Three bad things about being an ICS student

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ardell S Klemme on August 28, 2011 at 4:05pm

Great post Sean!  I agreed with all of your points.  Although, I do believe that some of what you're looking for in regards to the 3rd point are addressed with graduate level programs.  I'm not saying that is the proper schema to adopt, it is simply how UH has apparently decided to approach it.

Sean S K Chung said:

Unfortunately I am scheduled to graduate next semester, but hopefully this may help future students.

 

1) More sections for required and/or in-demand classes.

 

A good example is this semester's ICS 314 class. Even though it is a required class there was only one small section with many people still trying to take it, who without it may have their graduation pushed back an entire semester.

 

2) A larger variety of 400-level courses taught per semester.

 

For example compare the dozen or so 400-level English courses compared to the 4 in the ICS subject. Even though the B.S. degree in Computer Science technically only requires 5 non-specific 400-level courses I wouldn't think people want to take a class they are not interested in.

 

3) More "structured" options for different ICS paths.

 

To the best of my knowledge there is one and only one degree option for those pursuing a B.S. in Computer Science. While it has good requirements for a broad understanding of the field it doesn't really help those who would want to specialize in a specific field. Maybe an option and class schedule for a B.S. in Computer Science with Mobile Design focus, or Database Design, etc.

Permalink Reply by Mitchell Kupfer on August 28, 2011 at 6:27pm

1. More languages: Throughout my education here at UHM I have had very heavy exposure to Java and very light exposure to a lot of other languages, although I realise there is value in working mainly in one language throughout our classes I feel as though I would benefit from more exposure to other languages being used in the profession. 

2. Classes: I know the UH system budget is hurting and because of this less classes are being offered, but when I look in the course catalogue and see all of these really interesting classes that I cant take because they are not being offered, it is somewhat depressing. 

3. ICS community: It doesn't seem to me like the ICS students form a very tight community, the only exception to this that I can think of is the Gray Hats.

Permalink Reply by Elmar Carillo on August 28, 2011 at 7:25pm

1. Not enough sections for some ICS courses, or limited availability. I registered for my first ICS course one year after entering UH Manoa because I couldn't get into any ICS classes (mainly ICS 111 and 141). Surprisingly there are a lot of sections for these classes and now not enough 400-level classes for my senior year at UH Manoa.

2. Need more courses with focus requirements. There's not much in the ICS department and would like to see more, mainly writing intensive, oral communication and ethics. Could writing code be counted as Writing Intensive? Basically we're writing, not grammar, but computer grammar or simply "code".

3. My number one answer to the three good things about being an ICS student. Challenge. While challenge is a good thing, it also has side effects, meaning stress. Sometimes there's a lot of work and it worries me on how will I be able to complete it all.

Permalink Reply by Matthew Mizumoto on August 28, 2011 at 8:23pm

1. Like what a lot of people have said, my biggest problem was the lack of sections available. I was not able to start the curriculum until my second year due to this problem and it seems that there are more introductory classes now than there are 400-level classes for us seniors and juniors to graduate.

 

2. Work Load. It is understandable that practice in the field is necessary, however, when you have hours worth of coding for two to three classes, that can have some serious side affects on us students. We are even advised not to take more than 3 ICS courses at a time, which greatly slows down our graduation rate.

 

3. No elective for internships. I found it strange that we are not required to intern for a semester because we can only learn so much in the classroom. If you look at any job posting, it is experience that the employer wants, not necessarily just knowledge.

Permalink Reply by Terrence Chida on August 28, 2011 at 9:45pm

1. To me, the program could contain more classes that are more hands-on programming-based rather than theory-based classes. While theory is very important, practicing coding provides skills that can be directly applied to a whole range of applications. I feel that I learned a lot more and retained a lot more from the ICS 111, 211, and 212 classes than from the other more theoretical classes I took. I would enjoy taking more classes like 111 and 211 to really polish up my skills in programming, and if they incorporated theory in with the practical applications, I feel that the theories would retain in my mind more.
2. While I know that budget is limited and heading towards worse times, it would be great if the department could provide computers and other resources to ICS students. Requirements such as having laptops that are less than 2 years old for some classes probably come as a surprise to a lot of people, especially if these are not known ahead of time—which is probably the case most of the time. Although computers are becoming more and more budget-friendly, students may still not be able to afford them, particularly with the cost of being a student continually increasing.
3. Standardizing the classes is another aspect that would improve the program. While many of the upper-level classes are taught by the same professor semester after semester, many of the 100- and 200-level classes are taught by different professors, often with very different styles and standards. Students often take classes that are taught by the “easier” teachers in order to get better grades, but these easier classes don’t require as much in-depth work. Thus these students get the A, but don’t get much of anything else out of the class, whereas the students who take the “harder” classes work harder, learn more, but don’t get the grades. These students suffer because they are working harder, which definitely not be happening. Of course, sometimes the professors could be teaching in ways that are not the most effective for the students’ learning, so standardizing the expectations of teachers’ could be improved as well.

