You Said, We Did
Every term, student feedback from module evaluations is reviewed across all four departments. Where students identify areas for improvement, we act. Here is a record of the changes made in response to your feedback.
-342X191.png)
The changes recorded here range from small practical adjustments to more substantial revisions of module content, assessment design, and delivery. Together they reflect a School that listens and acts.
If you have not yet completed your module evaluations, we would encourage you to do so. The more students who respond, the better placed we are to make meaningful improvements.
Advanced Macroeconomics
| You Said | In the exam, there was no weighting given for each subcomponent of the questions. |
| We Did | Allotted marks are now appended to all exam components. |
| You Said | More readings would be helpful for revision. |
| We Did | A list of additional readings for each topic has been uploaded to Blackboard. |
Mathematical Economics
| You Said | It would be good if the tutorial questions incorporated more applications. |
| We Did | A number of tutorial questions now apply what is taught to real-world events. |
| You Said | Providing lecture slides before the lecture would be very useful. |
| We Did | Lecture slides are now uploaded to Blackboard on the morning of the lecture. |
Economics of Financial Markets
| You Said | More emphasis should be placed on the empirical dimension of financial markets. |
| We Did | Given that econometrics is now a prerequisite, the module makes liberal use of econometric techniques to analyse financial market data. |
| You Said | Include more financial applications. |
| We Did | The module now applies stochastic calculus to derivative pricing. |
Quantitative Methods
| You Said | Instead of a midterm exam, the class would learn more from having an assignment. |
| We Did | Part of the assessment now comprises an assignment where students use techniques from the first six weeks of the module to develop their own mathematical model. |
| You Said | Add more structure to the lecture. |
| We Did | At the start of each lecture, an overview is given and a summary provided at the end. Each lecture is divided into distinct components. |
PPES Programme
| You Said | PPES students should not have to take Mathematical and Statistical Methods if they plan to drop Economics at the end of second year. |
| We Did | Students who intend to drop Economics after second year can now choose to take Economy of Ireland or Economics of Public Policy instead. |
Introduction to Economics
| You Said | Provide the lecture notes online. |
| We Did | Lecture materials are now provided online. |
Mathematics and Statistics
| You Said | More examples during lectures. Go through questions similar to those in the homework. |
| We Did | We include more homework-style examples in lectures and work through them step by step. EC1130 is now devoted entirely to developing step-by-step examples. |
| You Said | Less work — this is the heaviest module in terms of workload and it is hard to keep up. |
| We Did | We have shortened the length of each homework assignment. |
Introduction to Economic Policy
| You Said | Poor textbook |
| We Did | Changed the textbook to Mankiw and Taylor's Economics, which is more European in focus. |
| You Said | More weighting for the project. |
| We Did | Project weighting increased from 10% to 15% of the final grade. |
| You Said | Enjoyed the guest lecture. |
| We Did | Increased the number of guest lectures. |
| You Said | Please put slides online before the lecture. |
| We Did | Slides are now available online before all lectures. |
| You Said | Less emphasis on graphs. |
| We Did | Content is now more policy and example-oriented than theory-based. |
| You Said | Lectures are on too late in the evening. |
| We Did | Despite the logistical challenges of scheduling across 38 different degree patterns, all lectures have been moved away from the 6pm slot. |
European Economy
| You Said | Use slides rather than acetates in lectures. |
| We Did | The lecturer now uses PowerPoint slides in all lectures. |
| You Said | No need for slides on the website — it provides an incentive to attend lectures. |
| We Did | Slides are no longer provided online. |
| You Said | Incorporate information on current debate on relevant topics. |
| We Did | The lecturer now sends regular emails with articles from the Irish Times, Financial Times, The Economist, and the New York Times. |
| You Said | Sometimes difficult to hear. |
| We Did | Now using a roving microphone and speaking more slowly. |
| You Said | Would be good to have more chance to present and discuss. |
| We Did | Voluntary discussion classes have been introduced. |
| You Said | The Student Economic Review is really good. |
