Flexible and Professional

The Library, which is located in the T.K. Whitaker Building, plays a central role in the academic life of the Institute. It facilitates access to the learning resources you will need for your studies. DkIT Library provides 500 study places, over 50,000 books and journals, access to online information resources and a range of services. The Library supports the learning culture and practices of the Institute and endeavours to provide a high quality learning environment. Most areas of the Library are designated for quiet study. Collaborative areas are available in all the Library Group Work rooms and in the Group Work area to your right on Floor 1 as you enter the Library. As well as physically visiting the Library you can also access many services, locate information and manage your DkIT Library account over the web at http://dkitlibs.dkit.ie. From this site you can find out what books the Library holds, what online information resources are available to you and information on all our Library services. The Library offers training courses throughout the year to help you make the most effective use of our resources and services. Library staff are available to help and advise you on finding the best resources for your academic research. Access to the Library and its services is available once you register with the Institute. Your Student ID card is also your library card; you should have your ID card with you when you use the Library. Computer facilities are also available in the library as are photocopying facilities. To avail of printing facilities your student card can be topped up in the vending machine located conveniently beside the printers on the 1st floor of the library.

Sports: DkIT has a range of both indoor and outdoor facilities which include 5 playing pitches, surrounded by a designated jogging lane and a multi-purpose centre which contains a basketball court, 4 badminton courts, volleyball court, futsal (indoor soccer), and a state of the art fitness suite. Many of our student body are actively involved in both indoor and outdoor clubs ranging from: Archery / Badminton / Cricket / Fencing / Hill Walking / Gaelic Football / Hurling / Kickboxing / Snooker & Pool / Rugby / Table Tennis / Volleyball. email: [email protected]

Please note part-time students are not provided with student membership of DKIT Sport.

Societies: DkIT also has a large number of students involved in our societies which include: Breakdancing / Drama / Media / Vetinary Nursing / Laptop Music Society / DJ Society / Lesbian & Gay (LGBT) / African / Asian /1 Macra na Feirme. email:[email protected]

Parking: Parking facilities are provided at the front and side of the Institute. Please note that parking restrictions exist on DkIT campus up to and including clamping. All vehicles must be parked in a designated car parking bay. 

Full details of parking regulations are available to read on here. 

Students with disabilities should inform the Institute of their disability when they enrol. Every effort will be made to assist you (e.g. by timetabling classes in ground floor rooms, providing you with your own key to access lifts and general advice).

You can find out more about services and support of students with a disability at DkIT by visiting our Disability Services & Support Webpage or contacting Geraldine Kneel, Student Disability Officer by emailing [email protected].

DKIT owes a duty of care to all its students, but it also has a particular responsibility to safeguard the welfare of any individual under the age of 18. All students are advised to familiarise themselves with our Child Protection Policy, and must be aware of their responsibilities under the policy. The policy is available here 

DkIT reserves the right to request any student to complete the Garda/Police Vetting procedures and, in particular, any student who may be dealing with children and other vulnerable groups even where this is incidental to participation in the programme concerned.

If during the course of the admissions process for a programme, or by any other means including disclosure by the applicant/student, it transpires that the applicant/student has a criminal conviction which gives rise to a reasonable concern that the applicant/student may represent a risk to others, and, in particular, to a child or vulnerable adult, full details of the conviction will be sought both from the applicant/student and also by means of the Garda/Police Vetting procedure.

If an applicant/student must undergo the garda/police vetting procedure it should be noted that if you have lived outside Ireland from the age of 16+ for a sustained period (6 months or more) you must provide Police vetting from the country of residence for this period.

Registration on a programme is conditional until successful completion of vetting procedures (where applicable).

Note there are number of programmes where Garda/Police Vetting is an automatic requirement due to the placement component of the programme.
The Institute reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to refuse to register an applicant where to do so might impact on the Institute’s duty of care to others. 