Permalink Reply by Marifel R. Barbasa on August 28, 2011 at 10:40pm

1. I wanted to take ICS 413 Software Engineering I in the Spring 2011 semester, but it is only offered during the fall (and now changed to ICS 314). In short, I wish for more availability of classes, as it also would have been great to take a networking course this fall, but unfortunately, none are offered.

 

2. Ethics, Oral Communications, and Writing Intensive ICS courses are virtually non-existent. I have to fulfill these requirements next spring, and I'm hoping to graduate in May. It's not the most ideal situation.

 

3. Some courses should be required. Upon entering my internship this past summer, I had no experience with networking whatsoever. To be a part of the network architecture team and start off as clueless gave me a completely unpleasant feeling, regardless of the fact that my team members were very supportive and understanding. Because networking is an essential part of globalization, I feel that networking should be a required course at UHM - and software engineering as well.

Permalink Reply by Yong on August 28, 2011 at 10:56pm

First, it would be better if the program offers all courses every semester so the students don't have to wait and have more choices.

Second, it would be convenient for ICS students if there is a computer lab available anytime during daytime.

Permalink Reply by Zach Tomaszewski on August 28, 2011 at 11:10pm

1) It's easy to feel socially disconnected in POST building, since everyone is tucked away out of sight in their office and cubicles.  (That said, I've found that I've been closing my own cubicle door more often the past few months as I try to catch up on the various projects I have going.)

2) I find the discrete math requirements of ICS to be tedious.

 

Permalink Reply by Eldon Visitacion on August 28, 2011 at 11:16pm

1- There's only 1 or 2 courses in the entire ICS course catalog that deal with Networking. I was somewhat disappointed about that when transfering over from Leeward, hoping to take more courses that dealt with network architecture, and all I saw were mostly all programming related. While I enjoy programming, I'm more interested on the hardware / networking side.

 

2- Focus requirements are a pain, and there should be more options than just ICS 390 for ETH / OC requirements.

 

3- Lack of needed courses once you hit upper divison. I have 5 more classes I need to graduate, and I'm not even sure that I'll be able to take the classes I need because some courses are offered only once a year, and some not even that. Planning out my academic journey since coming to UH has been a bit of a hassle because of this.

 

3.5- Professors that assign work over spring break. Since coming to UH Manoa, I haven't had a spring break that was actually a 'break'. Every non-ICS major I know are outside enjoying themselves, while I'm at my desk pecking away at programs that are due the monday or tuesday after the break is over. Seriously, if we aren't getting a 'break' for spring break, why even bother calling it that?

Permalink Reply by Russell Vea on August 29, 2011 at 10:14am

- The general amount of unclassified courses that could satisfy our
graduation requirements. ICS 311 for example, involves Oral Communication
as well as a fair amount of writing but doesn't qualify for either
requirement. If it goes towards furthering our careers in Computer Science
surely it can count in furthering our progress here at UH Manoa.
- Cramped TA quarters. There is often little to no space in the TA cubicles
for people who take the initiative to come in to ask for help. In my experience
only about 3 people could fit (quite uncomfortably) in their space with them.
 - Poor classroom management, a course like ICS 314, for example, having only
20 available seats and constantly filling up as opposed to, say, ICS 321 which
is usually situated in one of the larger classrooms with plenty of seating
leftover.

Permalink Reply by Daniel Ly on August 29, 2011 at 10:23am

1. Limited class availability and how classes are not offered for multiple semesters (nothing we can do about the budget costs). Sometimes you have to wait to take a REQUIRED class due to it being cut.

 

2. Books can be very expensive, especially for classes requiring multiple books. In this field of study, its kind of a must that we use money on up-to-date technology so the costs can accumulate quickly.

 

3.There are some professors who should consider switching up their teaching methods. Of course that is every failing student's excuse but if over 75% of your students are failing, you might want to consider a more effective way of conducting a course. Passing a student who is "technically failing" but receives a higher grade due to a curve only shows that they haven't learned much so it isn't always the best solution.

Permalink Reply by Joshua Antonio on August 29, 2011 at 11:25am

1. Though it has already been mentioned, the lack of courses being offered each semester is very frustrating. Sometimes a class will only be offered every three semesters which I think is completely unacceptable. It is a waste of students' time and money.

 

2. Lack of resources or study areas. For a computer science department, I would expect to see more access to dedicated study areas and machines for student use.

 

3. Some professors have ineffective teaching styles. I think there needs to be more of a balance between hands-on learning and lecturing. For programming oriented classes, there should be coding done in class and not just theories or concepts.

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