Minutes of Teaching Committee Meeting on 10 September 1999


Present: gernot, andrewt, kenr, billw (chair), lambert, steve

Apologies:sowmya

In attendance:ramer

  1. No objection to minutes of the previous meeting.

  2. Feedback from School to Ian Morrison on this year's CEQ and Graduate Destination Survey.
    The committee passed a vote of thanks to Andrew Taylor for his work on CEQ-related statistics. Andrew outlined issues arising from the statistics he had made available.
    The committee recommends that the Head of School should reply to Ian Morrison in accordance with the following proposals:
    • The School should seek paid independent evaluation of our teaching performance with attention focused on the problems identified in the statistics available so far. Something along the lines of an investigation using focus groups is envisaged. It is acknowledged that this will entail expense, but better to spend on such while we can afford it (given that the CEQ scores could be better) than wait till the students move elsewhere and we can't afford the expense.

    • The School should emphasize to academic staff the importance of routinely surveying classes they teach, and following up on problems that are identified in this way. The target should be 100% of courses surveyed this session and in subsequent sessions. A member of staff should be allocated to ensuring that surveys occur, and office staff should attend lectures to collect survey forms when completed.

    • The teaching schedule should be planned sufficiently far in advance to minimise the risk of lecturers being under-prepared to teach their allocated courses.

    • School-based investigation of the reasons for low CEQ scores in particular courses (i.e. subjects) should occur.

  3. Schedule for COMP and SENG courses next year and provison for increased numbers in these subjects.

    Year 1:
    s110011011-with-repeat1021/2811-
    s210011011-with-repeat1021/2811-with-repeat1091?
    -with-repeat signifies that repeat lectures are planned (split class)

    Year 2:
    s12011-with-repeat2021
    quota 280
    24112110
    s22011202120413221(CE)
    The quota on 2021 in s1 represents CE + SE + a few more

    Year 3:
    s13231
    quota 300
    3331
    quota 300
    34113421/94153511/95113720
    s231113211/92113121/91013131/91023221(CS)3231/920133113710
    Overflow from quota subjects into corresponding second session PG subjects

    Year 4/PG:
    s1400144114415931493159333941495179243
    9020902190229024??92219311
    s2Ethics95199242911694449314941694179519
    90209021902490089201/32319311933192319332

    Ethics = COMP9015 + SENG4921 + COMP4920. Note that there are problems with this, as COMP9015 (intended for CSHons) is ?2L per week, in s2, while SENG4921 is 6 uoc in s1, and COMP4920 (CE students) is 3uoc in session 1.

    SENG:
    s1SENG2010SENG3010
    s2SENG10[12]0SENG2020SENG3020

  4. Proposed policy on thesis extensions approved with minor revisions. When available: Steve Matheson's approved revised policy

  5. Ken Robinson's proposals for moving from Z to B were noted, and will be considered at the next meeting of the TC.


School of Computer Science & Engineering
The University of New South Wales
Sydney 2052, AUSTRALIA
Phone:  +61 2 9385 3986
Fax:    +61 2 9385 5995