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What are three ways that the UH ICS program could improve?

If you can think of more than three things, then please limit your response to your top three!

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I am a computer engineering student, and this is the first time for me to take an ICS class at UH Manoa; therefore, I don't know too much about the ICS program at UH Manoa. 

In my opinion, I think the ICS program at UH Manoa should offer more high and new technology classes to the student such as IOT (Internet of thing), AI, Machine learning and Big Data.  I think ICS student should be allowed to take some EE course with the computer Engineering students. Since there are not too many computer engineering students at UH Manoa, many EE courses related to computer don't have enough people.  For example, only 6 people are taking the EE368 which is IOT course in this semester. ICS doesn't offer IOT course; therefore, I think if the ICS students were allowed to take some EE courses, more people would take this course.  I also think there should not be a big gap between Computer Science and Computer Engineering major, and there should be more projects that allow ICS students and Computer Engineering students to work together.  In addition, I think Computer Engineering students should be allowed to take more ICS courses. 

1. I feel that some of the earlier classes for ICS could communicate a better idea of what to expect down the line. As some of the early classes didn't do that well of a job on showing what the core of being an ICS student is, and it feels like I didn't learn all the relevant information I needed later down the line for classes like ICS 311.

2. The availability of classes is another major thing I can think of, with some ICS classes being extremely difficult to get into and the ones that don't get filled immediately have really spread out times. Which forces students to stay on campus for an extremely long time if they commute to the university.

3. One last thing I can think of is the cost of being an ICS student. With the cost of textbooks being already very high, and with the cost of a good laptop that can effectively run your programs fast and efficiently, the cost quickly adds up. For students who don't have the time for jobs it can be extremely expensive to be an ICS student. 

1. We should have more section for each course. Some courses are really full, and it's so hard to register.

2. I agree with that school should provide study area for ICS students.

3. I take ICS 314 this semester, and it should be a writing intensive course. But my course is not WI because other same ICS314 with WI are so full. I hope we have more professors can take the ICS writing intensive course for ICS students.

1. The lack of in person interaction from some professors. A few professors view the internet, laulima and youtube specifically, as a way to not have to see their students in person as much and offer face to face assistance.
2. The lack of industry certifications being incorporated into the degree program. Comptia, ISC^2, Cisco, Amazon, and various other institutions provide industry specific workloads and study material that are related directly to the job you're be pursuing.
3. The troubleshooting experience. I also listed this as a positive because, when you finally solve the problem, that top-of-the-mountain feeling makes it all worthwhile. But when you've been staring at the same couple dozen lines of code wondering why Bjarne Stroustrup decided to make the his error codes so non-specific as to be useless, it makes you think if there even is a mountain peak to climb up to.

1. I think there should be more flexibility in the core requirements of classes for the foreign language credit so instead of being forced to take a language you should be allowed to do something else like music classes. Additionally, ICS should have its own ethics course like the other departments so students can learn ethical practices pertaining to their industry.

2. I think that another issue is that the Computer Science and Computer Engineering departments are worlds apart. When I was transferring to UH I was trying to decide between the Computer Science and Computer Engineering degree I learned how although the courses did overlap slightly but there was no communication between the two departments. I think probably a merger would be a good way to bridge the gap for students and enable them to take more classes in EE and ICS.

3. I've also noticed that for certain classes they are taught at night which for me is pretty inconvenient for me as a student who lives pretty far from campus. Currently, I have a lab class that runs pretty late so when I leave transportation is tough for students who do not have cars.

1. The ICS program could benefit from offering more time slots for required courses. For example, ICS 212 at UH is only offered in the late evening, which is not really convenient for us students who would usually have classes in the morning, and will then have to wait on campus for hours to attend that class. 

2. Since computer science is so broad, it would be nice if the program provided a way for students to learn more about the different specialties within computer science (data science, security, IT, etc..) early on. This can help them find which specialty they would like to pursue and give them an idea of what to expect, opposed to having them take the courses later on and find that it might not be something they would like to do. 

3. It would be nice if the program offered more workshops for its students. They could be on programming languages, IDEs, the workplace environment, etc..

