Dublin City University
Oscail – DCU Distance Education
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Answers to some questions frequently asked by students thinking of commencing an undergraduate programme with Oscail.
- Who are Oscail?
- Why participate in Lifelong Learning?
- What are the entry requirements?
- What costs are involved?
- What supports are in place for students?
- Can I get credit or exemptions for prior certified learning?
- Do I need a computer?
- How am I assessed?
- How much time does it take to complete a degree?
- Who awards my diploma/degree?
- What level is the degree awarded at?
- Is there any compulsory attendance?
- When and how can I apply?
- What is registration?
- When and how does registration take place?
Who are Oscail?
Oscail is the school of Distance Education of Dublin City University (DCU). For over 25 years, we have offered distance education degree undergraduate programmes to adults all over Ireland (and increasingly abroad).
Why participate in Lifelong Learning?
If you hope to improve your career prospects by completing one of our programmes, it is worth noting that employers normally consider a degree as evidence of a certain level of intellectual competence, commitment and the ability to complete a substantial programme of study over a sustained period of time.
Alternatively, if you want to pursue a course of study out of interest then our undergraduate programmes could meet your needs. As all Oscail programmes are modular, you can take the number of modules that fits the time you have available for study.
What are the entry requirements?
No previous qualifications are required for our undergraduate programmes if you are over 23 years of age .
Those under 23 years on 1st January of the forthcoming academic year must meet the normal entry requirements of Dublin City University , which are as follows: Grade C3 in two Higher Level subjects and Grade D3 in four Odinary or Higher Level subjects including Mathematics AND English or Irish. If you are under 23, a copy of your Leaving Certificate ( Ireland ) results must be forwarded to Oscail to complete your application.
Programmes offered by Oscail require a high level of competence in the English language. DCU's English language requirements for non-native speakers of English can be found at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/english.shtml.
What costs are involved?
Fees are payable for Oscail programmes. Information on fees is available here.
You should also budget for textbooks and other incidental costs such as internet connection charges, printing etc.
Tax Relief
At the time of writing tax relief is available at the standard rate on fees for Oscail DCU programmes. You can obtain further information by ringing the Revenue Commissioner's Information Office or visit their website at http://www.revenue.ie.
What supports are in place for students?
Oscail provides two types of tutorial support – classroom and online, depending on the programme and/or module selected.
You are appointed to a tutor for each module you are studying. Tutors are there to:
- assist you in developing your skills as an independent learner
- help you understand the course content
- assess your progress on the course, through assignments
- provide you with feedback in the form of detailed written comments on your assignments
- help you with course-related problems
Classroom Support
Classroom tutorials are intended to provide an opportunity for group discussion and amplification of issues in the course manuals, textbooks or assignments. To ensure that tutorials are lively and stimulating, participants are expected to prepare in advance by reading relevant material and, if appropriate, by advising their tutor of particular topics that they would like to have included in the session.
Classroom tutorials are either two or three hours' duration and are nearly always held on Saturdays. On the BA programmes turorials are currently presented in:
- Dublin City University
- NUI Galway
- NUI Maynooth
- University College Cork
The presentation of tutorials in any particular study centre will depend on viable student numbers and the availability of a local tutor. Therefore, whether tutorials will take place for particular modules on the BA programmes in each study centre is confirmed after registration.
All tutorials on the BSc programmes take place in Dublin City University.
Attendance at tutorials on all Oscail programmes is not compulsory.
Online Support
Online tutorial support replicates the classroom experience and takes a number of forms. On all Oscail programmes, students are registered in an online learning environment. (Oscail currently uses Moodle.) In this environment, students can communicate with their tutor and with the other students in their tutorial group in online group discussion forums. Tutors may recommend appropriate online (and offline) resources. They may also suggest discussion items or online exercises. Except when privacy is an issue, all communication between students and online tutors takes place in the online group discussion forums. Students may also make use of an online chat facility.
Increasingly, Oscail is making use of 'live' online tutorial classroom using a system called Wimba. This system allows students to go online at specific times and receive instruction, interact with their tutors and fellow students, etc. One major advantage of this form of tutorial delivery is that they can be recorded and viewed later by students. Oscail is rolling out Wimba in with a range of modules on its undergraduate programmes in the 2011/2012 academic year with a view to having Wimba-based tutorial support on all modules in the coming academic years.
Student Advisory Service
Oscail has developed a professional support system for its students. While Course Tutors can assist with course content queries, Student Advisors are available to answer student queries and offer advice on:
- module choice
- workload
- leave of absence
- deferral of studies
- study difficulties such as illness, work or domestic circumstances that may affect students' studies.
