First 5 Weeks

• Academic Integrity: At ATU, academic integrity means being honest, fair, and responsible in all your academic work. It’s about making sure your assignments, projects, and exams reflect your own effort and understanding. This includes properly referencing sources, avoiding plagiarism, and using tools like AI responsibly.

• Assignment: A task or piece of work that you are required to complete as part of your coursework. Assignments can take various forms, including but not limited to essays, research papers, reports, presentations, and projects. 

• ATUSU Life: The online platform where you can access all information about clubs and societies including finding out schedules for meet-ups and registering to join.

• Blackboard: The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used by students in ATU Donegal. This is where you can access assignments, submit your work and receive communications from your lecturers.

• Class Rep: Short for Class Representative. A class rep is a student leader who serves as the liaison between their classmates and the ATU Students’ Union Officers, acting as the voice and elected spokesperson for their class.

• Conferring: A formal (but exciting!) ceremony where the university awards degrees, diplomas, or honors to students who’ve completed their studies. It’s the big moment – gowns, applause, and hopefully you on that stage at the end of your course!

• Consultation Day: A designated day or period (usually straight after exam results) when students can meet with academic staff to discuss their coursework, progress, academic concerns, or future plans. 

• Credits: Points awarded for completing modules; required to progress in your course. For example, a 5 credit module is usually completed within 1 semester and a 10 credit is usually held over 2 semesters.

• Dean of Faculty: The senior academic in charge of a faculty (like Science & Health, Engineering & Computing or Business). They help steer the ship – overseeing courses, staff and student matters within the faculty. Basically, they’re the big boss of your academic area (but usually still friendly!).

• Deferral: Postponing exams or a semester to a later date – to do this you need to complete a form on the student hub and state a valid reason for why you need to defer. 

• Department: All programmes sit within a department which broadly covers their area of study e.g. in ATU Sligo, the Bachelor of Business in Tourism and Event Management sits within the Department of Marketing, Tourism and Sport. In Galway, the Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science sits within the Department of Analytical, Biopharmaceutical & Medical Sciences. A department manages teaching, research and staff related to that subject.

• Digs: Accommodation where you rent a room provided by a homeowner. 

• EDI: Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. ATU is committed to embedding EDI across everything we do to ensure you can learn and work in an environment defined by dignity and respect, where diversity is celebrated, and everyone is treated fairly.

• Erasmus+ : Erasmus+ is a European study programme that allows students to study abroad or complete an international work placement. ATU has opportunities with numerous EU universities.

• Faculty: ATU has four main faculties that group together related departments and courses: Design, Education & Humanities; Business; Engineering & Computing; and Science & Health. Think of it as an umbrella covering different subjects and programmes within that area of study. It is also sometimes referred to as a School.

• #First5Weeks: ATU’s Welcome Programme starts in September on the first week of term with the start of lectures and is open to all new and existing students. This 5-week programme is designed to help you to settle into college life and to make the transition to third-level education easier. 

• Induction: A welcome day (usually before classes start) designed to help you settle into university life. You’ll get key info, meet staff and classmates, and find out where everything is – basically, your starter pack for surviving and thriving at uni!

• Lecture: A structured teaching session where a lecturer presents key concepts, theories, and information to a larger group of students. Lectures focus on building foundational knowledge for your course and usually last between 1–2 hours. 

• Module: A component of a course or academic programme. Modules are often designed to cover specific topics or areas of study and can vary in length, depth, and credit value. 

• Moodle: The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) used by students in ATU Galway-Mayo, St Angelas and Sligo. This is where you can access assignments, submit your work and receive communications from your lecturers. 

• myATU: myATU is a platform that brings the ATU services and information you rely on into one easy-to-access space including your email, timetable, exams schedules, campus map and more.

• Placement: A structured opportunity for you to gain practical experience in a professional environment related to their field of study.  

• Plagiarism: Presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own.   

