1. Communication with Students
In the department we use electronic
mail as the first means of communication with our students. You should therefore log into the system at
least three times a week and read your e-mail. If you make any arrangements
(such as forwarding), which mean that your e-mail service may become
unreliable, that is not an excuse for failure to respond.
In certain cases messages for
students will be left in the pigeon
holes at the bottom of the stairs outside room B53. Messages for students
of other departments will be sent to their department. Letters may also be
posted to your local or home address. Important
information, such as exam results and advice letters are sent to your ‘exam’
address, so you must inform the University of changes. You can do this by
visiting your on-line personal file https://studentrecord.aber.ac.uk/en/login.php
You should look regularly at
the information displayed on the notice-boards
around the department on the ground floor corridor. They are used to display
details of practical groups, assignment results, examination timetables,
vacancies for industrial placements, etc.
2.
Changes of Registration
It is very important that you are registered for the correct degree
scheme and for the correct modules. The lecture timetable, examination
timetable and monitoring of attendance all use information collected by the
Academic Office about which modules each student is taking.
If you want to change the modules
you are taking, you must speak to one of the Departmental advising team (see Section 12) and fill in a Change of
Registration Form. Usually the main office has these available, or you should
be able to find one on your student record page, or follow the link for ‘Form’
at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/ug-issues/registration/changing/
You will need to obtain a signature from the department whose module you
are leaving, and from the department whose module you are moving to, and from
the Department Advisor (or his/her deputy) who will help you check that your
choice is consistent with your degree scheme. Students taking electives in
Computer Science should seek advice from their own department. You will need
permission from the Dean of your Faculty if you change modules after a
prescribed date.
There is a similar procedure
if you want to change the degree scheme for which you are registered. It should
be done by approaching an advisor from the department responsible for the
scheme you want to change to. You must then fill in a Change of Registration
form and get it signed by both departments and, in some cases, by the Dean or
Deans concerned. It is difficult after the first few weeks to change
department, but In the Department of Computer Science we try to maintain
flexibility and allow students to change their scheme within the department.
The rules for changing schemes and for being allowed to progress on your
current scheme within the department are in Section 7.
It is your responsibility to liaise with your
funding body/bodies. Changes of schemes almost always have implications for
funding. This can be a simple process if it is done at the correct time.
Students should note that each 10 credits of credit should correspond to
approximately 100 hours of effort. This includes lectures, tutorials,
practicals, assignments and outside study and review.
Lectures are used to describe
and explain the topics covered by the course. Lecturers will frequently use
visual aids to illustrate their lectures and copies of the displayed material,
or other handouts, may be made available on the web – often on Blackboard (http://blackboard.aber.ac.uk) or in
the Department’s web space (http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Dept/Teaching/CourseNotes/current) At best, the displayed material is only an
outline of the lecture content and you are strongly advised to make your
own detailed notes to supplement any material that is made available. You
should follow up on each lecture by reading your notes, reading relevant
sections of appropriate textbooks, and then amplifying your notes. If there are
still points that you don't understand, you should make a note of them, for
discussion in workshops, or with the lecturer concerned.
It is not possible to obtain
high marks simply by reading lecture handouts or slides.
While most material will be
made available on the web, it is sometimes necessary to provide paper handouts.
Where these are substantial, a charge will be made to cover copying costs.
The aim of the first year
tutorials is to promote an understanding of the course you are studying as a
whole, that is, to bring together the material studied in the individual
modules. These tutorials are sometimes based on articles from the professional
and academic literature. Tutorials are also intended to provide the opportunity
to develop personal skills that will help you in your studies and in getting a
job.
Tutorials in other years are
associated with specific modules (CS22120, CHM5940, CS39440, etc.) but also
still serve the purpose of a place where you can ask your tutor for advice with
any of your modules.
You will also be assigned a
personal tutor. See Section 9.
Workshops may be associated
with individual modules, and provide an opportunity for students to seek
clarification on aspects of their work. In most cases exercises will be set by
the lecturer(s) to provide a focus. The purpose of a workshop is to reinforce
what has been taught in lectures.
