Tracey's Blog

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  Your SU Team
  

  Tracey Flinter
  

  President DIT Students' Union
  

  Click here to contact Tracey by e-mail...
  

 

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Posted 03 March 2010

So the madness of Elections is over for another year. I want to take this opportunity to wish the newly elected officers all the best of luck next year and thanks all the candidates for running!

Grangegorman: we are awaiting sign off from Cabinet at the moment and it the proposal gets the go ahead then we can progress with all the work that has currently been carried out! At the moment we are looking at Academic Spaces and what students needs and wants with regards to Class Rooms and Labs. If you have any ideas please feel free to contact me! In the mean time if you manage to bump into any member of Government remind them the Grangegorman is our future home and we would love modern facilities to cater for our needs as students.

College Fee's: registration fee's, exam fee's and MSc Fee's, part time fee's, all kinds of fee's we are working on your behalf to make sure you are all getting a fair deal. there have been a number of students on to me who stated that they have been charged too much, we are working with the Finance Dept. to solve this issue and will keep you all posted!

Get Ready for Raising and Giving Week!!

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Posted 10 February 2010


So with Elections have got off to a great start with our first Hustings taking place in Mountjoy Square today. Keep you eyes peeled on your local site we the candidates will be around searching for votes. Make sure to ask them loads of questions. Remember you pay their wages.

Those of you that are still awaiting your grants can you please get in touch with us. After speaking with Finance on Friday we have arranged that students who are waiting on exam results and still have not received their grants can now get their results for first semester.

There are still a number of issues relating to part time lecturers and also technicians, if you classes have been disrupted in any way please feel free to contact me! We need to know what is going wrong it order to make it right for all students!

Don't forget to purchase your SHAG Ball Paint Party Ticket in your local Union Office. They are selling out rapidly, we only have a few left. Tickets are €5, remember it's a paint party, wear old clothes and expect to get wet!!


Tracey

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Posted 1st Feb 2010

Well it is the 1st of February 2010 and the Gyms are back open! For more information you can contact your local Sports office or even pop into Kevin Street and sign up for semester two for low discounted student prices.
 
Refresh Week takes place this week across all sites with information stands between 12.30pm to 2.30pm. This is an opportunity to refresh your memory with all the FREE Services to all students. That's Sports, Health Centre, Socs, Councelling, Mature Students Officer, Clubs and so on. 
 
Stands will be at the following sites between 12.30pm to 2.30pm:

• Monday - Aungier Street
• Tuesday - Kevin Street
• Wednesday - Bolton Street
• Thursday- Mount Joy Square, Cathal Brugha Street & Rathmines

 
As it is the first day back there may be some variances with timetables and labs, if there are issues please contact us and let us know. If lecturers have not been assigned to classes or not turning up for class again contact us. There are many issues facing DIT, if you do not make us aware of the issues happening on your local site we can not help solve the problem.
 
Best of luck in semester two, lets hope its a good one!

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Posted 18 Jan 2010

So second week of exams, I hope they are going well for you! If you have any questions please do pop into your local SU office and we can help out!!

As you can see from the 2nd last post, the HEA and Department of Finance have agreed a new flexible embargo that is now in place. This covers all Universities and Institutes of Technology. You may be aware of the issues we have trying to get classes, libraries and our gyms back up and running in first semester. This was all because of the staffing embargo put in place by the Government. Thankfully, after plenty of hard work this embargo has become more flexible allowing DIT to appoint staff where needed. But, and there is always a but there are many clauses that must be taken into consideration.

Over the past number of weeks both myself, Jen and Sean have been working on your behalf to make sure you are represented at these levels. Fingers crossed we will have the gyms open in second semester and students will have no disruptions! Feel free to contact me on my mobile 086 6031213



Posted 14 January 2010
BACK TO EDUCATION ALLOWANCE

Hi guys,

Just a note to try and clarify some issues regarding the Back To Education Allowance (BETA).

Those in receipt of both the BTEA and the grant will continue to receive both for the duration of their course. New applicants for the grant will not be able to receive both in the year 2010/11.

This means that anyone who is currently getting both will continue to do so unless they change course.

You can read more about this and how it may affect you in this document.

Best
Tracey

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Posted 12 January 2010
RESPONSE TO THE PRESIDENT FROM DEPT OF FINANCE

 

 

Our Ref: 09/0440/MF   12 January 2010

 

Ms Tracey Flinter

[mailto:president@ditsu.ie]

 

Dear Ms Flinter

 

Mr Brian Lenihan, TD, Minister for Finance has asked me to thank you for your e-mail dated 11 December, 2009, in relation to the filling of posts in the Dublin Institute of Technology.