| We Did | We continue to use SER debates to stimulate interest in economic policy. |
Investment Analysis
| You Said | Really enjoyed the guest lecture. |
| We Did | Guest lectures are now a regular feature, with one in Michaelmas term and one in Hilary term. |
| You Said | Bigger word count for the project. |
| We Did | Word count has been increased. |
| You Said | Change the weighting of the assignments. |
| We Did | Assignment weighting increased from 20% to 50% of the final grade. |
Mathematical Economics
| You Said | Provide the tutorial questions in advance. |
| We Did | Tutorial questions are now provided a week before the tutorial class. |
World Economy
| You Said | Less Euro-centric. |
| We Did | More content now covers Asia and Africa in particular. |
| You Said | Heavy reading load. |
| We Did | The module has been overhauled and rearranged into five larger topics, allowing for consolidated readings. |
| You Said | There should be greater weighting for in-term assessments. |
| We Did | Continuous assessment components now account for 55% of the module. |
Applied Economics
| You Said | The tutorial presentations should be graded. |
| We Did | The tutorial now accounts for 10% of the first semester grade. |
| You Said | A lot of regression material and unfamiliar assessment formats. |
| We Did | An extra tutorial is now held at the start of term covering research proposals as a form of assessment, including past high-scoring examples, and guidance on reading applied research. |
| You Said | Really appreciated the choice of assessment formats |
| We Did | We have retained a choice of options for the course project so students can select their preferred format. |
| You Said | Reduce the weighting associated with data collection. |
| We Did | The data collection exercise has been significantly reduced, with more emphasis on analysis. |
| You Said | Reduce the number of assessments to avoid deadline clashes. |
| We Did | The number of graded assessments has been consolidated from nine to three. |
Theories of Rights
| You Said | The module should deal with issues like racism and discrimination. |
| We Did | The module leader introduced a topic on whether unexpressed thoughts can wrong us and violate our rights. Following student feedback, more time has been allocated to small group discussion. |
Central Problems in Philosophy / History of Philosophy IIB
| You Said | Please record lectures. |
| We Did | Audio recordings are now made and posted to Blackboard. |
History, Philosophy and Ethics of Science
| You Said | The curriculum should focus on the relevance of philosophy for scientific practice. |
| We Did | On the basis of a thematic analysis of student responses, the quantity and quality of feedback to students was increased. The assessment timeline was adjusted to give students more time to incorporate previous feedback, and grading rubrics were introduced to provide tailored advice on areas for improvement. |
African Politics
| You Said | More material on pre-colonial politics in Africa. |
| We Did | The module leader has added two new classes on this period. A re-evaluation of colonial impact in light of these classes has also been made a key learning objective, aligning with an approach that seeks to decolonise the curriculum. |
History of Political Thought A
| You Said | More focus on non-Western history. |
| We Did | While the module continues to focus on democracy as it developed in ancient Athens, the module leader has introduced a lecture discussing similar institutions in other parts of the world, including India and Africa, and whether they challenge the claim that Athens was the first major democracy. |
Political Violence B
| You Said | More documentaries and podcasts on case studies of conflict. |
| We Did | The module leader linked documentaries for each tutorial case study and provided a selection of podcasts and films for every case covered in class. |
Capstone
| You Said | More opportunities to collaborate on projects. |
| We Did | The module leader now runs an optional weekly Capstone clinic where students can work on their projects and exchange ideas and questions with each other and the module leader. |
Introduction to Political Science B
| You Said | Use different types of assessments. |
| We Did | The module leader now includes an assignment where students create a podcast or video explainer on a debate or major political concept, allowing them to demonstrate creativity and communication skills. |
Introduction to Sociology
| You Said | Poor lecture venue. |
| We Did | All lectures now take place in the Ed Burke Lecture Theatre. |
Conflict Studies
| You Said | Ungraded presentations are a waste of time and effort. |
| We Did | A graded presentation worth 10% of the overall mark has been introduced. |