3 Ways that the UH ICS Program could improve are: 

(1) By structuring the ICS curriculum and the CENG curriculum alongside each other, which could possibly done through cross-listed courses, the hassle of having to ask for overrides from one person in charge of the department or course could be mitigated, and all ICS and CENG students would have more options and would be able to gain the skills of their choosing. 

(2) By adding co-requisite lab sessions that are dedicated to learning technical skills pertaining to the lab’s lecture equivalent. It can be difficult (with other life obligations) to do these things on your own time. I find that throughout my courses, the courses I find most enriching are those I could learn technical skills from, whether it be programming hardware or assembling circuits. If these labs incorporated assignments with industry standards, students would be better equipped to enter the workforce. 

(3) Through the addition of online courses, which would make it convenient for students to take courses at their own pace, especially if these students are unable to sit in a classroom because of again, life obligations such as having a job or a family. 

1. Class availability and overrides:  As someone who is in computer engineering, I have had a hard time registering for classes every time I need to take an ICS course, this is because the prerequisite courses are ICS specific and engineering courses are not immediately accepted. By the time I get the override to register, the class is already full.

2. The Disproportional Assignment Times:  Engineering has this problem too, where the amount of credits awarded by the course is completely irrelevant to the amount of time the class requires. Classes that take up more time should award more credits. 

3. The Lack of Fluidity Between Classes: Whenever I have taken an ICS class, it seems like the prerequisite class has nothing to do with the class that I am taking and I need to relearn everything in the way the professor chooses. I think the program could be improved by making the classes feel like a continuation of one another. 

1. Flexibility of the classes being offered could be improved. Currently, ICS 212 is only being offered in the evening and creates discomfort within many ICS students. If it could be offered during earlier times, or even online, it would greatly improve the response of students regarding class schedules.

2. Regarding class content, material is very condensed. Different ICS classes are taken concurrently with each other, and the workload adds up very quickly. Homework and class material could be more spread out to ensure that students really understand the material, rather than rushing through a topic in a week.

3. An internship opportunity provided by the ICS program would tremendously help every single student. The main thing for internships is the experience you get. However, in order to be considered by many companies that offer internships, you need experience to be considered. Doing internships within the program would give this experience to many of the students.

1. You might spend a lot time looking at something that actually does not help you to solve your problem, this include both the distraction from other things or a misguiding. But this is part of learning process.

2. As at took a look at these bad things people posted 12 years ago, I feel are my issue is quite minor compare to them, I believe the bad things could be a good things as there is room for improvement.

Flipped Classroom Strategy

I understand that most of the higher ICS classes uses the "filliped classroom strategy" for example ICS 311. However, not being use to this learning style, it was hard to get a grasp of how the class ran the first week of school. I like the idea where we have to come to class prepared with the material, but I would also like to have a class period where the teacher would lecture us on the material instead of getting into groups and most likely be confused on the exercise problems given. 

Stressful Semesters 

As you take higher ICS courses along with other courses required for your degree, the work load for the semester becomes very stressful. Since I am taking 311 and 314 at the same time, I already know it's going to be a tough and stressful semester. If I do not pass 311 the first try, then I would be pushing my graduation date further behind than when I wanted to graduate.

Class Time 

The ICS classes are scheduled either really early in the morning or late at night. Most likely you will have a semester or semesters where you end class late one day and the very next day you have an early morning class. Since most students stay up late studying, they would go to their early morning class exhausted and not pay attention during that period of time. 

As a computer engineer major, I do not know much about the UH ICS program but here are some of my suggestions on how it could be improved: 

  1. When I was looking through the ICS courses that I would want to sign up for, it had a lot of the courses offered only in one semester. This inconvenience of time makes it hard for students to take the classes they want at the time they want. 
  2. From the certain ICS courses I've taken, they all specify how it is not recommended to have a job and take their course. Working makes it difficult to study enough hours to keep up with the course and I've heard it in engineering courses too. 
  3. I believe there should be a bigger push for internship opportunities.  I know there are internship opportunities offered to students all the time but it is not mandatory to do in the ICS program. I think it should be required for all students to participate in an internship or have a class dedicated to internships. At my old university I was required to do an internship and it was very valuable in the learning process of my major. 

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