Why I hate DIT...

AlexBM

strychnine wrote: »

Is he havin a laugh!!!??

She, not he. And no!

.

sunnyjim wrote: »

I was in DCU for 3 years, and DIT beats it hands down in terms of cancelled lectures etc. If its happening often, then complain. In these days, colleges are fighting for students tooth-and-nail. If a lecturer cancels on you, then complain. With anonymous marking and all that, you cant lose.

We made sure our lecturers have our phone numbers to make sure we know if a class is cancelled. They can **** off if they think I'm happy enough to get in at 9am on monday to find a free class!! And I don't see why others dont do the same!

A lot of people do pick their course so they can have nice easy courses and few hours. Think arts, communications, etc... Not saying you do, but it is done!

As I said, another Uni for 3 years. Don't worry, its not personal!

Glad it's not personal, looking back over it I may have worded it a little more harshly than I meant to. Apologies, I wrote it quickly during work today. The course I did in particular may have been a particularly dodgy one - it's fairly new, and we complained (constantly!) and the lecturers did have our numbers, but didn't use them very often. We had a feedback session too, anonymously, with two independent lecturers, but they also had one last year, the year before that, and so on. The same problems keep cropping up, so I think I was just very unlucky. I was surprised to hear what you said about DCU, though. I thought it was better than that.

I see where you're coming from with the arts/communications thing too. I did it because one of the subjects I studied can't be done here in Ireland as a pure degree course, so it was my only option really. There were others in my classes that did the bare minimum, but I don't think many of them actually finished their degrees.

AlexBM

taconnol wrote: »

Having done my undergrad in Trinity, I can say that DIT in Bolton St is a pathetic excuse for a 3rd level educational institution. A friend of mine also did her undergraduate in Trinity & is doing a post-graduate in Aungier street. Every time we meet up we swap our DIT horror stories. I have a list as long as my arm but here are a few choice ones:

*Unbelievably bad computer facilities & an IT support team that expects you to go and tell them when there's a problem (Hello, do I work for DIT? No)
*Course manager who couldn't manage her way out of a paper bag. Zero communication skills, zero organisation skills.
*Ridiculous time-tabling. What? A 12 hour day? Sure why not, we all know your concentration levels are at their best at 8pm!!
*3 hour lectures. And some lecturers didn't give us our breaks and still went over time. Give a lecturer 5 hours and they'll fill it with crap. Give them 1 hour and they'll pretty quickly cut out the crap.
*No help in finding work placement
*Awful, awful, awful facilities. No CCTV in Zhivago so everything and anything not nailed down is stolen. Oh, and having to walk through 2 classrooms to get the toilets (Cue: Entire class plus lecturer falling silent and watching you walk to the toilet. "No, no, don't mind me, I'm just going to the TOILET")
*Feedback? What feedback? Oh you're talking about that general chat you gave to the class where any of the comments may or may not have applied to me? Or that time when you brought in all the exam papers & all they had was a number at the bottom with no lecturers to be found?
*Pathetic, pathetic library. I had books on my reading list that weren't even in the library.

I spent more time studying on Trinity campus that DIT campus outside lectures. I would get so depressed when I walked into the computer rooms & would see 40 brand new Mac desktops, all fully functional when I had to fight all year to get our 8 crappy PCs working & the printer never worked in the end.

Word of caution to anyone thinking of becoming a class rep in DIT. Find a nice solid brick wall, bang head repeatedly until semi-conscious. If you enjoy the experience, you'll love being class rep.

Only saving grace? The lecturers.

Edit: Yeah, what the hell is the story with all the bands playing right outside the library?? God I'm just glad I'm almost out of that place.

I forgot to mention the Zhivago building. And the toilets thing. That was a joke. I think taconnol may have been on my course, or did it after me...

68 lost souls

Speaking of the privilages on computers. My student account wont even let me safely eject hardware from most computers that my course use. Ok bring us in in 1st year and tell us to always safely eject hardware before unplugging or USBs or harddrives so we dont lose anything and then not let us do it?

sunnyjim

taconnol, thats ****in' horrible!

That sounds like a nightmare. But to be fair, Trinity is pretty much the mae west in general, so it's hard to go from having everything to nothing especially as a post-grad. Your experience sounds like an absolute debacle.

I'm suprised that no-one has mentioned going to the SU. Are they non-existant, or is it the fact that they're spread over fofty-thousond buildings making it hard to find someone with a knowledge of whats-what with each course? I tried so hard not to be a class rep this year when I came to DIT. I'm not diplomatic in the slightest, and I'd rather bang my head off someone rather than a brick wall...