3.4. Practical Work and Advisory
Most of the early Part I
modules have specific practical classes, to which students are assigned. Apart
from this, practicals are normally not timetabled for individual modules,
except for those with special equipment or other requirements. You will be
informed of such an exception in the lectures associated with the module.
The advisory service is
offered in B57 and C56 through the skilled demonstrators on duty. Students are
encouraged to use this facility as the primary mechanism for solving both
practical and technical problems that they cannot solve alone. In addition to
supporting practical work, the demonstrators on duty will also assist with any
queries from the course as a whole, including revision for examinations. The
skills of the demonstrators on duty are clearly advertised.
Students who leave their work
to the last minute are likely to find a shortage of machines and/or skills.
Please plan your work carefully.
We invite speakers from other
research institutions and from the business community to give talks on their
field. Attendance at such talks is not compulsory, but they can provide an
interesting background to your studies, or a deeper insight into a particular field.
You should note that a knowledge of relevant material presented in seminars and
invited talks may be required to answer examination questions in level 3 and M
modules.
4. Attendance
4.1. Timetables
The
timetables are posted on the ground floor in the department at the start of
each semester. It is sometimes necessary to make changes to the timetable and
any changes will be posted on the relevant notice board. Because of the range
of subjects that students study along with Computer Science, arranging the
timetable to avoid clashes with other subjects is difficult. Students who find
that they have a clash should immediately inform the timetable officer in the
department who will make all reasonable efforts to resolve it.
The timetabling
difficulties also make it necessary to place some classes at unpopular times.
University rules allow classes on Saturday mornings, but it usually proves
possible to avoid.
4.2. Attendance Requirements
Attendance
at lectures, tutorials, practicals and workshops is compulsory, as is attendance at meetings with your final year
project supervisor and at meetings in connection with your group project.
Tutorials will be arranged at the start of the module in such a way as to try
to take account of students' other academic commitments.
You should note
that the attendance requirements apply to the whole of the teaching period in
each semester, as well as to examination periods. In particular, students from
overseas should note that difficulties in obtaining travel reservations are not
an acceptable excuse for missing classes. If you have a good reason for being
unable to attend classes, you should inform the department in advance.
It is our
experience that students who miss a significant number of their lectures fail.
Copying someone else's lecture notes or, worse, simply obtaining a copy of the
handout (if any) is a very poor substitute for attending a lecture and
absorbing its content. It is difficult to recover lost ground because lectures
build upon one another.
If illness prevents you from
attending classes for more than a week, University regulations require you to
present a medical certificate. Copies of this should be submitted to the
department office, and this probably means you should hand in a Special
Circumstances form.
If, without good reason, you
regularly miss lectures or other compulsory classes, or repeatedly fail to hand
in assessed work, the department will initiate disciplinary action, in
accordance with the Academic Regulation on Academic Progress, a copy of which was
issued to you at registration. This disciplinary process can lead to your being
excluded from the University:
·
If your overall attendance is less than 90%, then you will normally be
required to meet with your year coordinator.
·
If no improvement is seen then you will normally be sent to see the
Head of Department
·
If attendance still fails to improve we will start proceedings to
exclude you from College.
The Dean may decide to permanently exclude students with unjustified
absences.
4.3. Absence from Examinations
If, without good reason, you
fail to attend an examination for which you are registered, penalties apply. If you
are in the first year, you may not be allowed to take the examination until the
following year, delaying your graduation by one year. In the case of students
in Part 2, you will not normally be allowed to resit the exam and the actual
mark you have obtained, including any marks from coursework, will apply, this
may lower your degree class.
If you have good reason for missing an examination, it is essential that you supply the Department
Examination Board (through the department office) with documentary evidence of
the reason. This should be done before the examination if at all possible. If
your absence from the examination is condoned, you will be allowed to take the
examination at the next opportunity and you will be awarded whatever mark your
paper deserves. The only reasons for missing examinations that are normally
condoned are your own illness or the death of, or sudden serious illness or
injury to, a close relative.
