Am I justifyably p!ssed off here? - you decide

breadmonkey

Right, this is another in the long, long line of fcuk ups from my department. We were told that we'd be getting "provisional" results today the 23rd of May and that interviews with the external examiner would take place as well. All we were told about the latter was "keep your phone on and we'll be in touch".

So since nobody in the class had a clue what was going on, I emailed the Department yesterday to ask about the arrangements for . This is the reply I received:

To All Final Year Students

The external examiner will arrive tomorrow morning. Please keep your mobile phone on in case you are called for interview. We do not know at this stage what time people will be called for interviews.


Also, It has not been confirmed at this stage if any results will be given out tomorrow. (<--this means you're not getting your results tomorrow)


Regards

Firstly, with regard to the external examiner: they send back the same tripe with no insight whatsoever into what's required for one of these interviews. Their plan is to have everyone wait by the phone all day in case they are called?! What a mind-blowingly stupid way to organise. What if I had lost my phone or it was turned off? etc. etc. not to mention the outrageous demand for everyone to be on fcuking standby all day.

And then tagged on to the end, the classic "actually, we were too lazy to get your results through so you might not be getting them tomorrow". Remember that this email was in response to one I sent. It was not proactively circulated to keep us informed.

This morning I woke up to this little gem.

To All Final Years

Please note that examination results will not be given out today. Please keep an eye on the examinations website address below for final results possibly next week or you can phone 7161555 – examinations office to get an exact date of when the results will be out.

http://www.ucd.ie/registry/alu/index.html


Also, note that interviews with the external examiner will take place after 2pm today, it has not yet been decided who will be interviewed but we will be in contact with students that are going to be interviewed in due course today.


Regards

So having prepared us for the inevitable let down with the appropriate appendage to the first email, they now deal the final blow in predictable fashion. Shock horror, no results. They "might be available next week". Oh fantastic, cover your asses for another week of delays. Also note that they also tried to shift the problem to another office by kindly providing their number.

And no problem, I'll just sit here on standby beside my mobile phone all day just in case you decide I'm going to be interviewed.

Now I know that results are delayed all the time and I'm not special but they had specifically told us that special provision was being made since we're final years. We're all going to some dinner later sponsored by a big engineering firm which supposedly involves awards for top of the class etc.

What gets me the most is the fact that they saw no need to keep anyone informed and if I hadn't sent that email yesterday morning, nobody would be any the wiser.

So is my rant justified of should I just go STFU?

ianthefox

You should probably join me in setting the whole place on fire. Stuff like this is so common and sooo annoying.

bassman22

I can see why you are annoyed. I know that results used to always be available after the external examiner had left, but as far as I have heard, the reason they may not be able to give them out on that day anymore is because of the new system, people doing modules from other faculties, so they can't get the results from them... or something like that.

As to the other part about interviews, the reason they can't tell you if or when you will be interviewed id because they just don't know, the external examiner comes in, has a look around, and then on his/her whim, decides who to interview.

I'd like to add I'm in the same situation myself. But we were told months ago that we would have to be available for two days on the external examiner's whim and they never told us officially when we would get results, (we were unofficially told that it may be the day after the external examiner because thats the way it always happened in the old system, but we were given no guarantee's)

seraphimvc

ya have my sympathy :(nearly 12 afternoon still havent get to know who will be interviewed - UCD do want your final adrenaline pump before you leave the school :)good luck!

Stepherunie

If you ask me they like to screw with our heads when you're in final year.

They have messed with us continuely. We have our last exam this coming monday. They've changed the 'final' timetable 3 times for said exam and changed it's format and timing completely from what we were told.

We were made go back on placement (first year this has ever happened), then were told last week we had to get signatures for work we started 6 weeks ago or else have to make up an extra week and even then we had to make up 10 hours for every 5 you didn't ahve signed off.

Final year - it's all about bringing you to your breaking point if you ask me.

bassman22

While there have been plenty of annoying things to do with planning and timing of things going on in final year, for the most part staff and admin have been great for listening to us and trying to accommodate our suggestions. Although I'm not sure every year gets treated as well... I think its because we did two years in the old system and two years in the new system, and we are the 'test subject' for some things...

princess-sprkle

ianthefox wrote: »

You should probably join me in setting the whole place on fire. Stuff like this is so common and sooo annoying.

most definitely. Things like this happen way too often, so glad I'm outta here.

tribulus

I understand your annoyance. My experience was the opposite though! We were told weeks in advance the date of the interviews and told who would be interviewed 2 days before hand as well as the times for each person. Our results were released by 4pm that day.

I'd be pissed too, I know some people in my course needed to know as soon as possible to apply for postgrads or jobs or UK universities and they would have kicked up a fuss if they were messed around like in your case.

mloc

@Trib : Thats just cos Pharmacology look after their students!

tywy

What was the external examiner like, were you called in?

Us Elecs have to have our FYP posters up so that the extern can ask us questions about them, then people might be called in.

I've forgotten everything already, hope they don't choose me :P

Stepherunie

My external is really nice. He happened to teach me when I was on Erasmus.

I had dealings with one other extern in second year and he was a bit of a nutter, a nice nutter, but a nutter none the less.

xeroshero

Yep... I know the feeling! Ive just *finished* 4th year (hopefully!) We had an extern in last Friday, we were told teh same as ye - sit by your phone all day Thursday if you hear you hear, if you don't, you don't. It was "tough sh*t" if you live down the country, only find out on Thursday evening you have this interview at 9 o'clock on Friday morning... Crazy sh*t, so unfair! So, (thankfully) I wasn't called for it (I was praying I wouldn't be called - as ya can be asked ANYTHING from the last four yrs, but usually third and fourth year and as I did a very specific course, these Qs would have been impossible to answer!)