If your lecturer is not giving breaks, call them on it. Everyone else in the room is behind you, so go for it. If they get sarky then call them on that too. At this stage everyone's an adult.

I'll give you that on the IT though. What are they up to at all? But it doesn't suprise me. Given that the office works like the Civil Service (same pay grades and positions) I'd say the IT dep is not just fiilled with layers of bureaucracy, its ****** stratas of it!

68 lost souls

I must agree the lengthy lectures are toture. In my course we sometimes have up to 4 hour lectures but after pestering lecturers they do give us breaks, maybe 15 minutes if were lucky.

Have not dealt much with the SU but they arte currently sorting out a problem at tthe moment and if they do I will have more faith.

bug

Are there dedicated student IT people in Bolton street to the best of your knowledge?

Sir Molle

I'm in Kevin St. and I don't think I've been emailed by my course co-ordinator once this whole year. The only emails I got all year were from my lecturers regarding course notes and exam tips which is fine. It just dawned on me the other day that I was probably meant to pick my modules for next year, but I seriously don't have a fucking clue because I was told nothing by any of the people running by the course.

I've had to work a job this year through college since I'm only doing about 5-8 hours a week, how ever unfortunatly I missed a class due to having to work where one the lecturer gave details about an assignment. I had heard no word of this at any other period of time in any other class and of course the submission date passed along before I even found out about it all. Now I'm down marks for continuous assessment. Communication between students and the administrators is almost non-existant. It's half the reason I'm repeating this year. Now, I know a certain portion of the responsibility of getting important information lies on the student, but Jesus, you'd think they might give you a simple email as a reminder every now and again of what the fucking plan for your course is, but obviously for a course in IT a simple email is far too much to ask for.

I've also heard pleanty of horror stories regarding registration for college and exams. Wasn't there a thread on here a while ago where some guy had failed college because he registered for his exams late and as a result, the office fucked up something and none of his papers were corrected, despite the fact that he had fully registered, and then he had to repeat the year, only to have the same thing happen the next year because of the previous year fuck ups, all at the fault of the office staff and administration.

As someone mentioned earlier, the timetables are fucking hideous. All thought that's more to do with me having to repeat only certain modules. In in the morning, between a three and five hour break with absolutly fuck all to do on campus, and then another lecture or lab in the evening, every fucking day of the week. I just go home for the break, but it costs me €6 a day on bus fare alone.

Needless to say, I fucking hate DIT. They can suck my fucking dick. Also, fuck the students union. They're a shower of pissants who do nothing. They too can suck my dick.

Max_Damage

I also hate that midget fella in the accounts department. Arrogant little prick.

Creamy Goodness

it's only because he hates his job, i presume it's the same for everyone in accounts .

joeybloggs

Sir Molle wrote: »

Needless to say, I fucking hate DIT. They can suck my fucking dick. Also, fuck the students union. They're a shower of pissants who do nothing. They too can suck my dick.

Bejasus It's a Marmite thing with ya.Im referring to your other post in the thread WHY I LOVE DIT !!

Sir Molle wrote: »

The few things I like about DIT are that most of the lecturers are sound enough, and there's a half decent looking bird working in the Student Union Shop in Kevin St.

Sir Molle wrote: »

I've had to work a job this year through college since I'm only doing about 5-8 hours a week.

and then another lecture or lab in the evening, every ****ing day of the week..

Now I'm down marks for continuous assessment.

Sounds like your a lazy bastard to me.5-8 hrs a week and you have CA to keep your marks a float! You have little of excuses to be dropping marks, you even have time to hold a job and commute and your complaining like a bitch.
Yes, your lectures who probably should know you from that back-breaking 5-8 a week should have emailed you, but chap your far from perfect yourself.

Sir Molle wrote: »

I just go home for the break, but it costs me €6 a day on bus fare alone. .

Oh cry me a river.In this day and age who dosn't have to pay a huge commuting price.With that lovely job of yours I'm sure its covered anyway.

Sir Molle

joeybloggs wrote: »

Sounds like your a lazy bastard to me.5-8 hrs a week and you have CA to keep your marks a float! You have little of excuses to be dropping marks, you even have time to hold a job and commute and your complaining like a bitch.

