BSc (Hons) in Science Information Pack
Stage 1
BSc (Hons) in Science
Welcome
On behalf of all of the staff in the Department of Life and Health Sciences DkIT, I would like to welcome you to the Institute and to the Department. We hope that you will enjoy your chosen science programme and will develop a level of knowledge and skills that will allow you to move into employment as a fully qualified scientist or to progress to a more advanced science programme, either here or in another institution.
During your first year here, you will undergo an important transition from a second level to a third level environment If you are a mature student, you may be returning to full time study after a long break from education. As you face the challenges that lie ahead, it is important to remember that there is a lot of help available to you within the Institute and the Department.
One of the challenges you will encounter is the move towards a more independent mode of learning. This means that a successful learning experience here will be largely up to you. Your lecturers and I will help and guide you as much as possible but it is ultimately your responsibility to attend your programme and complete your assignments. If your attendance at classes is poor and you do not maintain a steady routine of study throughout the semester, this will seriously affect your opportunity to be successful in your first year and progress to the second stage of your programme.
If you encounter difficulties which may affect your ability to complete your course of study, whether they are academic, personal or practical, it is important to speak with your 1st year convenor Siobhán Mc Carthy, lecturers and/or myself as early as possible.
On behalf of the staff of the Department of Life and Health Sciences, I wish you an enjoyable, fulfilling and successful first year.
Kind regards,
Dr Gillian Lambe Head of School of Life and Health Science
DEPARTMENTAL RULES and POLICIES
CLASS CONDUCT:
Students in a third level environment have considerably more freedom than in secondary school. However, in lectures, tutorials and practical classes, you are expected to behave in a manner that is respectful of your lecturer and fellow students and does not jeopardise other students’ learning opportunities. You are expected to:
• Be punctual for class,
• Give your full attention to the learning tasks,
• Silence your mobile phone and/or other electronic devices (e.g., iPods).
• Wear a face covering in line with public health guidance
• Maintain social distancing in line with public health guidance
Students causing significant disruption in a class environment may be asked to leave. If there are circumstances that will affect your ability to adhere to these policies, please inform your lecturer.
DEPARTMENTAL RULES and POLICIES
LABORATORY CONDUCT:
Laboratory classes are an important part of your learning activity and can be very stimulating and enjoyable. However, it is important that you follow these simple rules to ensure your safety and the safety of other students. Please see appendix for full list of laboratory rules.
• Smoking, eating, drinking and chewing gum are prohibited in all laboratories.
• Laboratory coats must be worn at all times (with the exception of the Physics lab).
• Safety glasses must be worn in all labs, with the exception of the Physics lab and the Food Technology lab. You may be allowed to remove your safety glasses in some laboratories (e.g. Biology, Microbiology) – this will be at the discretion of your lecturer.
• You must arrive on time for laboratory classes. These classes generally begin with an explanatory lecture and practical demonstration or skills training. If you are late, your lecturer may not allow you to join the class if there are safety implications.
• You must follow the instructions of your lecturer during laboratory periods. Your lecturer may ask you to leave the laboratory if you are behaving in a manner that compromises the safety of yourself or your fellow students.
• Open-toed footwear and finger rings should not be worn during laboratory classes.
• Students do not have access to the Science Preparation Room.
ASSESSMENT OF LABORATORY CLASSES:
During the semester, you will be assessed on your effort and participation in laboratory classes as well as on weekly, written, laboratory reports or skills tests. Making a good effort in laboratory classes and submitting high quality reports is an effective way of accumulating marks throughout the year, as well as a means of developing important laboratory skills. Your total mark for lab work will calculated from the average of your weekly marks.
If you do not attend a laboratory class, you will be awarded a mark of zero for that class. If you attend the class but do not submit a report, you will be awarded 10% of the available marks. You should strive to attend all of your laboratory classes.
For students that have a legitimate reason for missing a laboratory class, please bring this to the attention of your lecturer. The following will be applied where evidence of legitimate absence is provided (e.g. sick certs):
• Students that have a laboratory class every week: no marks will be deducted for two missed laboratory classes.
