NOTES OF A WRAP-UP MEETING HELD ON 31 MAY 2006

Year 3 - BSc/MSc/MEng COMPUTER SCIENCE

Present: GAR (Chair), NJ (Minutes) and students.

1. OUTSTANDING COURSEWORK RETURN
The students had still not received their coursework for the Operating Systems module, and there had been an exam question that related to the coursework. Return of some Technology Management coursework was also outstanding.

GAR agreed to raise with Mark Handley & Soren Sorensen.

2. EXAM TIMETABLING
Some of the students had four exams scheduled in a row. GAR explained that the timetabling of exams is done centrally and the department has very little control over it.

3. COMP3C04
The students had problems understanding Mark Herbster's part of the course, as he had been using a previous teacher's notes. This was noted.

4. OPERATING SYSTEMS
It was reported that there was too much material covered in the slides, and that is was unclear how much extra reading the students needed to do. GAR replied that third year students should be able to make a judgement about what is relevant.

5. DATABASE & INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
It was reported that there had been problems with the marking of this module (three different PhD students, using different mark schemes. This had now been resolved with Chris Clack.

6. C AND C++
The students thought there was not enough C programming in the Operating Systems module. They thought that knowing C languages improved their employability.

GAR replied that C languages were now moving away from the mainstream.

7. GROUP PROJECT
The students enjoyed the group projects, but would have liked more feedback during the process. There was a feeling though, that some people had chosen very similar material for their individual projects and so had not stretched themselves to complete it. GAR replied that the department could have no control over this. However, students who undertook more challenging projects and put in more time and effort were likely to be rewarded with higher marks.

8. COURSEWORK HAND-IN
The students asked if they could email coursework. GAR replied that this depended on individual markers preferences.

The students were also unhappy that the times they could hand coursework in were restricted between certain hours on a certain day. Sometimes the deadlines could not be extended because of other hand-ins. GAR replied that this was due to time and staffing constraints. The hand-in timetable was fixed in advance to avoid overcrowding in the reception area.

9. LONGER LAB HOURS
Longer lab hours had been back in demand this year. The department can only keep the labs open after hours if there is a designated person in the building (Health and Safety issues etc). There were plans being worked out to ask MSc students to take on this role next year. The plans would rest on the goodwill of the students being asked.

10. INDUSTRIAL ACTION
GAR reported that all CS courses were to be assessed normally, but that there may be problems obtaining marks from other departments. UCL has put mechanisms into place for examination boards to deal with the industrial action. Students were advised to look at the UCL website where a message to all students had been published.

11. DRINKING WATER
The students asked if drinking water could be made available somewhere in the building. Action: To be referred to JJ Giwa.

Nicola Jarvis
June 2006