Each ECTS credit corresponds to 20 'learning hours' (not all learning hours are hours spent in class sessions). A full academic year of study corresponds to 60 ECTS credits. 'ECTS' stands for European Credit Transfer System. It is the credit system used at DkIT and by other universities in Ireland and Europe to assign credits to a programme or module.

QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) is an independent State agency responsible for promoting quality and accountability in education and training services in Ireland. In the area of qualifications, QQI is responsible for maintaining the ten-level NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications). QQI is also an awarding body and set standards for awards we make in the NFQ. The organisation validates education and training programmes and make extensive awards in the further education and training sector including in the Education and Training Boards.

The Lifelong Learning Centre co-ordinates over sixty flexible part-time professional development and lifelong learning courses. These courses are particularly suitable for those who wish to study new topics and course areas, update their professional skills or add to their qualifications. Accredited courses are offered in the areas of Business & Accountancy, Humanities, Engineering, Computing & Creative Arts and Health & Science. You can view all Part-Time Courses here. Non-accredited courses and customised programmes for industry are also available.

Most of our part-time courses commence in September and January. For a class to commence it is necessary for the Institute to enrol a minimum number of students. If this number is not reached the Institute reserves the right to cancel or discontinue the course.

Many courses have written examinations at the end of semesters in January and May. In addition, some courses have continuous assessments including group work, reports, and project work. Information about exams and assessments will be provided to students at the beginning of their course.

Registering for examinations is the responsibility of the student. Students should make themselves aware of the examination closing dates and fees. Fees quoted in this prospectus do not include examination fees unless otherwise stated. Dates for Professional body examinations (i.e. IATI) are posted on the Lifelong Learning Centre website early in Semester Two.

Currently, many of our programmes offer a blended learning approach which can include a distance learning option. Blended learning is an aspect to a number of courses available part-time in DkIT. These can consist of face-to-face teaching, online delivery and distance learning. To find out if a course offers distance learning options, please check the course delivery section on the course pages.

We offer a wide range of online part-time courses and you can find more information on these at Online Courses. Online Courses at Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) give you the opportunity to access a wide range of career-defining courses with the convenience of online learning. Study at DkIT, wherever you may be.

Many of our programmes also offer a blended learning approach which can include a distance learning option. Blended learning is an aspect to a number of courses available part-time in DkIT. These can consist of face-to-face teaching, online delivery and distance learning. To find out if a course offers distance learning options, please check the course delivery section on the course pages.

Located in the north-east of Ireland County Louth has a population of 128,000. The town of Dundalk has a population of approximately 38,000 and is located just 85 kilometres from both Dublin and Belfast. The first-class road network linking Dublin with Belfast passes directly through Dundalk. DkIT is located just a few minutes away from exit 16 on the M1 motorway and takes just 45 minutes from Dublin Airport by car. Being a regional transport centre, Dundalk has good rail and bus connections. Travel time from Dublin (Connolly Station) is just 50 minutes. Buses arrive each day to Dundalk from a variety of locations including Drogheda, Navan, Kells, Castleblayney, Balbriggan, Carrickmacross, Newry, Carlingford and Ardee. The GPS coordinates for the Institute are 53.9835° N, 6.3954° W.

Some courses can be paid for in instalments however this does not apply to all. For those that cannot be paid in that manner fees must be paid for in full on registration. All course fees received are receipted. To find out if your chosen programme offers an instalment payment plan please refer to the prospectus or programme information on the website.

Important! Except where stated, course fees cover the cost of DkIT tuition only and refer to the course or academic year as appropriate. Additional registration and examination fees may be payable separately to professional bodies and to HETAC. Certain courses may also require the purchase of relevant textbooks. This is particularly relevant to some business courses.

If your employer is paying your fees, then you must submit a letter/email from your employer confirming that your fees will be paid to the Institute by them as well as supplying a Purchase Order number. The Institute will then invoice your employer for the appropriate amount.