Read my post again and take note of the reason I'm dropping marks. You're right, with only 5-8 hours a week I shouldn't be dropping marks on continuous assessment, however I am, largely due to the lack of communication.

joeybloggs wrote: »

Oh cry me a river.In this day and age who dosn't have to pay a huge commuting price.With that lovely job of yours I'm sure its covered anyway.

Yes, it is easily covered, however that doesn't make it any less annoying to have to pay for four bus journeys between the same to places on a daily basis.

Naikon

Sir Molle wrote: »

Read my post again and take note of the reason I'm dropping marks. You're right, with only 5-8 hours a week I shouldn't be dropping marks on continuous assessment, however I am, largely due to the lack of communication.


Yes, it is easily covered, however that doesn't make it any less annoying to have to pay for four bus journeys between the same to places on a daily basis.

I have to agree with you, communication between staff and students in my course has been pretty diabolical, except for about two subjects. What is worse, is that the webct system is not utilized by any of the Lecturers. If I miss a lecture for example, notes are not easy to get a hold of. Course feedback has been pretty poor, I still don't know what the deal is with assessment of two of my subjects, and the course handbook is pretty vague in this respect. Cancellations without any notice have also been somewhat frequent this year.

Maybe I am expecting too much of dit, but the place is nothing like it's made out to be. I hate to say it, but the place feels like a secondary school sometimes. For a supposed world class Institution, the website/documentation/prospectuses really don't reflect the reality. Anyone considering changing colleges after exams?. It's something that has been floating in my head now for sometime. At least now I know why the intake for my course is low.

experiMental

taconnol wrote: »

*Course manager who couldn't manage her way out of a paper bag. Zero communication skills, zero organisation skills.
*Ridiculous time-tabling. What? A 12 hour day? Sure why not, we all know your concentration levels are at their best at 8pm!!
*3 hour lectures. And some lecturers didn't give us our breaks and still went over time. Give a lecturer 5 hours and they'll fill it with crap. Give them 1 hour and they'll pretty quickly cut out the crap.
*No help in finding work placement
*Awful, awful, awful facilities. No CCTV in Zhivago so everything and anything not nailed down is stolen. Oh, and having to walk through 2 classrooms to get the toilets (Cue: Entire class plus lecturer falling silent and watching you walk to the toilet. "No, no, don't mind me, I'm just going to the TOILET")

I've just transferred from DKIT (construction engineering), and I had similar conditions there. Lecturers there also pushed for 3 hour long classes, no help in finding work placement and also awful facilities. It just appears that "traditional" technical courses have a lot more workload and requirements in Institutes of Technology than in Universities.

I have to agree with you that Zhivago building has to get a massive make-over to be considered a proper campus

Stench Blossoms

Sir Molle wrote: »

I've had to work a job this year through college since I'm only doing about 5-8 hours a week, how ever unfortunatly I missed a class due to having to work where one the lecturer gave details about an assignment. I had heard no word of this at any other period of time in any other class and of course the submission date passed along before I even found out about it all. Now I'm down marks for continuous assessment.

Have you no classmates/friends that could have told you about the assignment?

TBH it's your own fault for missing the lecture.

I had a lecturer who wouldn't email the class about any assignments and I'd agree with him. If you can't be bothered to turn up to class then why should he be bothered to email you.

Sir Molle

orla wrote: »

Have you no classmates/friends that could have told you about the assignment?

TBH it's your own fault for missing the lecture.

I had a lecturer who wouldn't email the class about any assignments and I'd agree with him. If you can't be bothered to turn up to class then why should he be bothered to email you.

If It was a case that I just wasn't bothered to show up, then I'd agree with you. How ever, It was not.

Stench Blossoms

Sir Molle wrote: »

If It was a case that I just wasn't bothered to show up, then I'd agree with you. How ever, It was not.

You were in work. Maybe I'm different from you but since i bothered my hole studying in my leaving cert to get into college I wouldn't go to work if I knew I had a lecture.

And before you say you had to work. For 1st, 2nd and 3rd year I worked 20hours a week, all weekdays, and i still managed to attend all my lectures.

68 lost souls

Not everyone is in the same situation as you. Yes you were lucky enough to get a job that let oyu do that. More then likely he was doing im guessing 30+ hours since he was in college for 8. I know a lot of people in my college that regularly miss college because they have to work. Sometimes managers dont care if youre in college and roster you on. Some people need the money and cant quit. Everyone is different. I dont blame him at all. The lecturers need to sort this out.