No idea when our resulst are out - a lecturer who *should* know whats going on said they would be out last friday - nadda! I'm wondering - MAYBE tomorrow... Doubtful though! Its so snnoying, at least if we were given a definite date, whenever that may be @ least we would know for sure (not that anything is definite or "for sure" with UCD).... sigh!

Its annoying... I have a job lined up but it is dependent on me, obviously, getting my degree!!!! Which due to a number fo SH*T exams - is now a little in doubt!

PLus, my *graduation* (should) be in lat eJune, if we don't get results until the 16th June, that only gives me a week to sort out what Im doing for it! Family want to go out for meal etc, I don't want to book anything until I have got me results and def am graduating!!! It sSO annoying, as my lecturers had to have their grades in last Tues, and then the extern in on Friday so there is NO (?) reason as to why we can't/shouldn't get our results tomorrow? (who knows maybe we will but....)

Sorry, rant over....

I knwo the p!ssed off feeling though!

wonderworm

Stepherunie wrote: »

They have messed with us continuely. We have our last exam this coming monday. They've changed the 'final' timetable 3 times for said exam and changed it's format and timing completely from what we were told.

Who has changed your timetable 3 times, ALU haven't changed the timetable since it was published, what course r u on anyway?

Stepherunie

It's not an ALU timetable, we have internal exams as well as ALU run ones.

Its an oral and they're holding it the same day as exam board and that kept changing so our course we kept being changed.

Oh and ALU timetables were changed, but to be fair, the students had been told that those particular exams were liable to be changed so everyone was aware.

Tails142

External examiners will only call in people who have generally failed due to one subject or are one percent away from a higher grade.

If you dont show up for the interview I presume you wont be moved up - so its really in your own interest to be there to be called.

tywy

Tails142 wrote: »

External examiners will only call in people who have generally failed due to one subject or are one percent away from a higher grade.

If you dont show up for the interview I presume you wont be moved up - so its really in your own interest to be there to be called.

That was only in the old days, that can't really be done now because of modualrisation supposedly...

tribulus

There were 12 people called in for interviews in my course. 8 people got firsts. I was out with 2 of these and they mentioned the others who were at the interview. They were all the ones who were expected to do the best in general. So we came to the conclusion that only those getting firsts or close to it were called in.

Just to add some more hearsay and speculation!

Stepherunie

I've been told by one of my lecturers that if you sit on one percent below the following grade you will automatically be moved up to that grade. This was told to me as a definate as I fell into that category after one of my grades got changed.

It seems very course dependent how they actually do it.

If there are going to be orals in ours they haven't told us about it, that said that could be something to do with NOT BEING FINISHED (4 hours....). But I do know exam boards are being held today for our course.

Pythia

There was no interviews for my course last year. Is this a new thing?

tribulus

It's been in Science before/pre-modularisation.

Sarn

Certainly from my experience it is everyone who gets a first (to determine top of the class) and those who are borderline 2.1-1 or 2.2-2.1. Also anybody who's had extenuating circumstances or did unusually badly in their exams contrary to previous performance.

There was a time in my department when every student had to have an oral exam even though it had no bearing on a middling grade. Modularisation has messed up the system somewhat.

xeroshero

Has any 4th years (who had externs) got their results yet? I find myself checking nearly everyday but nah! Im going away on hols on Friday and would love to have them before then (doubtful I know)

I know "no later than the 16th June" is the date for all results but again, surely 4 th years can get them a bit earliar, considering I know for a fact, they have been corrected and are sitting on the system for the last two bloody weeks!!!! :mad:

breadmonkey

xeroshero wrote: »

Has any 4th years (who had externs) got their results yet? I find myself checking nearly everyday but nah! Im going away on hols on Friday and would love to have them before then (doubtful I know)

I know "no later than the 16th June" is the date for all results but again, surely 4 th years can get them a bit earliar, considering I know for a fact, they have been corrected and are sitting on the system for the last two bloody weeks!!!! :mad:

RED TAPE!

I wouldn't bank on getting them before everyone else. I know I won't be.

tribulus

xeroshero wrote: »

Has any 4th years (who had externs) got their results yet? I find myself checking nearly everyday but nah! Im going away on hols on Friday and would love to have them before then (doubtful I know)

I know "no later than the 16th June" is the date for all results but again, surely 4 th years can get them a bit earliar, considering I know for a fact, they have been corrected and are sitting on the system for the last two bloody weeks!!!! :mad:

As I said, 4th Pharmacology had their external examinations on the 22nd May and we (the whole class, not those who were examined) received our results later that day.

It's clear from this thread though that's it's entirely dependent on which department you're in.

xeroshero

breadmonkey wrote: »

I wouldn't bank on getting them before everyone else. I know I won't be.

Hmm, I agree really... Its kinda sh*t though, my graduation is on the 25th June, so its only 9 days later! Biut crap, as the final exams were a TOTAL DISASTER so Im actually worried about failing one of them! :O So its a bit sh*t, my parents will be away for my grad, so trying to sort that out too - who's coming, thinking of going out fir dinner that evening/nigh, don't want to book anyway until Ive got the results etc etc... Just frustrating!! Not to mention that I have a job, due to start in july, dependent on results, I need to get accomdation sorted for that in the next couple of weeks.... SIGH!!! (sorry, rant over...ish!lol)