What’s this! The General Assessment Regulation, otherwise referred to as the GAR; is the regulation which governs every aspect of your third level education in DIT. This covers assessments and progression, the rules relating to examination and breaches of the regulation. This has been recently revised after a full year of it being reviewed and it’s still not completed with some chapters still needing further discussion.
The revised GAR was adopted in March at Academic Council; the highest academic decision making body in DIT which approves your degree. This means the revised version will take effect for the 2018/19 Academic Year. However, Chapters 10 and 11 will apply for this summers examinations, so will only focus on those for now. You can find those changes here.
Don’t get caught with that phone
You’ll find in section 10.4.3 that it now says, ‘that computing equipment, including electronic organisers, mobile phones, smart devices etc that students may have brought into the Examination Centre, must be powered off and placed on the floor face down in front of the student.’ I guess the Institute soon copped that students can’t live without their phones! It is the single most cause for students being called to a Panel of Enquiry for cheating and it’s taken very seriously, so just leave it on the floor in plain view during your whole exam.
Some limited penalties
Breaches of the Assessment Regulations is covered in Chapter 11. The aspect to note here is the initial stage whereby if a lecturer suspects breaches to continuous assessment, they would notify the Head of School and a meeting, normally within ten working days, to discuss it with the student. The student may still bring in a student representative and DITSU are on hand to assist you here. In addition, limited penalties may be imposed for example, that the work be resubmitted for assessment. As normal, if it’s not resolved in the initial stage the case can be progressed to a Panel of Enquiry.
As I’ve said, the above are Chapters 10 and 11 of the General Assessment Regulations which apply for this summers examinations. Another article explaining the other changes will be forthcoming once the full GAR comes into effect in September. Best of luck to all those doing exams next week and watch out for the roadshow with free tea and coffee!
