Students at National College of Ireland are not greatly affected in the course of their studies by the move to Level 5 in the plan for Living With COVID. Classes will remain as currently scheduled and delivered, online. The campus will remain open for essential access, however the operation of library services has changed.
We would advise students as much as possible to use the Online Library, which includes ebooks, academic databases, academic journals, etc. The library is reverting fully to Click & Collect for physical books. In light of restrictions, late fees will be waived this semester, however if you can safely access the campus, a drop-off point for returning books is available in the atrium, and all books will be UV treated to ensure they are virus-free before being reissued. Online Supports, such as libchat and Library Help Desk, will still be accessible, and the library team are as happy to help as usual, whether that is in assisting you in tracking down research material or in guiding you on academic referencing
Socially-distanced study spaces in designated areas will be available to students: it is essential these spaces are pre-booked through the library online system. Note, PC spaces are not available under this level of restriction.
The Online Library is available 24/7. Other library services will be available as follows:
Online Supports: Monday-Friday, 10am-8pm; Sunday, 11am-3pm
Click & Collect: Monday-Friday, 11am-3pm
On-campus Study Spaces: Monday-Friday, 9.30am-12.30pm and 1.30pm-5.30pm
Students, who deem access to these study spaces essential to their education, or who are accessing campus to collect or drop-off library books, must complete our COVID-19 Student Survey before coming on campus - this need only be completed once, not for each individual visit, unless your circumstances change. If you currently have symptoms that may be COVID-19, have been in contact with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19, or have returned from a country not on the green list, you must not attend on campus until you have medical clearance to do so or have completed any necessary self-isolation.
We remind our students to act within the guidelines of Level 5 that currently apply to Ireland. We are very proud of the resilience our students have shown, and are greatly encouraged by the positive engagement we have observed. Working together and adhering to these temporary restrictions will help to contain the spread of the virus, bringing us more quickly back to campus.
The College will continue to follow HSE advice and Government direction, and is well-prepared to respond as necessary, whether to increased or decreased restriction, while continuing to provide world-class education and academic and well-being support to our students. Right now, our priority must be the health of our students, staff and the wider community, but it is our intention to safely reactivate our plans for on-campus learning events as soon as County Dublin moves back to Level 2. We will continue to update our FAQs online, and to regularly communicate information directly with students via email and Moodle, so that we can all know where we stand at any given moment, and move forward together.