Teaching Committee 14/9/2001 Item 6 (Steve Matheson):

Proposal
--------
To withdraw the BE(Computer Engineering)/MComm program until it is modified
to prevent students from enrolling in the program at the end of third year,
substituting introductory Commerce courses for 3 of their 
professional electives,
and then withdrawing from the MComm at the end of year 4 and cashing in their
chips for a BE(Computer Engineering). The Faculty has confirmed that 
the current
rules permit this.

Background
----------
1. The CS&E Teaching Committee had approved a `fast-track' program 3731:
    BE(Computer Engineering)/MComm. We agreed that a 5-year CE+Commerce program
    would be an academically-respectable and attractive option for some
    high-achieving CE students.
    (See http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~billw/tc/minutes00-09-08.html
     and http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/school/teaching/courses/3731.html).

2. Unfortunately, it turns out that no actual `3731' program exists in NSS.
    Instead, students are supposed to `complete' a CE degree (program 3645)
    in which 50% of the (Engineering) electives are replaced by Commerce
    courses. They are then entitled to immediately graduate as Computer
    Engineers, WHETHER OR NOT they actually go on to enrol in an MComm
    program.

3. I find this an incredible situation (so do those in CS&E and EE&T with whom
    I have discussed this). However, we have this unconditional assertion
    from Kathy Keene (UNSW Administration):
    >The guidelines for the fast track programs allow students to graduate after
    >the completion of the undergraduate program including the substitution of
    >the 3 electives normally completed in the final year.  The awarding of the
    >BE is not dependent on the completion of the MCom program.

4. Even more incredibly (given the effort we have just made with the IEAust
    accreditation exercise), we have the unconditional assertion from
    Francis Tin-Loi (Engineering Faculty Acting Dean (Academic)):
    >As I understand it, the 3 Commerce courses taken in 4th year are considered
    >to be academically at least equivalent to their substituted 3 PEs, as far
    >as the BE degree is concerned.

5. I have checked the minutes of the UNSW Academic Board on 7/10/97, where the
    `Guidelines' for BE/MComm programs were approved. I do not believe they
    support the interpretation offered by Keene and Tin-Loi.

6. Already, we have been forced to graduate one student under these
    arrangements. He enrolled in only one Commerce course in the
    session after graduating as a `Computer Engineer', and he failed it.
    There are about 10 more students in the `program'.

Options
-------
A. Simply withdraw from the BE/MComm initiative. (We could do this, but it
    would disappoint quite a few students already doing CE and anticipating
    doing our proposed 5-year CE/MComm program).

B. Persuade Keene and Tin-Loi, etc. that a more reasonable interpretation of
    the BE graduation issue is based the one published currently for the
    BE/MComm program in Electrical and Telecommunication Engineering, but
    now asserted (by Keene and Tin-Loi, etc.) to be invalid:
    (See http://www.eet.unsw.edu.au/programs/courses/BeMComEE.html)
    An acceptable interpretation would be something like:
    (1)
    BE/MComm students who have completed all the Engineering requirements of the
    combined program are entitled to be informed, at the earliest opportunity,
    that, subject to their satisfactory completion of the MComm part of the
    program, they are eligible to graduate with a BE as well as the MComm.
    (It should also be possible, at this stage, to specify the class of BE
    Honours).
    (2)
    BE/MComm students who start but, for some reason do not complete, the
    MComm part of the program, are entitled to be offered a reasonable
    path to completion of their stand-alone BE degree. This would typically
    involve some substitution of Engineering electives by Commerce courses.

C. Accept the Keene/Tin-Loi interpretation (and my resignation as CE
    Director). This would mean rewriting the 3645 CE program rules about
    electives as follows:

       Elective Courses

       The program selected by each student must be approved by the Head of
       School or nominee. Not all electives are offered in each session.
       Students are advised each year of the timetable of available electives.
       It may be possible to substitute other electives run by the
       participating Schools, apart from those listed below, but this is not
       permitted if it unduly restricts the range of courses studied overall.

       There are two recommended elective plans, the standard Engineering Plan
       and the new Commerce Plan (available to students with CR average after
       Year 3, and who may wish to complete the `fast-track' Master of Commerce
       full-time in a fifth year, or part-time at some stage in the future).

       Engineering Plan

       1. Electives for Years 3 and 4 total 36 units of credit (6 courses of 6
          units of credit, or equivalent) and are selected from Groups 
N, S, CE3,
          and CE4(see below), with these restrictions:

       2. At least 6 units of credit must be taken from Group N;

       3. At least 12 units of credit must be taken from Group CE4;

       4. At most 12 units of credit may be counted from Group S;

       Commerce Plan

       1. Computer Engineering Electives for Years 3 and 4 total 18 
units of credit
          (3 courses of 6 units of credit, or equivalent) and are selected from
          Groups N, S, CE3 and CE4 (see below). At least one elective 
must be from
          Group CE4.

       2. Other Electives for Year 4 total 18 units of credit (3 
courses of 6 units
          of credit, or equivalent) and are selected from the published list of
          `core' Master of Commerce courses. Of these, ACCT5901 and ECON5103 are
          compulsory.