NUI GALWAY WELCOMES ITS NEW ERASMUS STUDENTS! Bienvenue – Willkommen – Benvenuti Bienvenidos - Witajcie – Velkommen Tervetuloa – Merħba Bem-vindos - Välkommen – Welkom Vítejte - Hoş geldiniz - Üdvözöljük! Fáilte! International Affairs Office 7 Distillery Road International Affairs Office – ERASMUS • Location: 7 Distillery Road (near the AIB Bank on Newcastle Road) • Office hours: Monday to Friday, 9.15 – 13.00 and 14.15 – 17.00 • Mary Lyons, Institutional Erasmus Coordinator – upstairs in room 201 • Gisèle Farrell, Administrative Assistant – downstairs in room 103 • E-mail: [email protected] Louise Coyle • Upstairs in 12 Distillery Road, room 12D1002 (the other side of the street, the one with the roses!  ) • Louise deals with Course Selection, Examinations, etc for all Visiting Students. Your Registration Pack contains • Your personal registration confirmation letter • Course selection advice leaflet • Course selection form (purple) • Change of course selection form (blue) • Information on English Classes • ID card No ID card included? Save a passport-sized photo in the following format, showing your first name and family name, and your ID number: e.g. johnsmith_14109999.jpg and send it to [email protected] Your ID card will be ready for collection from the Student Contact Centre in 5 days. Visiting Student Academic Information • Handbook available on our website: click on “Courses” • Hard (i.e. paper) copies will be distributed here tomorrow morning (Friday) at the first Advisory Session (“Exam Information & Course Selection”). • This session is OBLIGATORY for all Visiting Students. • 10:00 to 11:00, Bailey Allen Hall Academic Advisory Sessions tomorrow • Various Academic Departments will give detailed advice tomorrow, between 11.00 and 17.00: Sociological & Political Studies; English; History; Philosophy; Psychology; Languages; Geography/Archaeology; Law, Business; Science; Engineering See Events List for detailed schedule. Selecting your Courses • The Visiting Student Academic Information Booklet contains a list of all the courses available to you. • Course = Module • Course (Module) registration is on Monday, 22nd September. • Change of mind deadline: 29th September. Selecting your courses (modules) • Make sure you know what your home university expects of you (e.g. how many ECTS credits) • If necessary, contact your home university coordinator. • Academic Advice at NUI Galway: contact the academic/discipline coordinator. See Handbook; list also on our website. Selecting your courses (modules) (continued) • The International Office cannot give you academic advice! • You may only choose courses listed in the Visiting Student Handbook. • English, History: you may take as many lecture courses as you wish, provided there are no timetable clashes, but there is a limit on the number of places in seminar courses. Registering your courses (modules) • English Seminar courses: Thursday, 11th September at 11.00, Aula Maxima (downstairs). When you register for an English Seminar Course, you will receive a letter. Bring this letter to Course Registration on the 22nd (along with your Course Selection Form), to show that the English Department has admitted you to this seminar course. English • Queries on timetables, etc Ms Irene O’Malley Room 511, 3rd Floor, Tower 1 • Signature on Learning Agreements Ms Dearbhla Mooney Room 509, 3rd Floor, Tower 1 • Academic Advice: Dr Richard Pearson Room 308, 1st Floor, Tower 1 Registering your courses (modules) (continued) • History seminars & colloquia also have limited places. • Talk to the lecturer; if approved, you receive a letter. Some terms (words) used at NUI Galway • “College” = Faculty • “School” – covers various related disciplines, e.g. School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures • “Discipline” = Department, one subject area within a School, e.g. French, Irish. Often still known as “Departments” Registering your courses (modules) (continued) • Classes begin on Monday, 8th September. • Timetables: websites or offices of the various Schools or Disciplines. • 2 weeks to make course choice Registering your courses (modules) (continued) • Your course selection form must be signed by your Erasmus Academic Coordinator here at NUI Galway. • We strongly discourage you from selecting courses from different Colleges (faculties). • But you may choose outside