The Student Advisory Service in Oscail can be contacted by telephone, e-mail, fax, post or by visiting in person. Contact details are available here.
Online Services
Oscail students are provided with an individualised, password protected, micro-website that provides them with up to date information on the modules they are registered for, who their tutors are and their assignment and examination marks. In addition, all other course related information is available through Moodle (DCU's virtual learning environment) or the Oscail Current Students website.
Libraries
You will have access to the DCU Library. It is worth noting that you may browse or search library catalogues online. Students attending Study Centres other DCU are normally granted access to the library at that study centre (however borrowing privileges are currently not available).
Increasing use is being made on Oscail programmes of the online journal databases provided by DCU Library. These provide registered DCU students with off-campus access to the full text of the articles in a huge range of academic journals. They also provide access to a wide range of other resources which can be useful to Oscail students (such as the back catalogue of a large number of newspapers).
Can I get credit or exemptions for prior certified learning?
Applicants with suitable prior qualifications may apply to be exempted from the requirement to complete some modules on the undergraduate programmes.
Students are required to firstly apply for a place on the programme and, once their application has been accepted, they can apply for exemptions. Students who are applying for exemptions are not normally required to pay the deposit until they know the outcome of their exemption application.
Further information on exemption is available in the specific programme sections under the 'How to Apply?' tab.
Do I need a computer?
Students need to have access to a PC. Oscail - DCU Distance Education makes extensive use of e-mail for communication with students and uses the Oscail website and the Moodle virtual learning environment to provide course materials, timetables, course assignments, past examination papers and other documentation. Also, students submit assignments online and can access tutor details, assessment and examination marks online. Most importantly, substantial tutor support is provided online. So, regular access to a computer with a broadband internet connection is essential.
Students should also have access to Microsoft Word. In addition, students on the BSc programmes are required to have access to Microsoft Excel and Access .
How am I assessed?
Assessment of academic performance for most undergraduate programmes is through continuous assignment work and/or examinations.
Assignments
In general, participants are required to complete a number of assignments for each study module. The role of assignments is primarily to develop learning skills and active learning. You will benefit far more from active engagement with course assignments than from passive reading of course notes or texts. Reading of required and optional textbooks and frequent reference to relevant journals is also an important element of active learning and assignment preparation. The use of the Internet in researching assignment topics is also required in most modules.
Participants make use of computers in preparing and submitting their assignments e.g. spreadsheets and word processors, including sometimes the use of drawing and presentation tools. Word processing of assignments is a minimum requirement.
Submission dates for assignments are the milestones in the programme.
Examinations
In general there is one examination per module, held at the end of the academic year in May. There is also resit examinations in August. Some modules do not have examinations. Students can sit their May examinations in DCU, UCC or NUIG. The August examinations are held in DCU only. Examinations are only held in Ireland.
Module Grade
Grades achieved in continuous assessment, based on course assignments, together with grades attained in written examinations will be considered jointly in determining the final module grade, normally on a 50/50 percentage ratio basis. Where appropriate, some module grades are determined by continuous assessment alone.
How much time does it take?
The most common difficulty experienced by our students relates not to the course content itself, but to the difficulty of fitting study time into a crowded schedule with many other commitments. Ask yourself ‘How much time do you have available for study each week, after you take into account working, housework, family, and social activities'?
On average, you will need to spend approximately 12 hours per week for each week of the academic year studying each undergraduate module and 15 hours per week for each post-graduate module.
Oscail recommends that new undergraduate students register for only two credit modules in their first year.
Who awards my Degree/Diploma?
All programmes offered through Oscail - DCU Distance Education are awarded by Dublin City University.
What level is the degree awarded at?
All undergraduate degrees are Honours Degrees (Level 8 in the National Framework of Qualifications or NFQ).
The diplomas are exit award after the successful completion of eight modules and are classified as Minor Awards at Level 8.
Is there any compulsory attendance?
For undergraduate programmes, attendance at tutorials is not compulsory. However, attendance at examinations is compulsory in order to successfully complete modules.
Normally there is a two-day compulsory workshop for the Psychology 6A and Sociology 6B modules.
When and how can I apply?
The application process normally opens in the Spring each year. (Please see the specific programme sections under the 'How to Apply?' tab.)
What is Registration?
Registration takes place each year and it is when you decide which modules you will undertake for the coming academic year.
When and how does registration take place?
Registration takes place online in July and August. There is no attendance required for registration.