• Students that have a laboratory class every other week: no marks will be deducted for one missed laboratory class.
Notes from sports coaches (where students are representing the Institute in sports activities) will be considered in the same manner. Other valid reasons for missing classes, e.g. family bereavements, may also be considered at the discretion of the lecturer. Please provide original sick certs and other notes to the Science office and provide all of your lecturers with copies of these, within 10 days of the scheduled class.
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT (CA):
In most of your subjects, a significant proportion of the total marks for the module will be awarded for continuous assessment activities. These can take many forms including laboratory reports (see above), essays, projects, class tests and other assignments. If you are unable to attend laboratory classes or continuous assessment tests or you miss a deadline for submission of an assignment as a result of illness or any medical appointment (including a visit to the Nurse or Dentist) or another valid reason (e.g. family bereavement), you must complete a CA absence form (see appendix, also available on the Science corridor) and attach a medical certificate or note. You should submit this to your lecturer and provide a copy to the Science Office, within 10 days of the continuous assessment activity or deadline.
If you miss a continuous assessment for a legitimate, verifiable reason (e.g. bereavement or illness), you may be allowed to an opportunity to recover the marks available for the assignment or have the deadline extended. Consult your lecturer(s) or Continuous Assessment Schedule about whether the assignment is recoverable. (Please note, laboratory classes and field trips are not recoverable).
CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT(CA):
If you miss a continuous assessment for a reason that is not legitimate and/or verifiable and the assignment accounts for a considerable proportion of your total module mark, you may be allowed to repeat it to achieve a maximum mark of 40%. Consult your lecturer about whether the assignment is repeatable. The attached CA Cover Sheet (see appendix) should form the cover of all submitted continuous assessment work.
If a student does not agree with the mark awarded for any CA component, they may request a review of the mark. Prior to this, the student should discuss the mark with their lecturer. The CA appeal form is attached (see appendix) or available in the Science Corridor. Once completed by the student, this form should be submitted to the Head of Department. For further information about continuous assessment policies, please consult the Continuous Assessment Procedures Document https://www.dkit.ie/registrars-office/academic-policies/continuous-assessmentpolicy-procedures which is available on the Institute website
PLAGIARISM:
Plagiarism is the representation of the words or ideas of another as your own in any academic exercise (i.e. cogging and copying). Acknowledgment is required when material from another source stored in print, electronic or other medium is paraphrased or summarised in whole or in part in your own words. Direct quotes should be presented using quotation marks at the beginning and end of the passage. In the field of science, it is very unusual to quote another’s work verbatim and quotations should be used sparingly. A common example of plagiarism is cutting and pasting information directly from the Internet into an essay or project. You must present this information in your own words and reference the source of the information. Plagiarism is a breach of the Institute Academic Integrity policy and the penalties can be very severe. For example you may lose all the available marks for an exercise if it is discovered that a significant proportion of the material presented has been plagiarised from another source. Please note that your lecturers have access to plagiarism detection software called Turnitin, which can calculate the percentage of your document that has been directly copied from another source.
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If you are unsure about whether you may be plagiarising material in an academic context, please consult your lecturer or Head of Department.
Dos and Don’ts of Plagiarism:
Do read the reference material (READ)
Do write it in your own words (RE-WORD)
Do reference correctly using the Harvard system (REFERENCE)
Do put quotations in inverted commas (and use quotations sparingly)
Do use the School CA Cover Sheet (see appendix) for all assignments and sign it
Don’t copy material word for word
Don’t copy material word for word and then change a few words
Don’t use too many quotations – use only where absolutely necessary
Don’t reference websites unless absolutely necessary and only if the information is from a reliable source (e.g. recommended by your lecturer).
ONLINELEARNING
Classes and tutorials may be conducted online. Although the delivery may be different the standard of instruction will be the same. Classes may be pre-recorded by a lecturer or live. It is important to engage with all classes. Students are expected to be present for online classes in the same way as they should be present for Face-to-Face classes. Familiarise yourself with the online platform the lecturer is using. It is imperative that you regularly check your emails and Moodle for updates as these are the primary form of contact from DkIT.
