Department of Computer Science
STAFF STUDENT CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE
Wednesday 28th November 2012
1.20 Malet Place Engineering Building
M I N U T E S
STAFF PRESENT:
Dr Graham Roberts (Departmental Tutor, DEOLO, Director of Studies, Chair), Nicola Alexander (Departmental Administrator, Academic Policy and Operations), Neil Daeche, (Head of Internal Infrastructure), JJ Giwa (Departmental Administrator, Facilities Management & Operations, DEOLO) Jill Saunders (Departmental Manager), Dave Twistleton (Departmental Safety Officer)
STUDENT ACADEMIC REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT:
Nicola Greco (1st Year UG Rep), Necati Munir (1st Year UG Rep), William Hines (3rd year UG Rep), Shahriar Tajbakhsh (3rd Year UG Rep), Will Grimes (MSc CS Rep), Apostolos (Akis) Angelis (MSc CS Rep), Jennifer Nguyen (CSML Rep), Sobhan Yassipour Tehrani (MSc SSE Rep), Irina Mnohoghitnei (MSc FSE Rep), Petar Ivanov (ML Rep), Ajesh Vaghela (MSc NCS Rep), Suketu Mehta (Msc Info Sec Rep), Shin Jen Teo (MSc WS & BDA), Donghan Chen (MSc FRM Rep), Antontio Garcia Caspiñeda (PhD CS Rep)
IN ATTENDANCE:
Sarah Clegg, Undergraduate Administrator (Secretary)
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1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE.
The Chair welcomed the committee and noted apologies for absence from Michael Boon (Second year UG Rep).
2 NOTIFICATION OF ANY OTHER BUSINESS
Five issues were raised (see item 15).
3 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING ON 5th March 2012
Two of the student reps who attended the last meeting signed that they were accurate, as did the Chair.
4.1 Temperature control in 1.21
The reps reported that the temperature in 1.21 had improved. It was noted that if there were any further issues with the temperature they should be reported by email to building-faults@cs.ucl.ac.uk
4.2 Disabling Coversheets when printing
It was noted that coversheets had been disabled on the printers in all Labs as per the request of reps in previous meetings.
4.3 Lab Door Lock Combinations
It was noted that the codes on the doors to the interconnected 1st floor labs were still different. It was agreed that there should be one code for all three Labs.
ACTION: Neil would ask Denis Timm to make this change.
4.4 National Student Survey (NSS) Reminders
Nicola Alexander reported that the response rate to the NSS had increased last year, therefore the reminder system in place had been a success. It was noted that the results were being analysed at that moment and would be published in due course.
4.5 Time-out for Locked Machines in Labs
It was noted that some machines in the Labs were dual-bootable, which allowed someone else to re-boot and log-in. However this slowed machines down. Students were reminded that machines should only be locked for a very quick break and were asked to notify TSG with any cases of machines being locked for a period of time.
4.6 Availability of Eduroam throughout the MPEB
It was noted that Eduroam was still not available on the upper floors on the MPEB. Neil Deache reported that ISD had plans to implement this, but the timescale had not been defined. In the meantime, students were reminded that they could access the Computer Science network.
4.7 Notification of slow return of marked coursework
Reps were asked to notify the Chair and Sarah Clegg if there were any issues with coursework not being returned within the designated timescale (4 weeks according to UCL policy). Ajesh Vaghela reported that there were issues with modules that had back-to-back coursework - the four week time scale did not allow students to receive and incorporate feedback into their subsequent work. The Chair advised that students should raise these kinds of queries with the relevant lecturers in the first instance.
4.8 Coursework marks on provisional results and on Portico
The Chair reported that Portico only displayed aggregate module results and the system did not allow for further detail to be shown. However it was noted that an update to Portico was expected in the future. It was noted that it might be possible to provide more detail on provisional results letters generated within the department, but this would be a lot of additional work for the administrative team at what was already an extremely busy time.
Agenda Items
5. UCL Quick Wins 2013 Project (Jill Saunders)
Jill Saunders presented five proposed bids for funding from the Quick Wins 2-12 project, aimed to transform space and invited comments on them, as follows:
The proposal for lockers was problematic for a number of reasons. Space for the lockers was noted as a key issue – the first floor corridor was not an option, as the floor was shared with Medical Physics. Also lockers in corridors on other floors would present a health and safety issue as the corridors are narrower and make it difficult for people such as wheelchair users to pass along the corridor. It was noted that the ground floor entrance of the MPEB was not an option as it would be incorporated into the Make Space area. The Reps reported that lockers in a nearby location, such as the Roberts Building would be welcome, if space could not be found in the MPEB.
It was noted that although a student common room was desirable, unfortunately there was no space to accommodate this.
4. Whiteboards
It was agreed that the existing whiteboards in the MPEB were very effective for sharing ideas. A request was made for the Reps to notify JJ and Jill if they noticed potential spaces for whiteboards throughout the Building.