Examining
Boards are required to take into account any medical or personal problems that
may have affected a student's performance during the course or in the
examination. Again, this can only be done if the appropriate evidence is
supplied to the Examining Board before its meeting.
If you are taken ill or suffer an accident during, or before, the examination, you may be faced
with the choice of taking an examination in circumstances in which you cannot
do as well as normal or of not taking the examination at that time. If this is
the case you should consult your tutor or another member of staff – ideally an
exam officer (see Section 12).
Iin any event,
if you miss an examination get in touch with cs-exam-advice@aber.ac.uk
You will be formally assessed
by a variety of means during and at the end of each module. The precise form of
assessment, and the mix of formative (term-time essays, assignments etc) and summative
(which often, though not always, involves, an end of semester examination),
will vary according to the nature of the module, and are explained to you in
detail on http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/modules/
If in
any doubt, ask your module tutor, who will be happy to clarify anything you are
unsure about.
It's
important to note that at University, assessment is not only about
demonstrating the range and depth of your knowledge. It is also an essential
part of the learning process that actively helps you develop and enhance
your skills in addressing problems, formulating arguments and communicating
often complex ideas clearly and persuasively. These skills are a vital part of
your degree programme, and are in great demand in all areas of the world of
work.
The
feedback you obtain from your tutors on your assessed work will help you
improve these skills as you progress through your degree programme.
Assessment
criteria may be found in the web part of this handbook at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Dept/Teaching/Handbook/
5.1. Assignments and Projects
“Project” is a term reserved
for larger pieces of work, specifically: the group project undertaken in the
second and other years of undergraduate schemes and in the taught part of the
MSc scheme; the final year projects for undergraduates; the MSc project
typically undertaken during the summer following the taught part of that
scheme.
“Assignments” are smaller
pieces of work.
Assignments and projects are a
very important part of many modules offered by the Department. They contribute
to your learning and they provide some element of assessment.
The description of each
individual module tells you exactly what proportion of the assessment comes
from coursework. It is important to realise that, if you don't submit the
coursework, you will get no marks for it; this will have a serious effect on
your mark for that module as a whole. It is much better to hand in coursework
that is incomplete than to hand in nothing at all.
If
you fail a module that is assessed wholly or partly by coursework, and you are
not considered to have fully participated in the module (normally by failing to
hand in coursework worth 20% or more), you will receive an ‘N’ grade and the
same penalties apply as if you had been absent from the exam.
This
means that in Part 2 (years 2,3 and 4) you will not be able to resit modules
with an ‘N’ grade at all.
Failure to submit coursework
may also be regarded as grounds for reporting your progress as unsatisfactory,
in accordance with the academic regulations on academic progress.
Worksheets are given primarily
as learning and self assessment exercises. They may play a small part in module
assessment. (If so, this will be explained in the module description).
There may be a mechanism for
handing in completed worksheets or for having them “signed off” by
demonstrators. Such mechanisms are designed to provide feedback to you on your
progress and understanding and to provide encouragement to stay abreast of
material.
The Department is anxious to
strike an appropriate balance between assessed and un-assessed practical work.
It is most important that you take seriously exercises such as worksheets,
where you have an opportunity to develop skills and understanding without the
pressures and restrictions of assessment. The Department takes a dim view of
the attitude that only assessed work is worth doing.
You are encouraged to help one
another in unassessed practicals, but assignments and projects are assessed on
the basis that they are your own work. The department provides tutorials,
workshops, practical classes, and an advisory desk to help you; there are also
guidelines for each type of major project explaining the help you can expect
from your supervisor or project tutor. You can get help simply by asking, and
will lose no marks by doing so. Conscientious students who care enough about
their work to seek help often create a more favourable impression than those
who stumble on in partial understanding.
It is regrettable that some
students feel the need to copy work and attempt to pass it off as their own.
Such attempts are quite easy to spot, and we take a very serious attitude to
such practices.
Of course, we encourage
students to discuss problems and ideas, but there is an important difference
between students helping each other to learn and helping each other to complete
their work.
