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Minutes of the CSI Staff Student Liaison Committee Meeting held on Wednesday 29 February 2012
Present Staff Dawn Willoughby James Ferryman Fahad Aldihisi, BSc CS with industrial year Ross Beale, BSc CS Chris Farr, BSc CS

Part 1 Part 2

Dawn Willoughby welcomed all members to the second meeting of this academic year. 1. Actions from Previous Meeting a) Provision of a weekly mathematics drop-in tutorial session The School acknowledges the concerns raised about mathematics for students without ALevel mathematics and is therefore currently discussing the way in which mathematics is delivered in its programmes as well as the entry requirements for prospective students. b) Changing the wording in the prospectus to highlight the mathematical content of courses When decisions are made (see point 1) then the wording in the prospectus will be reviewed and amended to reflect the changes implemented. c) Provision of non-module-specific help by Part 2 students for Part 1 students The mentoring scheme was aimed at general support to Part 1 students rather than specific to any module. This was a pilot scheme and discussions are already taking place as to how the scheme can be improved for next year. A competition (with a financial reward) will shortly be launched to encourage Part 1 students to make suggestions for improvements. d) An optional Blackboard training session, particularly focussing on forum use Any additional training required in Blackboard can be considered for inclusion in the learning session provided to new students at the start of the first year. It is suggested that the student representatives for the Committee produce a list of required topics. e) Whether the Blackboard test for SE2CA11 has been completed by all students This issue was due to reported ITS problems which affected the second group of students. The problems were resolved and all students took the test. f) Creating a Blackboard space for publicising the committee Completed BB space created and made available to relevant students

g) Sending text messages to mobile phones from Blackboard SSE would only take this approach if it was adopted by the University as a whole mainly due to Data Protection issues. The idea is currently being discussed within the University.

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h) Provision of more detailed instructions on the PID for next years students The use of PIDs has been incorporated into a taught module for the current second years. The project module has been in a transition phase and the School recognises that the PID from this year could be improved. The procedure will be reviewed as part of preparation for the coming year. i) Whether the Alpha Sting in programming is optional or part of the marking scheme In programming, the alpha sting is there to push the experienced programmers and those who are progressing above par. It is still possible to get an excellent mark without the alpha sting, but students should try to answer it if possible. The method of delivery of material required for coursework assignment in SE2EA11 Awaiting full response to query.

j)

k) Whether the practical work in SE2JA11 counts towards a major piece of coursework Clarification emailed by Giuseppe Di Fatta on 28/11/11 l) The Schools contingency plan for an non-operational intranet ITS have recently changed their service provider and it is hoped that systems reliability will be improved. However, the School will continue to make reasonable allowances if students are prevented from meeting a deadline due to non-operational intranet issues.

2. Issues Raised Part 1 E-Business: Part 1 students had reported to the student representative that the distribution of coursework for the E-Business module was too close to the Easter vacation and the start of the revision period for summer examinations. Mentoring: A clearer channel of communication was requested for the mentoring scheme, operating both ways from Part 1 to Part 2 students and vice versa. It was hoped that the review process for the mentoring scheme and the competition was lead to an improvement in this area. Programming Quiz: It was reported that the programming quiz via Blackboard had crashed for some students, leaving insufficient time for them to complete the remaining questions. Part 2 Project Management: Part 2 student representatives felt that there had been a lack of planning and communication in the project management module. This had included the change of group members without adequate communication and a lack of clarification and feedback for the PID assignment. Whilst the introduction of the PID into the second year was welcomed, students felt that this was only valuable if effective instructions and feedback were provided. Java: Part 2 student representatives reported that the distribution of coursework for the Java module was too close to the Christmas vacation leaving very little time and opportunity for asking questions and obtaining guidance.

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Part 3 No representative at the meeting. 3. Positive Feedback Programming Module: There was positive feedback for the Part 1 programming module : students had agreed that this was an enjoyable module and that the use of demonstrators in practical sessions was an effective way of obtaining guidance. Teaching: Part 1 students had reported that Ben Cosh and Kevin Warwick had given interesting lectures in their modules. Committee: All student representatives commented that they were pleased with the way in which staff in the School had taken their comments seriously and responded with comprehensive answers to their queries. 4. Actions Dawn Willoughby to investigate: the timing of the distribution of coursework for the Java and E-Business modules whether the planning and communication for the Project Management module could be improved James Ferryman to investigate: whether any students were not able to complete the programming quiz in Blackboard All student representatives: to compile a list of Blackboard features that they would like to be included in the first year initial training session to establish the content of the Blackboard space for the committee and publicise its existence to students 5. Date of next meeting To be announced next term.