but at my University their scheduled outside of normal classes. However, the exam is scheduled based on the class timetable. So anyone in any class that is M/W 11-11:50 might have their exam scheduled for Tuesday at 10 am during exams week. Or all classes that are Tues/Thursday from 2-3pm might all be assigned an exam time of 4 pm on Thursday. Because it's sorted by when your class takes place during a normal week, there's no chance of overlap where you'd have a student with two classes that have exams at the same time (because that would mean that their regular class meetings are at the same time too...which would mean the student would need a time turner.)

Our exams also all take place during one "Finals Week" rather than over a four week period, so no matter when your exams are scheduled, you know that you'll be finished within a week. I seriously don't understand why Trinity students need four weeks to sit exams in.

I have had up to 7 exams in one exam session; other courses I know of sit anywhere up to 11 exams. Sitting all of those in one week would kill me, and certainly not do good things for my performance. I agree it's annoying having only a few exams spaced out over a 4 week period, but I think if Trinity more evenly spaced out the exams for each course (so that those with only a few exams could finish within a week or so but those with lots had them comfortably spaced out over a few weeks) the system would work better.

languagenerd

muchunseen wrote: »

Our exams also all take place during one "Finals Week" rather than over a four week period, so no matter when your exams are scheduled, you know that you'll be finished within a week. I seriously don't understand why Trinity students need four weeks to sit exams in.

Maybe four is excessive, but it's partly because of the sheer volume of exams that need to be scheduled and also to give the students time to study. We don't have Christmas exams, so everything has to be crammed in now - I had 11 exams in first year (less in the later years, but my friend has about 10 exams every year) and that would have been horrific in one week.

But I agree they leave the timetable way too late. Last year, it was down to the unfinished new web system that fecked us over for everything all year (we only got our lecture timetables after term stated, the payment form only went up a day or two before the supposed deadline, there was a load of confusion over how and when we'd get exam results) but I would have expected all that be ironed out by now.

That's one thing I do not miss about college! (I should really get out of this forum :pac:)

Lawliet

muchunseen wrote: »

I seriously don't understand why Trinity students need four weeks to sit exams in.

As someone pointed out some courses have 11 exams, it actually not possible to sit that many exams in one week, unless they put in an extra exam slot from 6-9 or something.
Not to mention how exhausting that is, I sat something like ten exam in a week and a half once and it was seriously not good for my health. Every single lunch break and evening was spent studying. I could barely sleep I was so stressed and I made myself sick by the end of it. And just look at the increasing trend of US students self medicating with ADHD drugs to get through exams.
There's a lot to be said for having a couple off days to sleep and feel like a human again.

Extrasupervery

Amen to that. We have to look after our mental health too.

Lawliet

Lawliet wrote: »

As someone pointed out some courses have 11 exams, it actually not possible to sit that many exams in one week, unless they put in an extra exam slot from 6-9 or something.
Not to mention how exhausting that is, I sat something like ten exam in a week and a half once and it was seriously not good for my health. Every single lunch break and evening was spent studying. I could barely sleep I was so stressed and I made myself sick by the end of it. And just look at the increasing trend of US students self medicating with ADHD drugs to get through exams.
There's a lot to be said for having a couple off days to sleep and feel like a human again.

"Pep pills" have always been a thing, only thing that's changed is that people get a dodgy prescription rather than getting them through a dodgy contact.

jjC123

Mine are up? Are others still waiting on theirs?