uo The University Observer
above usi march against third level fees, october 19th 2016 photo martin healy
the gentle revolution ucd’s tense transition from earlsfort terrace to belfield amy garganp10
November 8th 2016 Volume XXIII issue 3 universityobserver.ie
contraception the controversial side effects for both men & women aoife hardesty p13
Funding of Ad Astra Scholarships almost halved Roisin Guyett-Nicholson editor THE Ad Astra scholarship programme has seen cuts of up to €3,500 per student since 2015. At the same time the number of students enrolled in the programme has dropped by almost a third. Previous to 2015, students accepted into the scholarship were given a possible €6,500 in assistance. This amount has now more than halved with new students into the programme receiving €3,000. Students who entered the programme before 2015 will continue on the funding scheme that they began their course on. This includes between €1,500 to €4,000 of the student fees covered and an additional bursary of €1,000. Accommodation was also covered with students offered either 50% off on-campus residences Belgrove or Roebuck Castle. Students who entered the scholarship programme from 2015 onwards now receive a lump sum of €3,000 for the year, spread between semesters one and two. This also includes a reserved space in on-campus accommodation. The total number of students on the programme have fallen dramatically with the cuts. In 2014, there were 93 new students registered while in 2015 the number fell to 66 and this year the number has fallen again to just 49.
As a result, students in the same programme at the same time receive different levels of funding. UCDSU education officer Lexi Kilmartin commented that: “it’s pretty terrible considering it’s UCD’s only real scholarship… if you look at the scholar awards and all that kind of stuff, there’s nothing to the same extent.” By comparison, Trinity College Dublin offers a variation of sports scholarships ranging from those worth €1000 to €9500. The programme was launched in 2011 and is described by the university as “an initiative designed to recognise and nurture exceptional students.” The Ad Astra programme has three different branches; academic, elite athlete and performing arts. Irish Olympians such as Ciara Mageean and Paul O’Donovan have previously come through the athlete part of the programme. Speaking to a student on the performing arts stream, they were quick to praise the benefits of the programme. “It’s like something I’d do for free for fun for the rest of my life so like getting to do it [here]…yeah, it’s great.” The student was also keen to highlight the support and guidance offered. A similar sentiment was expressed by graduate stu-
dent and UCD AFC goalkeeper Niall Corbet, who had been on a sport scholarship. He described it as “a very good experience” particularly praising the supports offered by the university. “If it was a case that there was someone else on the Ad Astra programme that was a year ahead of you, or a year below you, you could get advice and help off them so, there was a [connection] to really help you. So, it was difficult at times, but at the same time there was an opportunity for you to keep going.” Noting the amount of funding that students on Ad Astra scholarships received, Corbet said: “I think they were very fair, to be honest, I don’t know the situation now but when I first arrived four years ago, it was very fair and there was no cutting or anything - it stayed the same.” However, Kilmartin suggests that the cuts are just part of a wider university policy to deal with lack of funding. “If the opportunity cost of keeping the scholarships sorry at their previous level, was larger class sizes, less books in the library and things that have an impact for the entire student population then its easier to justify the cost. If the opportunity cost is building some new building then it’s less easy to justify.”
Plans emerge to reduce amount of assessment contributing to GPA Alanna O’Shea news editor Plans have recently been announced that significantly reduce the amount of graded assessment that count towards a student’s degree. The strategy could see the amount of assessment cut by up to 50% with changes introduced as early as 2018. The move is part of a curriculum review and enhancement process, which is taking place as part of the University’s five-year strategic plan. However, statistics prepared by UCD Institutional Research say that many students do not feel that the number of assessments is too high. The majority of students surveyed said that the number of assessments they receive per semester were just right. Only 26% of undergraduates feel they receive too much assessment, with a slightly smaller number -20% -- feeling they receive too little assessment. Instead, over a third of undergraduate students feel that the weighting of their continuous assessment is too low. Over half of students felt that end of semester assessments count for too much of final grades. Discussions on how to implement this programme were held at an assessment workshop on October
17th. According to Lexi Kilmartin, UCDSU’s Education Officer, who was part of the meeting, a plan to cut summative assessment by “up to 50%” was discussed. She says that the meeting explored ways of doing this without losing educational value. Much of the meeting focused on the over-assessment of students and how to reduce this stress. Present at the meeting were representative of the UCD Students’ Union (UCDSU), members of the student body, heads of schools, and members of the UCD Registry. They discussed options for optimising student assessment, including reducing summative assessment, which is continuous assessment that would count towards students’ final module grade. Instead of the old system, students would receive more assessment that is formative, which would not count towards their final grade. This would allow the student to receive feedback on things like contribution in tutorials, without this feedback counting towards their grade point average. Kilmartin said that this plan was a way of “reduc-
ing the burden on students, so that way you don’t have ten essays due in week six”. Kilmartin, who is part of the Curriculum Review Steering Committee, says that this is a positive step which “is one of the most positive things the university is doing at the moment.” At the meeting, participants also discussed how to change a culture where assessment drives learning, rather than a student’s own interest in their subject driving learning. Kilmartin says the curriculum review group are aware of this problem. “You want to cut the burden for students but you also don’t want to move away from continuous assessment too much because that reduces the burden” she says. Future meetings on changes to assessment are planned by the UCD Registry. Regardless of the outcome of these meetings, Kilmartin says that changes will not be put in place immediately, saying that the registrar has stated that these changes to the curriculum might be initiated in 2018, with pilot programmes perhaps taking place in September 2017.
new shores an interview with journalist & author sinéad gleeson seán hayes otwo p16
fangclub interview with the band melissa ridge otwo p21
rebirth of the cool the lp in 2016 adam lawler otwo p20 the audience strikes back Have TV audience petitions gone too far? owen steinberger otwo p13
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