If you do collaborate with
someone on a piece of practical work, it is very important that all parties
involved clearly indicate in the work submitted the extent of the
collaboration. Remember that the
Declaration of Originality that you sign when submitting assessed work says:
"This submission is my own, except where clearly indicated". It will
usually be clear to the person marking the work if there has been collaboration
and, if there is no explanation in the work submitted, they may become
suspicious and instigate the unfair practice procedures. See also Section 6.
Unless we clearly indicate
otherwise, such as in the second year group project, practical work is expected
to be undertaken by individual students working independently.
However, we are sometimes
asked by a group of two or three students if they can work together more
formally on a particular assignment. This can be more comfortable than loosely
helping one another, and can allow a more ambitious project to be undertaken.
Such group work may be allowed, but only if the
lecturer responsible for the course has given his or her permission beforehand.
Permission may be withheld for a variety of reasons, including unsuitability of
an assignment for group work.
Some guidelines:
·
A group will be expected to achieve more (in quantity
and/or quality) than a single student. Our expectations for this, and the basis
of our assessment, will be explained by the lecturer when setting the project,
or when giving permission for a group to work together.
·
Each member of the group must submit a separate,
individual report.
·
It is very important that the reports make clear
exactly what contribution each student made to the project work. We may
interview the students to clarify this.
Some 2,000 pieces of assessed
work are handed into the department every year. This causes us considerable
problems of organisation. We have also suffered from time to time from students
claiming fraudulently to have handed in work when they have not done so. For
both of these reasons we have had to institute strict, formal procedures for
handing in coursework. One of the following procedures is normally used.
1.
For most assignments you will be told to hand your
work in using the ‘post box’ system, which is located in the Reception Area. Every
piece of coursework MUST have a completed departmental cover sheet showing
information about the coursework, your student reference number, name and
signature. Anonymous Marking sheets are
available:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Dept/Teaching
Note
that in signing you are confirming the Declaration of Originality set out on
the cover sheet. The cover sheet MUST show your name and signature. The secretaries use this information to check
for missing submissions. If the
coursework is to be marked anonymously (see below) the secretaries will fold
down the corner of the cover sheet to hide your name and signature. You MUST NOT fold down the corner yourselves.
2.
Some modules require work to be submitted instead or
in addition via Blackboard (http://blackboard.aber.ac.uk).
Note that Blackboard is fussy about what format your work is submitted, if you
have a lot of files put them in a .zip file (not .rar, etc).
3.
For major pieces of work you may be asked to hand work
in at reception during a specified period and you will be given a receipt that
will show the number of documents handed in. If you have more than one document
you should put all pieces of work in a folder and compile and hand in a list of
the separate documents.
If
there is a good reason why you cannot hand in your work during the specified
time then try to find a friend to hand it in for you. Failing this, arrange
with the module coordinator, or your tutor, to hand it in to them early and
obtain a receipt.
The
University require us, as far as possible, to mark assessed coursework anonymously. Of course, there is some coursework that
cannot be marked anonymously; presentations are an obvious example. Therefore, there are exemptions from the anonymous marking requirement that have
been agreed by the University.
In
Computer Science, we have the following exemptions from the anonymous marking
requirement:
1.
Coursework associated with tutorial modules, since
much of the assessment in tutorial modules is done by the tutor as the result
of personal knowledge about the student, and this cannot be anonymised.
2.
Coursework involving computer code, since we insist
that students submitting computer code identify the author of each code module.
3.
Group projects, since we may need to make adjustments
to the marks of individual students based on information provided by the member
of staff supervising the group or by the members of the group themselves.
4.
Modules involving presentations, clearly!
5.
Project-based modules, where students submit a
properly bound project report or dissertation.
Any
coursework not covered by one (or more) of the exemptions above will be marked
anonymously. For such coursework, the
secretaries will hide your name and signature on the cover sheet by folding
down and sealing the corner of the sheet.
5.6. Late Hand-ins
We attach great importance to
handing coursework in on time; if it is handed in late, without prior
permission (which is rarely given), you will get no marks for it. The ability to meet deadlines is
something which employers value very highly; several employers have
congratulated us on the fact that our graduates are better at meeting deadlines
than those from many other CS departments.