When the Institute runs a part-time course a refund of fees will only be given under the following circumstances:

• A refund will be given if a student attends for only the first week of a five week course.
• A refund will be given if a student attends for only the first two weeks of a six to ten week course.
• A refund will be given if a student attends for only the first three weeks of a course lasting more than eleven weeks. 

In all these cases a 20% administration charge will apply. All refund requests must be applied for in writing to the Lifelong Learning Centre.
After these time periods no refunds are available under any circumstances.

In certain circumstances students may receive financial aid in paying their fees from County Enterprise Boards, Leader Partnerships, Department of Social Protection and other organisations. You may also be eligible to apply to the HEA's Student Assistance Fund (SAF). Contact Mary Reilly via [email protected] for more.

Tax relief at the standard rate of tax (20%) is available for certain tuition fees on courses which lead to third level awards. For further information go to www.revenue.ie and get a copy of form IT31. This applies only to students who are funding their studies from their own income. Always retain your receipt of payment from DkIT for tax purposes.

Please keep an eye on www.dkit.ie/events/ for the next Lifelong Learning Part-time Courses Information Evening. These evenings are a great opportunity for you to discuss your course options in detail with Lifelong Learning Centre staff and course lecturers.

Further information on our part-time courses information evening will be published in local newspapers and broadcast on local radio during August and September.

Go to the course description page and click on the How to Apply? and follow the instructions contained therein.

Courses

Most part-time programmes available through the Lifelong Learning Centre at DkIT have specific entry requirements. Some are related to educational qualifications and others to relevant work experience. Where the term 'or equivalent' appears, it means that your educational or work experience should have provided you with sufficient background to be successful on the programme. It is also important to consider the nature of the programme and your ability in mathematics, writing and other academic skills.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is intended for mature learners who may or may not have had structured formal education but who have learned from their involvement in employment, community activities, home duties, sports etc. This learning is assessed by the Institute and this assessment may lead to academic credits or exemptions from subjects on the intended course of study. The following shall be taken into consideration:

1. Accredited Learning: Learning that the applicant has undertaken that has been accredited by a further/higher educational institution.
    
2. Non-Accredited/ Non-formal Learning: Work-based training and/or education courses that may have been assessed, but not formally accredited.
    
3. Informal: Informal/ experiential learning (relevant life or work/voluntary experiences).

If you have questions about the level of academic skills required please call our Lifelong Learning office on +353 42-9370290 or email [email protected].

It is important that the level and content of a course suits your needs and meets your expectations. In order to find out relevant information on course content, entry requirements, extent of extra work required outside class, assessment methods etc. you should study the relevant section of this prospectus. Click here to browse part-time programmes.

You may then need to consider the following options to obtain more detailed information:

For professional courses, contact the organisation concerned directly (i.e. Accounting Technicians Ireland, IPASS etc.). Relevant contact names, addresses, telephone numbers, emails and website addresses are provided in this prospectus. Please note the additional costs such as membership fees, seminar fees and exam fees required for professional body courses. Details of these additional costs are also included in this prospectus.
Attend our Information Evening in September. Here you will meet Lifelong Learning Centre staff and some of the lecturers involved with the courses who will be able to answer your questions.

Visit, phone or email the Lifelong Learning Centre anytime. Staff will be happy to assist you.

Each ECTS credit corresponds to 20 'learning hours' (not all learning hours are hours spent in class sessions). A full academic year of study corresponds to 60 ECTS credits. 'ECTS' stands for European Credit Transfer System. It is the credit system used at DkIT and by other universities in Ireland and Europe to assign credits to a programme or module.

More information on what each level represents can be found below or by clicking on this link: 

QQI (Quality and Qualifications Ireland) is an independent State agency responsible for promoting quality and accountability in education and training services in Ireland. In the area of qualifications, QQI is responsible for maintaining the ten-level NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications). QQI is also an awarding body and set standards for awards we make in the NFQ. The organisation validates education and training programmes and make extensive awards in the further education and training sector including in the Education and Training Boards.