It was reported that Lecturecast was already available in around 25% of teaching spaces, including MPEB 1.02 and 1.03. The Chair noted that on his modulesstatistics demonstrated that the number of students accessing videos had been low, but that it might increase nearer the examination period. Reps reported that students might not be aware that this resource was available online, as sometimes they could be difficult to find. It was noted that this facility would be useful in teaching rooms other than lecture theatres, even if audio alone was captured.
ACTION: Jill Saunders requested that any further suggestions should be sent to herself and JJ. The deadline for proposals was the second week of January.
6. Computer Science Student Shop (Sarah Clegg)
Sarah Clegg made a request for volunteers to run the annual student shop and logo design competition. It was noted that there was a profit of £90 and the SSCC could decide how to spend this. William Grimes and Ajesh Vaghela volunteered. The reps agreed that one final design competition should be held and the winning logo should then be kept for a number of years; one design/brand would help advertise the department and encourage sales.
7. Grades v Numerical Marks for Coursework
The Chair reported that there was not a policy on whether numerical marks or grades should be used on coursework. Reps stated that different modules used different grade boundaries for coursework marks and specific grades would be preferable, as they give a better indication of performance.
ACTION: The Chair would refer the matter to the DTC.
8. Annual Monitoring (Nicola Alexander)
Nicola Alexander reported that modules were reviewed annually based on results and information received via module evaluation forms. Hence students were encouraged to complete feedback forms to inform this process. It was noted that the annual monitoring data would be published online in due course.
ACTION: Nicola would send round the link to the annual monitoring data.
9. Student Facilities
JJ reported that the request to install a water dispenser on the first floor of the MPEB was not possible, as it would be accessed by non-CS students. It was noted that there was a water cooler on the fourth floor. Students should notify the departmental office if it was low on water. JJ reported that the Faculty had plans to install a vending machine on the Ground floor of the Roberts Building.
10. Labs (Akis Angelis)
Filestore Quota
Windows 8
ACTION: Neil would enquire as to the status of Windows 8 with Nigel/Dean
It was noted that the printing quota got reset every term and students found this a problem when they had to print more in one term than another when their modules were spread over the two terms unequally. Neil made the reps aware that it was possible for students to purchase extra quota and also that they had an ISD quota to use in addition to their CS quota.
Neil reported that double-sided printing would be the default setting for all printers in the department.
Students were encouraged to report problems with WAMP to the TSG helpdesk. Akis Angelis requested that all software should be installed on machines in advance so that students could get on with work immediately. However it was noted that it was not possible to know the software requirements for all projects in advance. Students were informed that TSG would set up the software required once students inform them of their requirements.
Network Problems
Students were asked to notify TSG with any network issues. Reps reported that since they only were issued with one IP address they could only login with one device at a time. It was noted that once Eduroam was installed this problem would be resolved.
11. Year in Industry for UG Students (Necati Munir)
Necati Munir reported that students had expressed an interest in undertaking a year in industry. The Chair responded that students were able to undertake an ‘extra-mural’ year depending on the opportunities offered to us by companies. Students were encouraged to keep their eye out for the Department and UCL advertising any such opportunities.
12. Advertising of Student Special Interest Groups
It was noted that student special interest groups had been set up and would be advertised imminently.
13. Slow updating of Moodle Sites (Akis Angelis)
It was reported that some lecturers were slow to update their Moodle pages. The Chair advised students that in the first instance they should ask lecturers to update their pages. If it remained a problem after they had spoken to the lecturers, students should inform their programme directors. The same approach should be taken for lecturers who had not added a discussion forum to their course Moodle pages.
14. Workload on COMPGC01/2
It was agreed that the Chair and Akis Angelis would discuss this outside the meeting.
15. Any Other Business
Whiteboard in MPEB 1.21
It was reported that the whiteboard in this lab could not be cleaned and was therefore unusable. JJ advised that there were plans in place for the whole lab to be refurbished in due course.
COMP3005 Operating Systems
It was agreed that the Chair and Shahriar Tajbakhsh would discuss this outside the meeting.
Information Security Careers Opportunities
Reps reported that they hoped for more careers opportunities to be available to students on the Information Security MSc.
ACTION: The Chair would discuss this with the programme director, David Clark.
Rooms for Lectures
Reps reported that there was an issue of over-filling of lecture theatres/venues for certain modules. Nicola Alexander explained that timetabling was very difficult and that rooms allocated for lectures were out of the Department’s control to a certain extent. It was noted that lab sessions would be increased for modules for which overcrowding was a particular issue.
Texts Books in Library
Reps reported that the number of text books in the library was limited, even when students requested extra copies to be purchased. The Chair advised that library budgets had to be considered and the policy was for e-book services to be made use of, therefore students should always check whether a book is online before requesting it to be purchased.
16. THE NEXT MEETING IS DUE TO BE HELD IN MARCH 2013.
Undergraduate Administrator
Department of Computer Science
[020 7679 3690, UCL extension 33690, email: s.clegg@ucl.ac.uk ]
+44 (0)20 7679 7214