of your own Discipline in the College of Arts. • You will provide your “term address” (that’s your address in Galway) on this form. • Course Registration: 22nd September, Áras Uí Chathail, 1st Floor. Your Registration Statement You will receive this by e-mail after you register your courses. Please check it carefully and ensure that all information on it is correct, especially your course choices!!! This is extremely important – errors must be rectified straightaway. A little Irish lesson Ceacht beag Ghaeilge • “Áras” is a word in the Irish language meaning “house”. It refers to a large/significant house. The house of the President of Ireland is “Áras an Uachtaráin”. • Some buildings on the NUI Galway campus contain this word: Áras Uí Chathail, Áras na Gaeilge, Áras na Mac Léinn, Áras Moyola ... Changing your course selection • The absolute and final deadline for this: MONDAY, 29th SEPTEMBER After this, no further changes will be possible. The Change of Course Selection form must be signed by your academic coordinator. Then bring it to Gisèle in the International Affairs Office. “Absent” mark on transcript • If you register for a course, and then decide not to take it, you should notify Gisèle in writing by 29th September. • ... Otherwise this course will appear on your transcript with a result of “Absent”. BLACKBOARD • Virtual learning environment • You have access already via Blackboard to the Academic Handbook, forms, etc • Course registration (22nd) gives you access to materials for individual modules. • Access lecture notes, submit assignments • CAUTION: even if a lecturer gives you access to Blackboard before 22nd, you still need to REGISTER YOUR COURSES ON 22ND. Examinations  • Study week – one lecture-free week before exams begin. Not intended as a “holiday / travel” week! • Do not book your flight home in the summer until you know your exam timetable. (www.nuigalway.ie/examinations) Examinations - dictionaries • For students whose mother tongue is not English, dictionaries are permitted at examinations in non-language subjects, e.g. Spanish-English/English-Spanish dictionary is allowed. Transcripts … • Your examination results will be available online for five weeks after results are issued. • Semester 1-only students: A transcript will be sent to your home university in late January/early February. • Full-year students: your 2 transcripts will be sent in late June/early July. • A transcript will also be sent to you at your home address in your own country. Erasmus Paperwork!  • CERTIFICATE OF ARRIVAL– this can be signed here today (or in the coming days in the International Affairs Office (Gisèle)). • Please help us by writing in your name and home university! • Show your ID card. • Cert of Attendance (when leaving) cannot be signed in advance – the date you bring it to us will be the date we’ll write on it. More Erasmus Paperwork Your Learning Agreement – signatures? Depends which version you have. OLD VERSION: First, it must be signed by your departmental coordinator, then by the Institutional Coordinator (M. Lyons). NEW VERSION FOR ERASMUS+ needs only the departmental coordinator signature (exceptions: Arts/Humanities from Malta, Uppsala, Utrecht). Learning agreement ... Course Selection form ... What’s the difference? Learning Agreement: YOUR document, a vital part of your Erasmus+ studies Course Selection Form: OUR document, allows us register you for courses and exams Where can I fax a document? • On-campus print shop called “PRINT THAT – Media Solutions” • Located next to Smokey Joe’s café on the Arts/Science Concourse • Open Monday to Friday, 8.30am till 6pm; open through lunch. • Fax costs €1.50 per minute to EU countries. English Classes • • • • • Free of charge Twice a week for 5 weeks Test on 1st night, Monday, 15th September. Different levels No ECTS, but you can get a certificate to show you completed the course. • See info sheet for full details. Opening a Bank Account • You will need a special form which is available here today. You must fill this in and take it with you, along with your passport, when you go to the bank to open an account. ENJOY YOUR TIME AT NUIG GALWAY! • • • • Do join Clubs and Societies Clubs Day: 11th September Societies Day: 17th September While in Galway, socialise and enjoy yourselves (but be sensible about alcohol!) • Keep in touch with your family!