• Programme: A structured course of study designed to provide you with specific knowledge and skills in a particular field or discipline.   

• Programme Board: A meeting where class representatives, lecturers, and school managers come together – at least twice a year – to talk about how your course is designed, taught, and assessed. Class reps are full members and help bring student feedback, but they leave the room when individual student matters are discussed. It’s one of the main ways students help shape their programme!   

• Programme Chair: The academic in charge of your specific degree or course (like Fine Arts, Mechanical Engineering, etc.). They make sure the programme runs smoothly, the content makes sense and you’re on track to graduate. If you’re a class rep, you’ll work with them on the Programme Board to share feedback from students and help improve the course.  

• Progression: Your movement from one stage of your academic programme to the next – like going from first year to second year. Progression depends on your exam results and meeting course requirements.

• Registration: The process by which you enroll in courses for a particular academic term. It is important to complete registration as soon as possible to ensure you have full access to resources and you are able to attend all your classes including laboratories.

• Semester: The academic year is divided into two equal parts with 13 teaching weeks each, called semesters. Semester 1 starts 15 September 2025 and Semester 2 starts on 19 January 2026.

• Seminar: A seminar is a learning session where a small group of students discusses a specific topic, often led by a teacher or a student presenter. It encourages active participation, critical thinking, and deeper understanding of the subject. While a lecture is mostly about listening and learning from the teacher, a seminar is about discussing and engaging with the topic. 

• Student Code: An ATU Policy that promotes responsibility and encourages honesty, trust, fairness, integrity, safety and respect among students at ATU. The code is designed to assist in the development of a supportive and productive learning environment. All ATU students are expected to maintain high standards of personal integrity and academic honesty at all times. 

• Student Hub: Your go-to online portal where you can check your email, timetables, exam results, and access library services, printing, the virtual learning environment, and more. It’s also where you’ll find official forms to update your registration details or handle exam-related stuff — all in one convenient spot!

• Student ID Card: An official identification card issued to students enrolled at ATU. It serves multiple purposes and functions as proof of a student’s identity and status at the university. 

• Students’ Union: A democratic organisation run by students, for students. They organise lots of fun events throughout the year and are also a valuable source of support.      

• Transfer: Changing your programme of study. There is a short window to do this at the start of semester 1 and it is a good idea to get advice from the careers office and the Head of Department of the programme you wish to transfer to before you decide. You must apply through the CAO. You can get email Admissions@atu.ie clearly stating the campus and course you wish to apply for if you need extra help with the process. You can find out more about internal transfers here.     

• VLE: A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is an online platform that facilitates the delivery of course materials, resources, and activities for students and educators. It serves as a digital space where instructional content is made accessible, enabling interaction and collaboration between students and staff.     

You will receive a weekly First 5 Weeks newsletter via email packed with info about what’s happening on your campus.

We understand that everyone has different timetables, and while we aim to make welcome activities as accessible as possible, it’s not always possible to avoid scheduling conflicts. Your classes and lectures should always take priority, so we don’t recommend missing them to attend welcome events. To help you take part where possible, many activities are scheduled within a broader time window (e.g. 10am–2pm), giving you more flexibility to join when you’re free. 

It starts on the first day of term – 15 September and finishes on Friday 16 October 2026. 

No, the First 5 Weeks activities are entirely optional – you can pick and choose what interests you and what times suit you to attend events. 

Don’t worry! Our First 5 Weeks events are specifically designed to help you meet other students, and many first-year students will be attending solo too. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to connect, and before you know it, you’ll feel right at home. 

We’re always happy to hear how you are finding things. We will send all first years a survey at the end of the programme to ask you about your experience of induction and the First 5 Weeks. If you have any questions or feedback before then you can contact: 

Donegal – sheila.giblin@atu.ie 

Galway-Mayo – studentservices.galwaymayo@atu.ie 

Sligo – studentsupport.sligo@atu.ie

St Angelas – studentservices.stangelas@atu.ie