EXAMINATIONS:
The rules governing examinations are detailed in the Student Handbook Please read these very carefully before your examinations. If you are confused about any issue in relation to your exams, please consult your Year Convenor or Head of Department. Some general information that may help you to interpret your examination results is as follows:
• The academic year is divided into 2 semesters: Semester 1 from Sept to Dec and Semester 2 from Jan. to May.
• Your programme is 4 years duration, i.e. 8 semesters.
• During each semester you will take 4, 5 or 6 mandatory modules and will be assessed in each one, either by continuous assessment or end-of-semester examination or in most cases, a combination of both of these End of semester examinations occur in January and May You will have an opportunity to repeat exams from both semesters in mid-August.
• Each module is assigned a number of credits. You are awarded the credits associated with a module when you pass it. The total credits awarded for each semester is 30 and for each stage of a programme is 60. If you complete the programme, you will have accumulated 240 credits
• The pass mark in all Science modules is 40%. You may be in a position to pass by compensation if you have 35-40% in a module, have passed all other modules and have excess marks in them. See the Assessment and Standards Policy for details. https://www.dkit.ie/registrars-office/academicpolicies/assessment-standards
• In addition to achieving an overall pass mark of 40%, you must also achieve at least 30% in the Final Examination and Practical components of each of your modules (where these components exist).
EXAMINATIONS (contd.):
• You must pass all modules in each semester of your programme to obtain your award, i.e. you must gain 240 credits.
• You can progress from one stage of the programme to the next stage with 55 credits but the remaining 5 credits for the stage must be cleared within the next stage. For example, if you fail a 5-credit module in semester 1 of first year and are unsuccessful in the Autumn repeat examination, you may progress to stage 2 of the programme but you must pass the stage 1 module in second year. Students are strongly advised to obtain all 60 credits before progressing Also, it is important to remember that this ’55-credit’ rule does not necessarily mean that you can ‘carry a subject’. Many of the Science subjects have been assigned 7.5 credits and cannot be carried.
Programme Schedule – Science (Level 8)
Semester 1
Programme Schedule – Science (Level 8)
Stage 1
Semester 2
Appendices
Policy on Use of Electronic Devices
DkIT Laboratory Rules
Continuous Assessment Cover Sheet
Continuous Assessment Absence Form
POLICY ON THE USE OF ELECTRONIC DEVICES
Use Of Electronic Devices:
The Department of Life and Health Sciences has agreed the following on the use of electronic devices:
• Electronic devices can be used for displaying notes (e.g. from Moodle etc).
• Electronic devices must not be used in practical laboratory classes (wet-labs).
• Electronic devices must not be used for recording purposes (picture, sound or video), unless explicit permission is obtained from the lecturer. Permission should be obtained before every recording. Lecturers are under no obligation to grant permission for recording lectures or other resources used. All presentations, hand-outs and supporting materials are the intellectual property of the lecturer.
• No information or materials (from lectures, labs or materials provided (e.g. Moodle hand-outs) should be posted on the internet (including Social Media sites). This is a legal requirement and also governed by the Institute’s ‘Communicating Online and the Use of Social Networking Sites Policy’):
• https://www.dkit.ie/registrars-office/academicpolicies/communicating-online-use-social-networking-sites-policy
• If in doubt – ask your lecturer!
Please note the following:
• Failure to adhere to the above may result in you being asked to leave the lecture or lab and report to the relevant Programme Director or Head of Department.
• Electronic devices should not be plugged into the mains (unless PAT tested) as these pose a potential electrical hazard.
LABORATORY RULES
You must follow the instructions of your lecturer during laboratory periods. Your lecturer/demonstrator will ask you to leave the laboratory if you are behaving in a manner that compromises the safety of yourself or your fellow students.
1. Do not enter the laboratory without supervision.
2. You must arrive on time for laboratory classes. These classes generally begin with an explanatory lecture and practical demonstration or skills training. If you are late, your lecturer/demonstrator will not allow you to join the class if there are safety implications.
