This really depends on how late you are and why. If it is a few minutes and you think you may still have time to complete the exam then attend as normal.

If however you are quite late and don't have enough time to do a good job on the exam, you should tell the lecturer and your Head of School what happened can either repeat the exam in September or alternatively you can fill out a Personal Circumstances Form (PC1). This form will be presented to the Exam Board as an explanation of circumstances and gives the Board all the relevant information to award you the mark you deserve. You may need to repeat the exam, but if you let someone know what happened you should be allowed take the repeat as a first sitting, meaning you can still receive a high mark.

Alternatively, a quick chat with a lecturer after an exam can make all the difference.

If you are unwell and can't continue with your exam, notify the SUPERVISOR - the person who has recorded your exam number and given you your exam paper and answer book. They will make a note on your answer book for the attention of the Examinations office.

You then must fill in a Personal Circumstances Form (PC 1) explaining what has happened to you. This will be discussed at the Exam Board and will be considered when considering your marks. You may be required to repeat the exam but you may be allowed take this repeat as a 'first attempt' in some instances.

It's not the end of the world if you are sick the day of the exam. But you MUST ask someone (flat mate, partner, friend, Mammy) to contact your tutor, school secretary, Examinations Office or all of the aforementioned on your behalf so that it can be recorded and someone knows you won't be there and why.

Also, you MUST present a hand in the PC 1 form with a DOCTOR'S CERT! Unfortunately, your Mammy's word won't be accepted, you must provide a medical certificate from a registered GP or the DIT Health Centre.

Often personal issues of one sort or another can affect a student's academic progress. Some of these are relatively minor, but it can happen that due to family, or health, financial or personal issues a student can feel studying on top of everything else too much to cope with.

There is no need to suffer alone if this is the case. If you are in this situation you should have a look into the many free services available to help you cope and deal with the situation. Aside from the support and advice the Students' Union offer in our Student Affairs Dept. - studentaffairs@ditsu.ie there are also counsellors, chaplains, careers, disability support and health services provided by the DIT from your €900 Capitation fee.

However if you feel you don't want or need these supports, but the circumstances affect your academic performance it is imperative you let the relevant people in the DIT know so these can be taken into account when they're considering your marks. You can do this in two ways:

1. Talk to your tutor or a lecturer that you feel comfortable with. It doesn't have to be an in-depth discussion about your life and issues, merely a 'heads-up' for them. Most lecturers have heard similar before and you would be surprised how helpful and supportive they can be in your times of need.
2. Complete a Personal Circumstances (P/C1) Form. If you've had an injury, illness, bereavement, family crisis or any incident or problem that has affected your performance in an exam or affected the completion of a project/essay/assignment - you should tell the Exam Board so that this can be taken into consideration when determining your marks. You do this by submitting the Personal Circumstances Form (P/C1) and you must supply independent supporting documentation (e.g. Doctor's cert, letter from a Counsellor etc.) to verify what you've described. This must be handed in within two days of doing the exam or at the same time, as an assignment is due. The circumstances you've outlined can then be taken into account when the work/paper is being marked.

The important thing to remember here is that it's not possible to submit the form after your results are published, for obvious reasons, and you cannot use this as grounds to appeal later in the year.

There's no charge for this. The form is available from all the Exams Offices or you can get a copy from your Students' Union Office or www.ditsu.ie.

Yes, you can if have good reasons and do so in time and with the permission of your Head of School.

You should contact your Head of School at least 4 weeks before the date of your first exams and explain in detail what your reasons are. If these are accepted you will be allowed to sit these exams during the Repeat exam period the following September where these will be considered a 'first sitting'.

If you have to defer closer to the start of the exams (due to an emergency situation etc.) you should contact your tutor and the Head of School. Also complete the Personal Circumstances form (P/C 1) in detail for consideration by the lecturers and Exam Board and you should be allowed to do the exams in September as a 'first attempt'.

Most students will be getting results on-line after the Exam Boards have taken place in late Jan/early Feb. Results for a small number of courses are posted on Pass lists . Unfortunately, there is no one specific date by which all results are published!

We will be posting updates on www.ditsu.ie from mid-January onwards for each site/Faculty and you can also check the DIT Modularisation website at http://modularisation.dit.ie/student.htm or on the notice boards usually located near the Exams Offices.

Compensation is the procedure whereby a candidate's overall assessment performance may be used to compensate for partial failure and justify progression to the subsequent stage of a programme or to be eligible for an award. (Definition taken from the most recent update to the General Assessment Regulations)

If you don't reach the pass mark in one module but have performed well in all other modules you may be allowed an overall pass by transferring the 'extra' marks to bring you up to the pass level.

Here are some general guidelines:

• It can usually only be applied for one module;
• If the pass mark for the module is 40% you must have reached 35%;
• You must have double the difference available in another module - if you've got 36% and need 4% to pass overall you must have 8% available in another module;
• Some core modules on your Programme may not be compensated.

And be warned compensation doesn't automatically apply. It's a general principle that it may, but the decision is at the discretion of the Exam Board, bearing in mind the rules of each specific Programme of study.

