Your rights and responsibilities  

General responsibilities

The University of Galway is committed to providing you with an excellent educational experience, to help you realise your ambitions. Staff and students can work together to achieve this aim. The university commits to treating you in a professional, courteous and helpful way. It is our responsibility to:

• deliver high quality, relevant programmes
• provide an environment which will help you to be successful
• communicate effectively with you and listen to your views
• respect the different needs of all our students and be fair, open and reasonable

You are an ambassador for the university and should behave with honesty and integrity.

It is your responsibility to:

• behave in a professional and respectful way in your interactions with other students, staff, visitors to the university and our neighbours
• take your course seriously and seek advice and help if you have any problems
• give us feedback on your experience
• tell us if you have any specific learning needs or disabilities so that we can support you

The University of Galway Code of Conduct provides further detail on what we expect of you. The code is available here.

Conduct in class

Time in university is not just a preparation for professional life; it is itself a professional environment. The following conventions must be observed in all classes, by both staff and students:

• Students and staff are obliged to attend all classes, on time and for their entirety
• Students and staff are obliged to arrive at class with material prepared in advance
• Students are obliged to participate fully in all class activities as set by the lecturer / instructor
• Classes start on the hour and finish ten to the hour (e.g. start at 10am, finish at 10:50am).
  • o Students and staff are expected to be present at least two or three minutes before the hour, so that classes can begin punctually.
  • o Students and staff should leave the class as quickly as possible at ten to the hour so that the next group can have access to the room

General conduct

The following conventions exist for the sake of all students and staff:

• Mobile phones should not be used during classes, except for professional purposes.
• Laptops and tablets may be used for note-taking or for in-class research, but students should not engage in activities that would distract them or a fellow student (social media, browsing the internet, etc).
• It is acceptable to bring water or a drink to class, but students may not eat during classes or in the media lab or newsrooms. Food and/or drinks are not allowed in studios under any circumstances.
• Class participation does not just involve expressing opinions, it also involves listening to other people’s opinions. Please be respectful of your fellow students by ensuring that you are not dominating discussions at the expense of others, going off on irrelevant tangents, or otherwise behaving inappropriately.
• Debate is a normal and indeed important element of university life. You should respect the right of people to hold opinions that are different from your own, even about matters that you feel passionately about. You should also expect occasionally to encounter views and opinions that you find challenging, upsetting, offensive, confusing or contentious, and it is important in any democratic and open society that there is space for the expression of views that you do not agree with. We should strive always to respect the individual, regardless of his or her views.
• It is unacceptable for students or staff to express either in class or in written documentation any disparaging remarks about individuals or people based on their gender identification, their age, their religious convictions, their race, their ethnicity, membership of the Traveller Community, nationality, sexuality, political convictions, or any other personal characteristics. This does not preclude criticism of institutions, movements or nations, but the requirement is the protection of the dignity of the individual, in keeping with the University of Galway student and staff codes of conduct.
• Students should not under any circumstances attend classes under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. This is particularly important for practical classes. Being hungover is considered being “under the influence of alcohol”.

Attendance, punctuality and sick leave

Regular and punctual attendance is essential not just to the development of the student but also of the group. For that reason, we place strong emphasis on the need for all students to attend all classes. Lecturers will take attendance for every class and you may be asked to attend a meeting with the programme director if you have persistent absences.

If you miss a class due to illness, you should inform the lecturer in advance by email, and should bring a medical certificate to the next class. This will be kept on file. Students who miss in-class assessments (e.g., group presentations or news writing assignments) due to illness may, upon presentation of a certificate, be given permission to defer that portion of their assessment until the end of the semester. Normally this will involve students being obliged to complete extra make-up work. Students who miss in-class assessments without a medical certificate will automatically lose the marks for that assessment and may not make alternative arrangements.

Students who persistently miss class without a reasonable excuse (certified illness, bereavement) may be referred to the university’s disciplinary committee. Likewise, lateness to class is unacceptable under any circumstances. Repeat offenders may be subject to disciplinary action.

The presentation of a medical certificate does not automatically entitle a student to miss a class or hand in work late. Students with long-term health issues should be aware that, due to the participatory nature of this programme, a certain number of absences for certain practical modules – even if excusable on medical grounds – may preclude the possibility of a passing grade.

Extra-curricular activities

We believe that a university is enriched by the presence of a healthy and vibrant range of extra-curricular activities. We therefore are particularly glad to see our students participating in SIN, the student newspaper, and Flirt FM, the student radio station, as well as other societies – while noting that academic work has to always take precedence over extra- curricular activity. When a conflict exists between academic commitments and extra-curricular work, students must prioritise their course work.

Freelancing

From time to time, students will have opportunities to engage in professional work (e.g. freelancing and covering special events such as elections). We recognise the importance of such opportunities to students and, where possible, will seek to facilitate your participation in them. Do note, however, that we remain obliged to enforce the university’s regulations about attendance, participation and assessment. For that reason, any student who is likely to be absent for a long period (more than a few days) should prioritise their university obligations.