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Academic Procedures

4. Courses and Academic Procedures

4.1 The Academic Year
4.2 Courses on Offer and Course Descriptions
4.3 Course Load
4.4 Admission to Courses
4.5 Course Choice
4.6 Registration
4.7 Assessment
4.8 Transcripts and Grading Systems
4.9 Examination Appeals
4.10 Irish (Gaelic) Language Courses

4.1 The Academic Year

The academic year is divided into two semesters. Dates are as follows:

First Semester

Orientation	Wednesday, 2 September - Friday, 4 September, 2009
Teaching begins	Monday, 7 September, 2009
Teaching ends	Saturday, 28 November, 2009
Examinations begin	Monday, 7 December, 2009
Examinations end	Friday, 18 December, 2009
Christmas Vacation	Monday, 21 December, 2009 - Sunday, 10 January, 20109

Second Semester

Orientation	Wednesday, 6 January - Friday, 8 January, 2010
Teaching begins	Monday, 11 January, 2010
Teaching ends	Thursday, 1 April, 2010
Easter Vacation and Study Week	Friday, 2 April - Sunday, 18 April, 2010
Examinations begin*	Monday, 12 April, 2010
Examinations end	Monday, 31 May, 2010

*Some Engineering courses are examined in March/April

Updated 02/04/2009, 23/10/2009

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4.2 Courses on Offer and Course Descriptions

The final list of courses on offer in an academic year is not normally available until the preceding July. In practice, there is little
change in the courses on offer from one year to the next. The disciplines in which courses are offered are listed above at 2.6
and details of the courses, including course descriptions, are available on the University Web site at
http://www.nuigalway.ie/arts/overseas_students.html

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4.3 Course Load

The course system at NUI Galway is different from that at North American Universities. A full course load is designated as follows:

Full Year:	60 ECTS
Semester:	30 ECTS

Depending on the courses being taken, students can expect to take 5 - 7 courses. The amount of class content time and work-load required is broadly similar to that in North American Universities. NUI Galway has long experience in dealing with North American institutions in the matter of credit transfer and course equivalence and can, on request, suggest a system to translate from ECTS to North American credits.

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4.4 Admission to Courses

In making an application, you are requested to indicate only the disciplines in which you wish to take courses except that Students wishing to take Engineering and/or Science courses should specify the particular course(s) they wish to take. Students should also indicate any courses they are required to take while studying abroad and any requirements of their major(s) which they wish to fulfill. NUI Galway students are not required to select their courses before the commencement of the semester and, therefore, Visiting Students will be going through their course selection process at the same time as full degree students.

With a small number of exceptions, e.g. seminar classes in some subjects in final year, class size is not limited so that Visiting Students may expect to gain admission to classes they wish to take. Visiting Students, as part of the orientation process, are provided with comprehensive information on:

courses on offer
timetables
venues
examination arrangements

In addition, the schools and colleges providing courses most popular with Visiting Students provide advisory sessions for the students.

Students are given two weeks before being required to specify their choice of courses and a further 'drop/add' week is then allowed. The experience has been that a combination of the information provided, the advisory sessions, and the opportunity to attend classes before course registration is finalised, provides every opportunity for students to make an informed course choice.

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4.5 Course Choice

Graduates

Admission as a Visiting Student is granted in College and subject areas. Within these areas, and in accordance with their own preferences, students may select courses subject only to class and examination timetable limitations.
A wide range of courses is available but some restrictions do apply to course choice as follows:

First year courses in all Colleges and a small number of other courses are offered on a year-long basis.They must be taken over the entire academic year and must be taken in their entirety.

Arising from this, a student who will be attending for one Semester only cannot select, either in the First Semester or the
Second Semester, a course which is offered on a year-long basis.

In all Colleges, course prerequisites must be met.
Not all Psychology courses are available to Visiting Students.
In the subject Sociological and Political Studies, admission to some seminar courses will be limited.
In the subject English, students may only select one seminar course per semester and admission to seminar courses is limited.
In the subject History, there are restrictions on the selection of seminar courses.
In Second Year Science, a quota system applies to all subjects. Therefore, class sizes are limited and places in subjects may not be available to Visiting Students. Permission for entry into any course in Second Year Science must first be obtained from the Head of Department of the relevant subject. Applicants should therefore indicate clearly on their
application forms any Science courses they may wish to take.

When selecting courses students should have regard to their academic and vocational objectives, and in order to make the
selection that will best suit their requirements, they may need to consult with College and School staff. They will be referred to
the appropriate College Officers for assistance in these consultations.

Visiting Students are assumed to have serious academic objectives in coming to the University and are expected to satisfy all
prescribed attendance and course exercises. Once the deadline for dropping or adding courses has passed, no further course
changes are possible.

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4.6 Registration

Separate procedures apply to registration as a student of National University of Ireland, Galway and to Course Registration (see 4.4 above). Students will receive a Registration Pack at Orientation giving details of registration procedures.

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4.7 Assessment

It is University policy that Visiting Students undergo the same assessment as NUI Galway degree students.
Consequently, Visiting Students should not attempt to make alternative arrangements with individual members
of staff. Assessment is usually by end-of-semester examination or essay(s). In addition, school assessments
may take place during the semester. However, the final end-of-semester assessment is that on which the final
grade, or greater part thereof, for the course is based.

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4.8 Transcripts and Grading Systems

NUI Galway will issue a transcript showing courses taken, the number of ECTS attaching to each course and the mark attained, in percentage terms. The University does not issue Grades. However, it will, if requested by the student’s home institution, provide appropriate information to enable it to convert the University’s results system to its own.

NUI Galway Grading System

First Class Honours	70% and above
Second-Class Honours, Grade 1	60% - 69%
Second-Class Honours, Grade 2	50% - 59%
Third-Class Honours	45% - 49%
Pass	40% - 44%
Fail	0% - 39%

Transcript Queries:

Queries should not be addressed to individual members of academic staff but should be addressed to the:

International Office,
(Visiting Student Section),
National University of Ireland, Galway,
Ireland.
Telephone no. 353-91-492105
Facsimile no. 353-91-495551

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4.9 Examination Appeals

Students may formally seek a check of their examination results or appeal those results. Further information is available at http://www.nuigalway.ie/exams/

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4.10 Irish (Gaelic) Language Courses

The Irish language courses offered by the University as part of its degree programmes presuppose the student having taken Irish at primary and secondary level. Consequently, Visiting Students will generally not be in a position to avail of these courses. The University does, however, offer voluntary, non-credit bearing, Irish language classes to Visiting Students. These courses, if taken, are not included on the student's transcript.

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4.11 ALIVE Programme

As an NUI Galway student you can volunteer with a huge variety of community organisations, including: Big Brother,
Big Sister; Gaf Youth Café; Riding for the Disabled; Simon Community; Homework Clubs; Community Gardens. Log on to
www.nuigalway.ie/alive to see the latest opportunities, where you can give anywhere from one hour a week of your time.
Also you can volunteer with a huge variety of opportunities on campus including: Mentoring; Class Reps; Societies; Clubs;
Access.

For further information contact: Lorraine Tansey, Student Volunteer Coordinator, ALIVE office Location: Ground Floor, Arts Millennium Building
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday: 9.15 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.; 2:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Email: studentvolunteeringnuigalway.ie
Tel: +353 91 495346, Ext 5346
Website: www.nuigalway.ie/alive

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National University of Ireland, Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland.

This page was last updated Friday, October 23, 2009