If you feel you have a very
good reason for handing a piece of assessed coursework in late, you must seek
the permission of the year coordinator
(see Section 12), before the deadline for
handing in the work.
If an extension is granted,
you should ask for written confirmation. In almost all cases , however, you
will be told to hand the work in in an incomplete state by the appointed
deadline, with a note explaining the circumstances that made it impossible for
you to complete it. If the reasons are medical, your note should refer to any
medical certificate you may have submitted. For a major piece of work the
Department may offer an extension after consultation and in the best interests
of the student.
If you miss the deadline for
handing in an assignment then you should still submit it, but along with the
Declaration of Originality, you should attach a completed "Late Assignment
Form" explaining why the assignment is handed in late. If this is soon after the deadline, hand in
the assignment and form to the secretary dealing with the assignment
submission. Failing that, hand them in
to the module co-ordinator. Blank Late Assignment Forms are available from
Computer Science reception or from the web at: http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Dept/Teaching/
If the excuse for handing in
late is accepted then the work will be marked as normal. Also, by handing in the assignment you will
avoid being N'ed (see Section 5.1 above) and you will receive feedback on the
work.
Unless otherwise stated,
projects, assignments and worksheets will be graded according to one of the
schemes shown in Table 1 and Table 2. Clearly, the fine grained scheme will
not be appropriate for some small pieces of work. You will be told which scheme
has been used.
Table 1: Coarse Grained Grades
|
Grade
|
Percentage
|
|
Grade
|
Percentage
|
|
A
|
70 - 100
|
|
D
|
40 - 49
|
|
B
|
60 - 69
|
|
E
|
35 - 39
|
|
C
|
50 - 59
|
|
F
|
0 - 34
|
Table 2. Fine grained grades
|
Grade
|
Percentage
|
|
Grade
|
Percentage
|
|
A++
|
96 - 100
|
|
C-
|
50 - 53
|
|
A+
|
90 - 95
|
|
D+
|
47 - 49
|
|
A
|
80 - 89
|
|
D
|
44 - 46
|
|
A-
|
70 - 79
|
|
D-
|
40 - 43
|
|
B+
|
67 - 69
|
|
E
|
35 - 39
|
|
B
|
64 - 66
|
|
F+
|
31 - 34
|
|
B-
|
60 - 63
|
|
F
|
16 - 30
|
|
C+
|
57 - 59
|
|
F-
|
0 - 15
|
|
C
|
54 - 56
|
|
|
|
Table 3.
Additional codes
|
O
|
no assessment recorded
|
I
|
assessment incomplete for valid reasons
|
Z
|
grade cancelled –
assessment offence
|
At the end of your scheme
(typically in May) the examination procedures require you to return any
assessed coursework that has been returned to you (including final year projects
in the case of undergraduates) to the Department so that it may be inspected by
external examiners as part of the quality assurance process. You must therefore retain all your returned
coursework. (This does not include first year work in the case of
undergraduates).
The department is moving away
from returning work but you will be given feedback on your work and should
contact the module coordinator with any questions you may have on how to
improve.
5.9. General
Methods of assessment for
individual modules are described in the module descriptions, on the college
web. Individual lecturers will be willing to give some feedback to individual
students on individual modules. Personal tutors are able to discuss general
examination performance with the intention of providing feedback on technique.
Assessment criteria are
provided for each piece of assessed work. Standard criteria are provided above
and in appendices to this handbook (See “Assessment
Criteria”). Specific criteria may be in particular module
appendices (See http://www.aber.ac.uk/~dcswww/Dept/Teaching/Handbook/).
You have the right to be
assessed through the medium of Welsh. Please inform the department as early as
possible so that we can arrange for assignments to be translated if necessary.
If you wish to sit exams in Welsh, notify the Administrative Secretary in the
Registry by the advertised dates.
