STAFF STUDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE

Meeting on Tuesday 28^th February 2006 at 1pm in the South Wing Council Room

Staff Present

Graham Roberts (Undergraduate Tutor, Chair), Karen Creeke (Departmental Manager), Neil Daeche (UNIX Systems Group), Robin Hirsch (Conversion Masters Co-ordinator), Nicola Jarvis (Secretary), Peter Rounce (Director of Services), Jill Saunders (Departmental Manager).

Student Representatives Present

Andrew Cox (Second Year UG), Steve Edwards (MSc CS), Andy Maule (PhD), Marios Panayides (MSc VIVE), Nikolas Pontikos (Third Year UG), Ian Stanton (Second Year UG), Asset Tarabayev (First Year UG), David Tatarata (Third Year UG).

1     Apologies for absence

Apologies were received from Ben Evans (MSc IS), Stefanie Foerch (First Year UG), JJ Giwa (Senior Departmental Officer), Neil Hirani (MaCS) Adamos Loizou (MSc DCNDS), Soren Sorensen (First Year Co-ordinator), Denis Timm (Technical Support Group).

Action: Denis Timm sent a message asking to be included in the list of invitees in future.

2     Notification of any other business

Andrew Cox wanted to raise an issue relating to MATHB46.

3     Approval of minutes of the last meeting

The minutes were approved.

4     Matters arising from last minutes

4.1  Wireless network (Graham Roberts)

Graham reported that the wall units are now in place and installation is in progress. It was to be hoped that the wireless network would soon be available. He was not aware of any plans to extend Roam-Net.

4.2  Meeting places and lockers on 5^th floor of Roberts Building (Jill Saunders)

There was a perceived need for more space for students to study as small groups. The space on the 5^th floor of the Roberts building needed more tables, and was often unavailable (closed for meetings and exams). There was also only one group working table in the new student common room. Graham reported that money and space constraints meant that there was unlikely to be a change in the near future. When the 5^th floor space is available it is considered a good working space. It was agreed to investigate the possibility of more tables being added.

Action: Jill Saunders to ask JJ Giwa to check if this is possible.

JJ had investigated the situation with lockers in the rest of the faculty, and had found none spare for CS students. The use of coin returnable lockers was thought to be a good idea, and a possible bid for funding was discussed.

5     Request for more dedicated study areas (Andrew Cox)

This item was covered during discussion in item 4, above.

6     Feedback on 1B10 tests and past exam papers (Asset Tarabayev, Stefanie Foerch)

The first years had received their scores but no feedback, and there were no past papers available. Graham explained that this was because there were a finite number of questions, so they could not be circulated. He agreed to check with Soren Sorensen that the students could get their individual tests back.

7     MATHB45 Maths and Stats for Computer Scientists

The class had found the lecturing style difficult, but had talked to the lecturer and found an improvement.

Asset Tarabayev reported that the scope of the module was considered very wide, and it was difficult to see where it would be of use later in the course. The students thought that the course was being taught as maths rather than maths for computer science.

After discussion it was agreed to discuss the content with the maths department. There is a yearly meeting of Maths and CS to discuss common modules.

Action: Robin Hirsch to liaise with Maths department.

8     Exam and revision lecture timetables for May exams (Stefanie Foerch)

The revision lecture timetable will be available after 20^th March.

The individual student examination timetables will be available in mid-March.

9     BCS/ IEE Accreditation (Graham Roberts/ Jill Saunders)

Thanks were given to the student representatives who met with the accreditation panel on 16^thFebruary. There had been a successful outcome to the visit.

10   Closing/ disabling of computer accounts

This issue related to a research student and had recently been resolved. Taught course students are sent email warning that their accounts will be disabled in advance, a system which works well.

11   Course feedback process (Steve Hailes)

Jill Saunders urged the students to fill in the online feedback questionnaires for each of their courses, as comments were noted and acted upon.

12   Undergraduate wrap-up sessions and option talks

Graham explained the purpose of the wrap-ups and option talks. They offer a similar forum to that of the SSCC meeting, and all students should attend. This year’s sessions are to be held on Wednesday 31^st May in room 1.04 MPEB. It was suggested that students who wanted to talk about courses they have just taken to the next year group, be encouraged to do so.

13   Any other business

13.1                 MATHB46

Andrew Cox reported that some students were not enjoying this course. It was felt that there was too much material covered, and this caused the lecturer to rush. The students were also concerned that work may be binary marked. Robin Hirsch asked Andrew to detail specific, constructive points that he could raise with the Maths department, by email.

The next meeting is due in November 2006, exact date to be confirmed.