Welcome to RCSI

The orientation module will open on our virtual learning environment (also referred to as the VLE or Moodle) on 13 October 2023 & 20th October 2023. During this two-week orientation period, you will be required to complete some brief exercises and view a suite of short instructional videos. 

There will be two live sessions as part of the orientation module:

• Getting Started with Moodle and Blackboard Collaborate
• Meet your Programme Director and Academic Orientation

These live events are an excellent opportunity to meet the programme team and your new classmates, and acquire the skills you need for academic success. Programme staff will be available to assist students at all times throughout the live orientation events. Please be assured that we are experienced in working with students to access new technology and will ensure all our new students are able to participate.

Your programme coordinator will provide you with the links to access these sessions.

Your Programme Team will consist of:

• Programme Director
• Programme Coordinator
• Module Leaders

The Programme Director is your academic lead, they are responsible for the running of the programme and may teach some of the modules. The Programme Coordinator is responsible for all non-academic elements and is available to support you with operational, technical and regulatory matters. Finally, the Module Leader is the academic lead for the module, if you have a question or query about a particular module you should contact the Module Lead first.

All our academic programmes will be delivered through a blend of online content and activities and live interactive sessions, to offer a collaborative and supported student experience.

You will have the opportunity to become part of an international, healthcare-focused, learning community, no matter where you are based. Per module, there will be live (or synchronous sessions) where live material is delivered in real-time via the online teaching platform, or non-live (or asynchronous sessions) consisting of pre-recorded lectures, videos, readings and tutorials that are uploaded to a module page on Moodle.

The schedule for each day will be available at the commencement of each module. Students are strongly encouraged to attend all scheduled teaching days listed.

Please download the document below to view the timetable of your live sessions:

Times Higher Education have an excellent article here that offers tips for online study.

You will need the following:

• Laptop or desktop computer
• Stable and reliable internet connection
• Microsoft Word, Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint (or similar) on a laptop/desktop
• Headphones if you are in a noisy environment
• A notebook and pen

Before the programme begins you will receive your IT credentials directly from the RCSI IT Department. They will provide you with your RCSI username and a link for you to create your own secure password. Please keep these details safe as you will use them to access all programme content, teaching sessions and RCSI platforms.

Once you have your IT credentials you will be able to access your RCSI email here. We will use this email address to contact you, so please become familiar with it.

It is important that you check your VLE site forum and RCSI email account regularly, as all programme announcements will be communicated via these mechanisms. Your RCSI email address is the only one that will be used for communicating with you during the programme. Unfortunately, for reasons of information security RCSI staff are not able to respond to queries from any other email accounts once the programme begins. 

The RCSI Student Fees Department manage all matters relating to student fees. If you have any queries in relation to your fees please contact the team directly.

You will be asked to pay your fees at set times during the academic year. The schedule of fees payments are as per our website here.

Invoices will be available on request only to self-funded students. If you are a sponsored student an invoice will automatically be sent to your employer.

We can accept payments via the following routes:

• Debit/credit card: Card payments can be made here. (Please note that a 3% service charge is payable on card payments).
• Electronic Financial Transfer (SEPA):
  • RCSI FEES ACCOUNT, BANK OF IRELAND, 39 ST STEPHEN'S GREEN, DUBLIN 2
  • IBAN No IE75 BOFI 9000 8410 0440 74
  • BIC/SWIFT No BOFIIE2D

Please ensure your name is attached to any bank/online transfer. Once you have your IT credentials you may request receipts for fees through the VLE here.

RCSI is committed to building an inclusive learning environment. RCSI considers the principles of universal design in the design and implementation of all learning interactions to ensure that learning is accessible to students.

However, for a small minority of students, reasonable accommodations will be required. RCSI is committed to the provision of reasonable accommodations (RA) as a response to meet individual needs and as far as possible to enable full access and participation for any student with a disability, a significant on-going medical condition, or learning difficulty.

Any student seeking reasonable accommodations to support their learning or access needs are required to confidentially disclose their status and discuss their needs to the learning access and facilitation service (LAFS). 

If you believe you require a reasonable accommodation, we strongly encourage you to contact the learning access team at learningsupport@rcsi.ie so that the learning access team can discuss and explore options with you.

RCSI Student Cards are available in Digital format to download onto your mobile phone. Please follow the instructions in the below document to get your Digital Student Card.

Student Cards will be available for download from the first day of Orientation (please see the schedule above).