If you believe that the marks given in any exam/assessment are wrong you can have them Rechecked, using an A/R1 form. The purpose of a recheck is to make sure that there are no errors in the adding up of the marks and that the results have been recorded accurately . It is not a remarking of your assessment. If it turns out that an error was made in the addition of the marks, you will be notified and the Exam Board will be reconvened to reassess your marks.

If you believe a mistake has been made a useful first step is to contact the lecturer who corrected the assessment / exam paper. You are entitled to get detailed, constructive feedback on EVERY assessment that you do so if you have a chat with them about the marks you got it may clarify the situation for you. You can also have the formal recheck carried out by submitting the Recheck form, which costs €15 per paper; this is fully refundable if you're right about the marking. You request a recheck from the Exams Office by completing form A/R1 or download it from http://www.dit.ie/DIT/registrar/regs/gen_assess_reg/index.html, and submit it along with the fee. The Students' Union office can help you with this also.

You must do this within 3 days of the publication of your results on the Exams Board or on-line - not when you receive them in the post - it will probably be too late then.

The 3 grounds for Appeal are: -

1. That the General Examination Regulations of the DIT not been properly implemented (e.g. something has happened that directly conflicted with the DIT's own rules)
2. A circumstance occurred that is not specifically covered by the Regulations
3. New attested, documented and relevant information is provided that wasn't made available to the Exam Board, i.e.: a lost answer book

You have 7 working days from the date of publication of results on-line or on the Examinations Notice Board to request an appeal. If you want to make an Appeal, the form you need is an A/A1. It costs €75 to appeal, but your money will be refunded if you're successful.

If your appeal is considered eligible (i.e. within the 3 grounds specified), the Appeals Board will meet to consider your case and you will be requested to attend the Hearing. The members will be fair and interested in hearing what you have to say and someone can accompany you - parent/guardian/friend. The Students' Union can also attend with you and help in presenting your case.

Some Grounds NOT to appeal on

You cannot appeal on the following grounds:

• That the exam didn't follow previous formats or the format you expected;
• That someone you know did better than you when you would usually score the same;
• That your lecturer didn't provide the class with sample/pilot papers. It's nice when they do, but they're not obliged to;
• That you did well in all your continuous assessments during the semester. Exams and continuous assessments are different and you can't make assumptions from one to the other;
• That you didn't do a lab or class you needed to have done. This is not the Exam Boards' fault;
• That you 'think' you should have done better. Appeals that start with, 'I hoped to do better....', I was disappointed with my mark.', or 'I had to work to make money', will just be turned away. The way you 'feel' you've done does not fall under the 3 grounds for appeal.

The purpose of a recheck is to make sure that there haven't been any mistakes in the calculation of your marks. It is not a remarking of your paper. If it turns out that an error was made in the addition of the marks, your Head of School will immediately notify the Exams Office so they can recall the Exam Board to reassess your mark.

It costs €15 per paper for a recheck; this is fully refundable if errors were made. You request a recheck from the Exams Office within 3 days of the publication of your results on the Exams Board. You do this by completing form A/R1, and submit it along with the fee.

You can apply for an Exam Appeal if one of the grounds specified in the General Assessment Regulations occurred, preventing you from performing to the best of your ability, through no fault of your own.

Grounds are: -

1. That the General Examination Regulations of the DIT not been properly implemented (e.g.: something happened in the exam/assessment that directly conflicted with the DIT's own rules)
2. A circumstance occurred that is not specifically covered by the Regulations
3. New attested, documented and relevant information is provided that wasn't made available to the Exam Board, i.e.: a lost answer book/assignment that wasn't included in your marks etc.

You have 7 working days from the date your results are published to apply for an appeal. The form you need is an A/A1. It costs €75 to appeal, but your money will be refunded if you're successful.

When you've filled out the form you must hand it in to the Exams Office.

If your grounds are considered eligible you will be requested to attend a meeting with the members of the Appeals Board to give them an opportunity to discuss the details further. You are entitled to have Students' Union representation at that hearing.

Some Grounds NOT to appeal on: -

1. That the format of the exam wasn't what you expected
2. That someone who normally gets similar marks to you did better than you
3. That you didn't get pilot papers, no-one is obliged to provide this
4. You scored better in your continuous assessments
5. That you missed a lab or class that was relevant to the exam, unless extenuating circumstances apply
6. That you 'think' you did better than you did.

READ THIS FIRST: SAMPLE PC1 FORM & GUIDELINES

PDFs of forms:

• PC1 Form
• Professional Opinion Form
• Appeal Form
• Recheck Form
• 'Taking Tests with Less Stress' is an excellent leaflet written by Dr Susan Lindsay, Head of the DIT Counselling Service, containing some very useful advice for all those taking exams and possibly feeling stressed and under pressure. Students can get a copy of this leaflet printed in any of the local Students' Union offices.

Useful Contacts

Dr. Susan Lindsay,
Head of DIT Counselling Service,
Phone: 01 4023352
www.dit.ie/DIT/counselling