 

The Minister has asked me to tell you that a revised Employment Control Framework for the Third Level Sector, which is likely to address your concerns, is currently under consideration in his Department. The Minister expects to make a decision on the revised framework early in the New Year.

 

Yours sincerely

 Dermot Moylan

Private Secretary to the

Minister for Finance

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Posted 08 January 2010
Welcome back and I hope everyone is well rested after the short holiday. There is plenty of useful information available on our website under the help and advice section if you need information on exams and assessments. The next couple of weeks students will be receiving information about exams and rights and entitlements with regards to exams from us in the Students' Union. We are here to give you the correct information and point you in the right direction. So no matter how big or small the question do pop into our offices.
 
Many students have been asking about the bad weather and the exams. As of now (4pm Fri), the exams on Monday are postponed but Tuesdays schedule is unchanged. Please keep in mind travel distance and how long it will take you to make it to the exam halls. You will receive information from DIT through your students email address so please keep yourself updated.
 
Wishing you all the best in the exams, if you need anything please feel free to contact me!
 
Oh and welcome all Apprentice Students it was a pleasure to meet you all!

Tracey

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Posted 22 December 2009


Hi all,

Just a short note to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays and doesn't stress too much about their exams.

If you need any help or advice please feel free to contact us. There is loads of information on the Help and Advice section of our web site and we can be reached on our mobile numbers.

Our offices will reopen on the Monday, 4th of January 2010.

Best of luck with the exams and we will be seeing you in the new year!

It has been a pleasure representing you over the past six months, here's to the next six!

Your President,
Tracey

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Posted 14 December 2009

Hey all,

Great news, after many talks with DIT on the cost of repeat exam fee's they have been brought back down to last years price of €60.00.

This years repeats we suppose to cost Students a whopping €200 regardless of how many exams needed to be repeated!

DIT have agreed to bring the cost back down given the current economic climate and the challenges that face us as students. 

For more information please feel free to contact me!

Some good news while we are moving towards the holidays!

Tracey


Tracey Flinter

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Posted 09 December 2009

Well Governing Council was last night and it was an extremely good Council. We invited President of Union of Students of Ireland (USI) Peter Mannion and Deputy President Dan O'Neill in for a questions and answers section. We discussed the  Irish Congress of Trad Unions (ICTU) mandate resulting in USI coming out in support of the National Day of Action. There were many counsellors that were unhappy, but everyone got their chance to have their say. There will be a response to an opinion piece in the DIT news that is worth a read and covers issues addressed at Council.

The new idea was to look at setting up a forum for students to debate on our website, a number of students are interested in talking about wider issues that are not directly effecting DIT and with the Governing Council agenda so jam packed we hardly get the chance to discuss issues. A number of years ago we had a discussion forum that was widely used by Council, I think we should open this up to all students. It will increase involvement and those who are not part of Council before more involved.

Thanks,
Tracey

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Posted 19 November 2009

There is so much going on at the moment.

Firstly,  only Aungier St and Bolton St colleges will be open on Tuesday, 24 of Nov 09, the day of the national strike. Many students have been asking exactly what is going on. For the time being we are informing students that there will be pickets outside the college doors and to be mindful and respect all members in the strike. The open colleges can be used as a study space and students can access the DIT WiFi.

As the TUI have voted for action there will be no classes on that day. We are still in talks with the President of the College, Professor Brian Norton and we will try keep everyone as up to date as possible.

We are aware that there have been long delays in students receiving third level grants, there are a number of VEC's and County Councils that have still not paid out yet  We are working on your behalf, so please call down to any of the offices if there is anything we can do for you.

At this time of year students are already under a lot of stress and with registrations breathing heavily down their necks about payments for exams students are starting to worry. The Minister for Education has sent out a letter to all colleges requesting that they be mindful of the grants situation and also asked each college to be flexible with regards to registrations and exams. Please keep your eyes peeled for more information or feel free to contact me!

Tracey Flinter

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Posted 27 October 09

See clip from RTE News of Friday, 16th October 2009.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/1023/education.html

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Posted 21 October 09

Hi Guys, please find the below parliamentary question raise in the Dail that effects all DIT students.

Tracey.

