Minutes of Teaching Committee Meeting 19 September 2003

Present: billw(chair), peterh, elgindyh, jas, ignjat, ashesh, geoffw, bradh, kaie, odiessel, bgaeta, sridevan

1. The meeting was declared open at 2.05pm

2. Minutes of the previous meeting (previously circulated by e-mail announcement) were approved.

3. Computer use/ergonomics compulsory course for CSE - Brad Hall.
   We have a duty of care to students, particularly in our discipline, to make sure they are aware of these issues. Brad is assembling material to be presented in all introductory courses. Material on these issues will also be added to the Yellow Form, and a School webpage on these issues will be set up.

4. Problems with Industrial Training requirement in our BE courses.
   Peter Ho will be meeting with students and with program directors on this issue.

5. Courses to be taught next year are listed at the following links: 2004 x1 2004 s1 and 2004 s2

6. What language should be used in COMP2011/2711. There has been some dissatisfaction with these courses, and a potential source of the problem is the fact that we try to teach Java, OO, and data structures/algorithms in one measly 6 UoC course.
   A working party to discuss the choice of programming languages in first and second year was set up (core members elgindyh, ignjat, jas). It is noted that the handbook description of COMP2011/2711 does not mention a language, so no revision is required to change the language used in these courses.

7. Problem Solving Practicum.
   There were problems with having such a thing as a course, or sequence of courses. The way ahead chosen was to run the Problem Solving Practicum, but not for credit. Participating students would receive a certificate from the School. Geoff Whale mentioned the possibility that a comment could appear on students' transcripts noting their participation; this would not, unfortunately, appear on official transcripts. Prizes would be sought from sponsors.

8. Revised course proposals:
   1. COMP1001 → COMP1081
   2. COMP1091

   It was noted that while the School has had short notice of these proposals, the next Faculty Education Meeting (3 October 2003) is the last one scheduled for this year, and thus the last opportunity to have the revisions approved for 2004. Enrolments in COMP1001 are decaying alarmingly, and enrolments in COMP1091 have never been high.

   In this context, the proposals were provisionally recommended to the Head of School. The deadline for providing the official UNSW revised course proposal for the Faculty Education Committee Agenda is around next Friday (26 Sept 2003) and members of the School are encouraged to provide any further feedback on these course revisions to Geoff Whale, Ashesh Mahidadia, cc-ed to Bill Wilson and Paul Compton in advance of this date.

9. The meeting concluded at 4.45pm