3. Laboratory coats must be worn at all times and buttoned up properly (with the exception of the Physics laboratory).
4. Safety glasses must be worn in all labs (with the exception of the Physics and Food Technology laboratories). Contact lens should not be worn in laboratory areas. Wear safety glasses over prescription glasses or use prescription safety glasses. You may be allowed to remove your safety glasses in some laboratories (e.g. Biology, Microbiology) – this will be at the discretion of your lecturer.
5. Sandals or open shoes must not be worn in the laboratory.
6. Tie long hair back and remove dangling accessories and finger jewellery.
7. Protective gloves should be worn where necessary.
8. Mobile phones should be switched off while in the laboratory.
9. Smoking, eating, drinking, chewing gum and applying cosmetics are prohibited in all laboratories.
10. Students who are suspected to be under the influence of a toxicant (i.e. alcohol or drugs) to the extent that they may endanger their own or other’s safety will be asked to leave the laboratory.
11. Read the practical procedures and pay attention to the warnings about dangerous chemicals and biohazards, taking care to follow any safe work procedures that have been outlined.
12. Know the locations of the emergency exits, first aid boxes, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, safety showers and emergency contacts (see below).
13. Evacuate the building once the fire alarm has sounded. Comply with fire warden instructions.
14.Entrances and exits must be kept free. Bags, coats etc. must be stored in lockers or under benches.
15. Report all accidents to the lecture/demonstrator or technician.
16.Report all equipment breakages to the lecturer/demonstrator or technician.
17. Do not pipette by mouth. Use appropriate pipette pumps or automatic pipettes.
18. Solvents should be disposed of in the relevant labelled disposal waste bottles provided. Do not mix chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents.
19.Broken glass or sharp objects should be placed in the sharps bin.
20.Working areas, fumehoods and equipment must be kept tidy.
21.Always wash your hands when leaving the laboratory.
Continuous Assessment Cover Sheet
Student Name: Student Number:
Programme: Stage: Complete Student Checklist:
Module:
Due Date: No. Pages:
Lecturer’s Name:
Re-read brief
References and Bibliography
Proofread
Assignment No and/or Description/Topic: Mode of Submission: Softcopy
Hardcopy
DECLARATION: I declare that:
• This work is entirely my own, and no part of it has been copied from any other person’s words or ideas, except as specifically acknowledged through the use of inverted commas and in-text references;
• No part of this assignment has been written for me by any other person except where such collaboration has been authorised by the lecturer concerned;
• I understand that I am bound by DkIT Academic Integrity Policy. I understand that I may be penalised if I have violated the policy in any way;
• This assignment has not been submitted for any other module at DkIT or any other institution, unless authorised by the relevant Lecturer(s);
• I have read and abided by all of the requirements set down for this assignment.
Lecturer’s Comments:
School of Health and Science
Continuous Assessment Absence Form
(See reverse side for information on the use of this form)
For Student Use
Student Details
Name:
Programme:
Stage:
Details of Assessment Exercise
Lecturers Name: Module Title: ________________________
Assessment Completion Date: ______________________
Have you consulted with your lecturer, if so on what date ? ____________________________
State why you missed the exercise/deadline (attach supporting evidence/documentation where possible). ****************************************************************************
For Lecturers Use
Lecturers Name: _________________
I accept the above as a valid absence:
I do not accept the above as a valid absence:
Decision : _______________________________________________________________
Continuous Assessment Absence Form
Using this Form
➢ This form must be completed by any student who has been absent from a Continuous assessment or Course Work exercise, or has missed a deadline for submission of work and requests that their absence be given special consideration.
➢ The form must be submitted within 10 working days of the date of the exercise/deadline.
➢ Supporting documentation such as explanatory details or medical certificates etc., must be attached if possible.
➢ The student must apply directly to the module lecturer.
➢ A duplicate of the application must also be submitted to the relevant Department Office within the same deadline.
➢ Original medical certificates etc. must be attached to the relevant Department Office copy.
➢ This form refers to both Theory and Practical continuous assessment.