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Posted 17 October 2009

So the public meeting was held and we had a number of students turn up. Professor Norton, President of DIT and many Faculty Directors also showed for the meeting and answered questions on cut backs. Sinead Mc Nulty, head of Sports and Brian Gormley manager of Campus Life were also there to answer questions on cut backs with regards to the non academic service provisions in DIT.

There are a number of issue facing DIT at this current moment in time, the meeting was called last night not to place blame but to identify a solution for the better of the student body. Currently in the Students Union we have a long list of issues that are affecting students and we have now sent this list to the President of the college where it was raised at Directorate this morning. Issues are being worked through on the ground level.

Minutes from the meeting can be read on here soon .


Posted 15 October 2009

Public Meeting Monday the 19th October Gleeson Hall, DIT Kevin Street.

For those of you that have been effected by the cut backs please attend out public meeting in which Proffessor Brian Norton, President of DIT and Manager of Campus Life Brian Gormley will answer questions on the cut backs and how they plan to improve the current situation. The meeting will take place in Kevin Street at 6.00pm in Gleeson Hall. Keep you eyes peeled for posters and notification. We need as many students there are possible to ask questions so solutions are found!!

Governing Council

For those of you interested in having a read through my officer report please feel free to do so and also have a look at all the officer reports that are up on our web page!

Irish Times

My letter to the Editor in relation to the education cutbacks was published in last weeks Irish Times.

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Posted 12 October 2009

Hi all,

Here is a transcript of a speech made by Senator Ivana Bacik (Labour Senator for Dublin University) in the Seanad last Thursday 08 October:

"I echo Senator Hannigan’s call for a debate on overall funding, particularly in the light of the disturbing news that funds allocated for the schools building programme were not fully spent, despite the clear needs of so many primary schools nationally. We need to address severe deficiencies in funding at third level.

Yesterday I attended a protest organised by the students’ union of Dublin Institute of Technology, DIT, at which protest the impact of cuts at the institute was very clearly outlined by the large numbers of students present. The DIT which has 22,000 students is the largest third level institute in Ireland. It makes a considerable commitment to facilitating disadvantaged and second-chance students. The cutbacks have had a severe impact and the hours worked by both full-time and part-time staff have been cut.

The staff complement has decreased and laboratories and libraries have been closed. Even rubbish disposal has been affected; we have seen rubbish piling up in DIT campuses because of the absence of sufficient funding. We need to address this issue. The DIT is ranked only 326th in the world and needs to raise its status.

However, it cannot do so in the present climate."

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Posted 08 October 2009

Hi all,

Yesterday morning myself, Jen and Sean and some lovely student volunteers were outside the Dáil bright and early. We handed out information to all TD's and Ministers on the cut backs in DIT. What is effecting us as students on the ground. We were delighted to see it was mentioned in the Dáil yesterday. Please see below an extract from the Order of Business Report for the Dáil.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh: I am glad the Minister for Education and Science is in the House as he may be able to assist the Taoiseach on the following matter. There are only three education Bills included in the Programme for Government. I spoke to several students from the Dublin Institute of Technology who protested outside the House about the disgraceful situation in their college. The Bill in question might address their health and safety concerns and the fact that there are no lecturers, desks or white boards-----

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Deputy must specify the relevant legislation.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh: It is legislation which deals with external quality assurance review of the universities. This would be appropriate given the closure of laboratories which are required for science courses.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle: The Taoiseach on the universities Bill.

Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh: The relevant legislation is the Qualifications (Education and Training) Bill 1999. Will the Taoiseach fast track this legislation to address the problems at the Dublin Institute of Technology in particular which does not - based on what I heard today - have quality assurance?

12 o’clock The Taoiseach: It is due next year.

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Posted 01 October 2009


The Silent Protest yesterday was a massive success, we had over 120 students lining the corridors of Bolton Street wearing masks of Minister of State Sean Haughey. Afterwards I met with him and had a quite word on the Sports Staffing issues and how it is affecting our college. He mentioned that he was aware of the issue and that he would bring it back to the department.

Today I am sending him a brief update on what exactly is happening in DIT just to make sure he is following up on the issue. As I mentioned this is only a taste of things to come, it we have to get out on the streets and protest to highlight these destructive cut backs then we must. It's students money, we are paying for a service that is being denied! It just does not make sense. A short video of the Silent Protest yesterday that was held in Bolton street at 5.30pm is available in our Tea section and pictures can be seen in our Gallery. 

ARTICLE - EVENING HERALD OCT 01 2009

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Posted 23 September 2009


Well hello and welcome back!

