Three bad things about being an ICS student

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jack Zuelke on August 31, 2020 at 8:09pm

1) Computer Science, as many have mentioned requires a lot of different skills which aren't needed for different specializations, such as having to take calculus II, and other numerous core requirements on top of a very broad spectrum of computer science classes. For example, as someone who wants to develop video games there are a lot of difficult classes which won't help later in my career.

2) Related to the previous answer, computer science has one of if not the highest dropout rate of any major; which with the need for more computer scientists, it doesn't make sense that more hasn't been done to help this.

3) Many ICS students are shy and uninvolved with the administration side of the university, which means that there isn't much of a voice for ICS students. If I remember correctly it was hard for clubs, including ACM I believe, to get new members last semester, or to even choose presidents for some clubs as the seniors graduated.

Permalink Reply by Tri Pham on August 31, 2020 at 8:35pm

1. A more focused area for the ICS program, the current area is pretty limited in space.

2. more courses that explores the wide field of computer sciences

3. more speakers from the tech fields

Permalink Reply by Angela Lau on August 31, 2020 at 9:09pm

1. The program could offer more upper level ICS courses that are offered at different times of the day. It’s difficult to get a seat in certain classes and also a problem when it comes to scheduling that course in among other classes. Often, there is a time conflict and then it comes down to a choice of either taking one class or the other, wasting time.
2. There aren’t enough specialized higher division courses for students explore, therefore many of us have a very vague idea of what we actually want to do with our degree.
3. The flipped classroom teaching method is interesting and somewhat effective, but it also makes it difficult for students to actually gain insight from the professor. For ICS 311 for example, we’re expected to learn the subject on our own time and then come to class prepared to do quizzes and group assignments, which are very time-constrained. This leaves us with very little time to ask meaningful questions. A good suggestion is to have a traditional lecture once a week and the rest of the week can be a flipped classroom method.

Permalink Reply by Cheolhoon Choi on August 31, 2020 at 10:04pm

1. I think there should be more opportunities for ICS students to talk to other ICS students - undergraduates and graduates

2. Java is the language used in most of the courses. We have a few other such as C and C++, but I think that using a wider variety of languages will bring students to a higher level technically.

3. I wish there were more courses that could meet other requirements such as WI, OC, and ETH.

Permalink Reply by Adrian Tam on August 31, 2020 at 10:19pm

1) If there were individual paths for CS instead of everything combined into a general subject, with a few classes for a specialization, students could gut out all the excess learning they would never use. It would lead to more in depth knowledge on narrower areas and better internship experience because the overall skill level will be higher.

2) Classes are too fragmented. To get a degree you have to go through XXA,XXB...XXZ classes, but every single class teaches different languages as a foundation. Additionally, the classes don't simulate a real environment until the upper classes. You generally know what classes teach but they fail to convey the importance of the topic because of the classes being so unimpactful.

3) Lack of clear class path. A student might want to change his schedule within the bounds of the degree class requirements, but what they learn is based on their own opinion. Certain classes might help more with specialization, but not knowing the paths gives students classes useless to their actual profession. I suggest refining career paths a bit more.

Permalink Reply by Christian Pak on August 31, 2020 at 10:26pm

1. So far the 100 and 200 level courses have felt too easy 

2. Being required by some teachers to show up to lab

3. Little to no teaching on the process of programming (ex:how to go logically break down problems and then create pseudocode then turn into code, debugging )

Permalink Reply by Marjorie Kay Raquiz on August 31, 2020 at 10:42pm

1. Programming can take up a lot of time so you have to manage your time really well.

2. Not a lot of time slots available for classes.

3. Materials needed can be expensive.

Permalink Reply by Shane Severino on August 31, 2020 at 11:04pm

1. I think that in many (but not necessarily all) of the "flipped classroom" formats, it can be difficult to learn because it is hard to ask questions when they arise.

2. I am not entirely sure how I would change it myself, but sometimes I feel as if the progression of courses could be improved in the computer science degree path. I have found that some of what I have learned in my more recent classes would have been fundamentally helpful in the more introductory courses.

3. I think consistency could also be improved upon in the UH ICS program. For example, I feel like the software that we are required to acquire could be kept more consistent across courses. I understand that there would be exceptions though for specific electives. 

Permalink Reply by Dino Mariano on August 31, 2020 at 11:13pm

I am a Computer Engineer, and here is 1 bad thing about being in the department:

1. CENG is limited with a small amount of technical electives.

Permalink Reply by Ian Kimura on August 31, 2020 at 11:24pm

1. Learning and getting help with ICS related problems can be overwhelming when first learning, so forcing students to work in groups early on and helping them gain other peers they feel comfortable talking to. 

2. Offer more classes at a lower level so students can explore the different areas of ICS early on and pinpoint what they want to work with. 

3. Flipped classrooms can be hard to grasp new concepts since it's not very common with lower level classes. So maybe create an easier transition or create different ways to effectively teach the basics of coding through online methods. 

Permalink Reply by Seth Tanoue on August 31, 2020 at 11:42pm

The three ways that I think the UH ICS program could improve are:

1. ICS 222 is needed for my focus, but it has so little support that when I signed up for it on star, the Instructor name changed twice, and now it is being taught by a math professor. Either remove 222 or merge it with another department.
2. More options for WI credits within or around the ICS program.
3. More computer areas for labs. At this point, a classroom filled with tables with outlets connected would suffice.

Permalink Reply by Liam Tsamous on September 1, 2020 at 7:55am

The things I am talking about have already been mentioned but here is my list

1. A lot of the classes are extremely time consuming, that is to be expected because computer science just takes time to learn.

2. there should be a working lab or lounge for ics students like other departments have that is open nearly 24 hours.

3. It would be great if the ics department required an internship course to graduate, that way it would help everyone establish some experience in the real job world and thus be more likely to land a good job after graduation.

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