3rd Year Undergraduate Wrap-up meeting

Present: Dr Graham Roberts (Departmental Tutor), Jill Saunders and five 2nd year students

1. Overall impressions of Year 2
Those present generally felt that the 2nd year had been more interesting and that subject matter was making better sense. For example, there were courses that clearly built on material covered in Year 1, and others which were laying the foundations for Year 3.

2. Mathematice (COMP2003 Mathematics and Statistics)
GAR asked what people felt about Mathematics. It was felt that COMP2003 was generally straightforward, but that they would definitely benefit from lecture notes of the material covered in Term 1. It had been difficult to gauge the standards expected in the Term 1 part, and the mid-point exam had included areas not covered in the lectures. ACTION: to be raised with course tutors

3. Other core courses
Of the other core courses, things were reported to be generally fine, though it was felt that the Networks part of COMP2011 Networks Databases and Graphics had seemed to dominate the course in terms of workload. The on-line coursework had been difficult and it was suggested that some of the course notes needed updating.ACTION: to be raised with course tutors

4. Option choices
Most of those present had taken Linear Programming. It was flagged up that this class timetable clashed with others in the Computer Science core. ACTION: timetablers

5. Timing of Option Talks
We talked about whether the timing of today's Option Talks and Wrap-up meetings should be moved, given that so few people had attended. It was suggested that people might be more receptive to Options Talks in the first week of Term 1 (ie late September). ACTION: to be looked into further

6. Reminder about final year projects
GAR reminded everyone how important it was for 2nd years to sort out their project arrangements before leaving for the vacation, so as not to lose precious time in the Autumn Term.

7. Change to MEng programme
GAR reminded everyone about arrangements for transfer to MEng (ie download a Change of Degree Programme form from the Registry website.