There is so much going on at the moment. I hope everyone is enjoying Freshers week, the past two gigs were great craic and I can not wait for the Circus Freak Show and the Full Moon Paint Party. There is plenty of free goodies around all sites so make sure you grab what you can!

There has been much talk on the Linen Hall and Sports service issue. To dispel rumours going around at the moment, I will explain briefly what is going on,  to make sure you are all kept in the loop.

The Linen Hall Studio has now been approved as an academic space for Architecture in Bolton Street. Over the past number of years there have been problems with overcrowding and as the CAO numbers increase, sadly the classroom space does not!
As the Linen Hall Studio has been transformed into an academic space that means that all Clubs and Societies that utilise the space have been affected.
Currently we are looking at find a facility that will suit all Clubs and Socs on the Northside.
We have identified Belevedere College as suitable and it's is not too far away from Bolton St. This will be confirmed later this evening and I will keep you posted. There are concerns that students participation will drop due the change in venue but if there is anything we can do to make sure this does not happen we will be glad to assist.

Sports, Sports, Sports! It seems ridiculous that students are now paying €1,500 for less facilities and services within DIT.
Now, it's not DIT's fault -  It is the Government.

During the last academic year an embargo was put on all staffing contracts both academic and non academic by the Department of Finance and the Higher Education Authority (HEA).

The extra €600 that has been added to the capitation fee this year is going straight back in the Government. As the third level core grant was cut by €600 this year the college have no choice but to charge the students more due to lack of Government funding!

I know it is a lot to take in but now that this embargo is in place at least most of the academic staff have been approved from intensive lobbying by DIT, which is great news.


On the other hand we have the non academic staff and that is where Sports and Clubs come in. Sports and Clubs are paid from the Capitation fee.
This is your money which pays for your services here in DIT.   It does not belong to the Government!

The greedy Government will not allow us to employ any non academic staff which highlights the problems caused by this embargo.
In my opinion, and I am sure a lot of students will feel the same, it's not the Governments choice in the first place! If it is our money why do we have to wait for sign off from the Department of Finance on where and when we can spend it?

This will affect both the gyms and the coaching staff. At the moment we have a one member of staff manning the gym in Kevin street, so when the pool is open the gym is closed and when the gym is open the pool is closed! For a number of clubs it means that there will be no coaches so therefore training can not take place without supervision of a fully qualified coach.

We are currently addressing these issues at the moment and coming up with a plan on how we go about getting approval from the Department of Finance. I have a meeting with the relevant parties this evening and will make sure to keep everyone posted!

I have already sent a letter to Minister Lenihan 3 weeks ago raising our concerns on which I have not received a reply!

Keeping it presidential,
Tracey

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Posted 10 August 2009

What's the craic,

My name is Tracey Flinter and I am your President for the year ahead.

Firstly, I would like to say congratulations for choosing one of the best third level colleges in Ireland. I am a graduate student from Cathal Brugha Street (yes, over on the North side). I studied Tourism for four years and boy, was it the best decision I ever made. The four years flew in and now here I am representing over 22,000 students, making sure your voice is heard.

The DIT Students' Union is a democracy, so that means that we are every single student in DIT, that's right, you! Every single student has the power to create change. When you register with the college you automatically become a member of the Students' Union. This entitles you to vote in elections, put forward motions and also attend the DIT Students' Union Governing Council.

You might have seen the pictures and blogs of my fellow colleagues, there are three full time student representatives here in the DIT Students' Union. Firstly, you have the President (that's me) Tracey Flinter and I look after all your needs here in DIT. I sit on many important committee meetings both internal and external to make sure the students voice is heard. I represent all DIT students at government meetings and also within the greater student movement, such as the Union of Students Ireland. I also look after all communications and publications within the Union.

Secondly you have your Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, that's the lovely Jen Jordan. Jen looks after your academic and welfare needs, so that's your issues within DIT and anything external to DIT. Jen always has loads of advice info so ask her anything!

Last but not least, you have the Vice President of Services and Trading, the fantastic Sean Campbell. Sean looks after all your entertainments and events both on your site and out there in the city. Sean also looks after all facilities within DIT. If your chair is broken tell Sean!

We have plenty planned for the year ahead so please get involved. Come to the cheap student gigs and let us know what you think! We will be running a large number of campaigns creating awareness among the student body throughout the year, and campaigns means free stuff so make sure your around. No mater how big or small the idea everything is possible here is the Students' Union.

Supporting Student Life is our motto, that's what we are here to do! Students representing Students!

Keep it country!

Your President,
Tracey