Creamy Goodness

the lecturers shouldn't have to acommodate your job at all, you are there to learn, if you do happen to miss an assignment that is given out in class, i see no reason why they should give it to you again unless you were sick or had to attend a funeral or something.

also i don't know about your classes but when my lecturers gave an assignment it was mentioned at least one every class after the assignment was give until the due date.

i was in a lucky situation where i had enough money saved from summer jobs to put me through the college year but if i didn't have that i would of got a job in a place that wouldn't affect my college hours, there's plenty of pubs/clubs etc that is mainly night work.

randomcountdown

taconnol wrote: »

Having sucked over 500 dicks in my career as a student.

Stopped reading.

astrofool

randomcountdown wrote: »

Stopped reading.

Where did that quote come from?

fairypixiething

ok seriously guys whoever has moaned about aungier st kevin st and bolton st need to get your heads examined have you even heard of mountjoy sq or better yet seen the place....its like four georgian houses stuck together with **** for a canteen an excuse of a shop and a library a little bigger than my kitchen nothing EVER EVER happens there and we never hear of anything from any of the other DIT'S until it's much to late to even consider going to plus we are likely to get stabbed or worse on our way too and from the college and it's too far away fro everything else.....so please befor you moan about your college take a trip to mountjoy square.and grangegorman seems great and all but because they are pumping money into that all the rest of us who will never get near the place have to suffer...on the up side my course is great!!!!!!

AlexBM

fairypixiething wrote: »

ok seriously guys whoever has moaned about aungier st kevin st and bolton st need to get your heads examined have you even heard of mountjoy sq or better yet seen the place....its like four georgian houses stuck together with **** for a canteen an excuse of a shop and a library a little bigger than my kitchen nothing EVER EVER happens there and we never hear of anything from any of the other DIT'S until it's much to late to even consider going to plus we are likely to get stabbed or worse on our way too and from the college and it's too far away fro everything else.....so please befor you moan about your college take a trip to mountjoy square.and grangegorman seems great and all but because they are pumping money into that all the rest of us who will never get near the place have to suffer...on the up side my course is great!!!!!!

I wasn't aware we were playing the 'my campus is worse than your campus' game. Have you actually attended any of the others you mentioned, to make a fair comparison? I highly doubt you're likely to get stabbed, by the way. If it's worrying you that much, maybe you should leave.

68 lost souls

Well if were playing that card I thin I am in a fair position to speak since I attend Bolton St, Mountjoy and Aungier St depending on the day and yes I do agree with most of what fairypixiething is saying except for the fact that the shop there is much better then the rest of them and also I like the small size of it. You can always get a pool table and the staff there (not talking about lecturers) seem to be a bit nicer too.

And yes if you ever go to the shop on the Corner for lunch your always terrified of the pikies there, school kids with diamonds bigger then a fist with trackies tucked in fighting over who has a longer mullet. Yes its true I was in line and there was a fight over the longest mullet. It worries me.

fairypixiething

68 lost souls wrote: »

Well if were playing that card I thin I am in a fair position to speak since I attend Bolton St, Mountjoy and Aungier St depending on the day and yes I do agree with most of what fairypixiething is saying except for the fact that the shop there is much better then the rest of them and also I like the small size of it. You can always get a pool table and the staff there (not talking about lecturers) seem to be a bit nicer too.

And yes if you ever go to the shop on the Corner for lunch your always terrified of the pikies there, school kids with diamonds bigger then a fist with trackies tucked in fighting over who has a longer mullet. Yes its true I was in line and there was a fight over the longest mullet. It worries me.

ha ha not to mention there frequent shouting of abuse at you as you walk by.........it's ridiculous and i have been to ll the other dit's except rathmines so thank you very much....and i love DIT the course lecturers and staff are all great i love the smallness of it all too i was simply giving out about the standard of facilities in it compared to bolton st and the others especially canteen wise.........i was just saying before they complain take a look at what they have compared to the other dit's when i went to bolton st and auingier st i thought i was in a completety different college couldn believe it was still dit!!!!

AlexBM

True, there is a definite imbalance in the facilities. Maybe they do it according to student numbers or similar. At least you're not stuck in Portland Row.

experiMental

Portland Row is actually being refurbished to an extent - the new metalwork facility is quite fine IMO. The leaking roofs and exposed electrical cables are quite inspiring though.

AlexBM

It's got a long way to go, all the same. Parts of it are lethal, although the porters there are the nicest I've encountered.