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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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1. A lot of classes do not go very deep their respective areas, and rely upon students' initiative for further in depth understanding of the subject matter. This ties into the the lack of specialization concern raised by a few other students.

2. The number of classes offered in each focus area is somewhat limited each semester. This can put students that are nearing the end of their degrees in a bind, since they are forced to choose a non-optimum class just to meet the graduation requirement. Lack of reliable course projection for the future semesters also keeps the students from charting out their degree plan in advance, which would also help prevent the above mentioned situation.


3. There are not many avenues for the graduate students to interact and mingle with each other. It would help if there were more societies or groups that the ICS students could join to participate in joint activities/projects.

1) Lack of a social organization: I have met some extraordinary people in the ICS program, but outside of class, it was hard at first for me to get to know my classmates. When I started in the program, I didn't know anyone in my classes, and I was one of the only girls, so it was hard to get to know other people. I would try to start study groups but a lot of people would be unresponsive. Because of this, I ended up joining an IT-related club in the business school in order to meet more people in my field. This club holds both social and professional events for networking with current students as well as local IT professionals. However, I wished that the ICS department would have their own club similar to this (the only club I knew of was the Grey Hats, and they are just security-focused) so that all ICS majors could have this opportunity. I think that the ICS courses helped teach me academically, but did not prepare for the "real world" as much as my IT club did.

2) No hands-on hardware class: As a computer science major, it would be nice to be able to learn all different aspects of computer science, including hardware. I know that we aren't computer engineers, but I am aware that the ICS331 class used to involve actual hardware, and I was disappointed when I took the class and was simply told to drag and drop virtual circuits on my computer. It would be nice just touching on some hardware and perhaps some basic robotics as an extension of our programming classes.

3) Java focus without other relevant languages: It seems like Java is the main language used in many of the undergraduate ICS classes. I suppose this makes sense, since Java is a good language to start off with, but it would be helpful if there were more classes for the more current languages. When I talked to some IT professionals, many of them said that Java is not used very frequently anymore.

I believe the UH ICS program does a great job at teaching computer theory and its application. Here are three suggestions to improve the culture of the UH ICS program:

Provide an on-campus hackerspace


    •    Provides a place to for students to unwind between classes.
    •    Allows students to socialize outside of class.
    •    Promotes a weekly showcase to share personal projects for both undergrads and graduate students.
    •    Allows us to eat together communally.
    •    Promotes sharing, bonding, and building our community.

Run Hackathons


    •    Promotes competition to build and showcase skills.
    •    Provides incentives to excel outside of academics.
    •    Provies opportunities to be recognized.



Provide Community Outreach


    •    Encourages future developers to get started now.
    •    Promotes dialogue with parents of current/potential ICS students.
    •    Demystifies the world of computers.
    •    Presents potential employment opportunities.
    •    Showcases student success stories.

- The variation in difficulty, or at least the time required, among courses can be quite mind boggling. Some courses require only a few hours per week, while others demand time almost every day. Understandbly, some areas of computer science are inherently more complex, but there still should be some standarization in work allowed/required for courses so semesters do not end up heavily skewed in one direction. This applies more to the undergraduate level than the graduate level.

- Course availability and variation can be underwhelming. Some courses are consistently filled semester after semester, while others of similar placement/hours are clearly not as popular. Fortunately, professors are usually understanding and allow for sit-ins and overrides. Course variation, on the otherhand, is a more difficult area to improve around but it is a problem. There are many exciting courses seen in the curriculum and but it seems only a portion actually exist or are rotated in once every millenium.

- The lack of online courses. I wouldn't say that this is actually a significant problem, but if an online MS program is possible according to the ICS website, then I'd like to see at least some more online options. I know at least a couple individuals who have work-related travel (including myself) throughout the year, but do have time to at least get started on a degree. Again, this isn't a big issue, and I would rather have resources devoted to more F2F classes if it was one or the other.

1) Seamless registration process between computer engineering and computer science students.  Currently, software courses are offered in both departments under similar course names but with different "difficulties".  And often times, courses can be substituted ICS/EE departments but cannot register for certain ones due to pre-requisite/requirements.

2) More elective courses in web development.

3) Collaborative project course with computer science/engineering students.

The few ICS courses I have taken have introduced me to many cutting edge services, programming paradigms, and project management techniques, but I feel like it was just that; an introduction. I suppose this could go along with Daniel's response about ICS being such a broad subject. I have always enjoyed courses with a strong focus on smaller number of topics.

1. In order to promote student involvement, networking, and project development I would like to see a push for ICS club events. The professor that I work for, I met at an ACM meeting last semester. Professor Jason Leigh promoted ACM and there, I had a chance to showcase my engineering projects. This resulted in a partnership with LAVA and a pursuit of a masters degree in computer engineering. The engineering clubs would have much to gain from ICS student involvement. 
2. I had no idea where ICS existed and was very surprised that it was so confined and hidden. Holmes Hall is visual with its workshops and labs. You can see students building and experimenting on their projects. The ICS program needs a way to showcase student work so that other departments can take interest. LAVA is currently expanding its lab spaces and the Engineering department is making a push for maker spaces. This may be an opportunity for future students.
3. Girls! This goes back to the club events. The engineering department has a club called Society of Women Engineers. ICS should have one too! Computer Science and Engineering should not have to been seen as strictly masculine jobs.

- There is a very limited professional market in Hawaii

- We spend long hours sitting in front of a computer which is not healthy

- Our friends rarely know what we are talking about when we explain school stuff and think those conversations are boring

1. It seems to be getting better, but I think there should be more opportunities for ICS students to talk to other ICS students - undergraduates and graduates - i.e. maybe an area for ICS students. Sometimes it seems like the only way to talk with other students is when we're waiting outside a lab in the hallway or during class.

2. Would be nice to have more courses that can fulfill other requirements - WI, OC, ETH as others have pointed out.

3. It would also be nice to have more courses for mobile app development. I think we had one last semester, and that filled up quickly. I think a course like Software Engineering can constantly be adapted to cover what's the latest. I'm taking ICS 314 and ICS 415 this semester, and it looks like a lot of things overlap.

I've only taken one other ICS class besides this one so I don't have many complaints.

1) For the one class I took, the ratio between students to instructors and teacher assistants was way too big.  There was only one instructor and two TA's for a class of about 150 or more.  It was really hard to get help and I know a lot of students failed that class.

2) This applies to both ICS and Engineering, but getting collaborations like projects between the two.  Both sides could learn from each other.

3) A place where ICS students hang out.  Engineer students have several places to get together and talk, but after reading some comments I can see that ICS students don't have one.  Getting to know fellow colleagues of the same major is important and very helpful.

1. There should be more lab classes than lecture classes.  Writing code, to me, is equivalent to learning how to draw.  It's better to work on it hands-on instead of writing notes from a PowerPoint. 

2. It's not considered horrible, but I've always wondered why most ICS classes are taught in the same room.  I understand the same building, but it feels like I've been living there for the last two years.

3. I feel like assignments shouldn't be a chore.  I like creativity, so to have standard guidelines on a project and yet have it unique to the student would be great.  This would also benefit students who are looking for a job as it shows personality distinct to the student.

- More professors should record their lectures and make it publicly available online. This gives the students the opportunity to review what they've learned. 

- Some professors should read their reviews and really try to understand what the students are going through. I've seen professors who aren't really trying to teach. They're just there to be there. 

- Technical lecture for some classes can be quite dry. Fun, creative, and relevant activities/games/stories will wake the students up. This doesn't have to take the whole class time. A short 2-5 minutes of this will do.

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