Opening hours reduced at Student Contact Centre

Opening hours at the Student Contact Centre have been reduced due to a huge backlog in requests for postgraduate transcripts.

Opening hours at the facility in Aras Uí Chathail have been slashed from six hours a day down to two and a half.

The Students Union branded the new opening hours as "pathetic".

SU President Donna Cummins said it was "outrageous" that the SU had not even been informed about the changes.

The SCC was open from September to Christmas 2009 from 10am to 4pm daily. In January opening hours were then reduced from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm.

On February 8^th opening hours were reduced down further from 1.30pm to 4pm.

Mary Ryan, NUIG Director of Academic Administration said that the SCC has been attempting to cope with a huge increase in requests for postgraduate transcripts, documents detailing overall grades of postgrad students.

"There has been a 27% increase nationally in postgraduate applications. This is a huge increase," she said.

She said that printing off a transcript is "a laborious and complex process".

"It is a strange time we are living in. The jobs simply aren't out there, so people are going on to fourth level education. They need these transcripts for applying for jobs and going abroad," she explained.

She also said that the SCC was down staff due to the staff embargo. There are three and a half full time staff employed there currently, but they are usually manned by seven and a half staff.

Responding to the SU President's anger that she was not informed about the changes Ms Ryan said: "I apologise. It might have been an oversight on my part. Im sorry about that. It never even occurred to me."

She said that a new system where students can apply online for postgraduate transcripts will be up and running by next September.

She said that the current opening hours were simply a temporary measure and that the SCC would return to their original extended opening hours from March 12^th.

By Mairéad Ní Chaoimh