The Institute of Technology Carlow has cancelled examinations and other face-to-face assessments scheduled to take place at the end of the summer term in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The examinations will be replaced “where feasible” by alternative online assessments or online exams, the institute confirmed today.

Students will be contacted over the coming days and weeks with details specific to each module on the relevant programme of study after the move was agreed by IT Carlow’s academic council.

The institute said it has been working to ensure students “are not disadvantaged at the point of assessment”, while at the same time preserving the academic integrity and standards of all awards.

The changes are designed to enable students “to progress and complete their studies”.

Guidelines will be issued to students on using the technologies to support online assessment and examinations. The institute said it is “vital that all students fully engage with and apply these guidelines”.

The country’s third level institutions remain closed since the Government issued a directive to that effect earlier this month as part of the response to Covid-19 .

Learning has shifted online for most third-level students, and universities across the island have been working for several weeks on contingency plans as measures designed to temper the spread of the virus have been enacted.

NUI Galway announced last week that all face-to-face end of year exams have been cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and that summer exams would be held remotely.

Earlier this month, the RCSI brought forward final examinations for medical students amid concerns over the spread of Covid-19.

Last week, the provost of Trinity College Dublin said new students may end up starting college “slightly later” this year on foot of the disruption caused by the pandemic. Teaching at the university is now entirely online, and almost all exams will be also completed online.

UCD is making arrangements to deliver courses at-distance and provide alternatives to traditional examinations. More details will be posted online in due course.

Students are advised to check with their respective college for further information.