Unfair Practice includes more than just plagiarism. We have been asked
to include a link to the University
Statement on Plagiarism available with other information about rules
governing examinations and assessment: http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/handbook/section-13/
As you see, it is
important to indicate clearly in your own work where you have included the work
of others. In Computer Science this could include reuse of designs and programs
as well as copying or quoting text. Make sure you understand how to acknowledge
the work of others in all your submissions. Ignorance of how to do this is not
a valid defense.
The following simple
guidelines are intended to help you avoid straying from legitimate and
desirable co-operation into the area of plagiarism:
·
append a bibliography to your work listing all the
sources you have used, including electronic ones;
·
surround all direct quotations with inverted commas,
and cite the precise source (including page numbers, or the URL and the date
you accessed it if the source is on the Web) either in a footnote or in
parentheses directly after the quotation;
·
use quotations sparingly and make sure that the bulk
of the work is in your own words;
·
even if you don’t use direct quotations, important
ideas should still be credited;
·
remember that it is your own input that gives a piece
of work merit. Whatever sources you have used, the structure and presentation
of the argument should be your own. If you are using electronic sources, don't
cut and paste sections into your work. If you are using books or papers, put
them aside when you actually sit down to write. In this way you won't be
tempted to copy in material that you don't understand, or be at risk of unintentionally
copying in more material than a brief quotation, or of accidentally leaving
quotations unmarked. Including someone else's work in your own is readily
detectable because the style will be different.
Keep a sense of proportion, and exercise common sense and judgement. For
example, it is not necessary to attribute to a source, statements which have
passed into the public domain and become commonplace.
It is usually unnecessary to attribute lecture material, though
again you should avoid quoting copiously, and you should never rely wholly on
lecture notes.
If in doubt, make sure that you properly quote and cite material in
order to avoid any suspicion that you are trying to cheat and ask for advice if
you are not sure.
The first year of
our schemes is formally known as Part I. The rest of the years comprise
Part 2.
In all of the
following, note that any changes of degree registration may give rise to
funding problems. It is the responsibility of the student to communicate with
their funding body.
1.
To progress to Part 2 of BSc in Business
Information Technology (G500 or
G501), a student must satisfy the College regulations for the completion
of Part I (ie. Pass 80 credits get no less than 30% in 40 remaining
credits.)
2.
To progress to Part 2 of all other schemes, a student
must normally achieve at least 50% in modules CS12230 Introduction to
Programming or CS12130 Concepts in Programming, and CS12420 Software Development
as well as satisfying the College regulations for the completion of
Part I. To progress to Part 2 in Internet
Computing (H620 or H621) students must obtain at least 40% in CS12130 or
CS12230, and CS12420.
3.
To progress to Part 2 of BEng in Software Engineering
(G600) or BSc. in Computer Graphics, Vision and Games (G450 or G451), a student must
satisfy the requirements listed in point 2 and achieve at least 40% in module
CS10410 The Mathematics Driving License for Computer Science (or equivalent).
4. To progress to Part 2 of MEng in Software Engineering (G601), a student must satisfy the requirements for BEng (G600) and
achieve an average of at least 60% in first year Computer Science modules.
5.
To progress to Part 2 of BSc in Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence (GG4R/7) or BSc in Artificial
Intelligence and Robotics (GH76/GH7P), a student must satisfy the requirements listed in point 2 and achieve at least 40% in modules CS18110 Professional and Personal
Development with AI Concepts and CS10410 The Mathematics Driving License for
Computer Science (or equivalent e.g.
A level maths).
6.
To progress to Part 2 of BEng in Internet Engineering (H622), a
student must satisfy requirements for BEng (G600) and achieve at least 40% in
CS15210 Introduction to Telematics.
7.
For joint honours schemes and minors outside Computer
Science, other Departments will have their own regulations for progression in
their part of the scheme.
Students
who have passed Part I but have not done sufficiently well to be allowed
to progress to Part 2 of their registered scheme will normally (and at the
discretion of the Exam Board) be required to transfer to a scheme for which
they are qualified. Students are normally allowed to transfer to any other
scheme for which they are qualified, subject to having taken the appropriate
modules. This is best done at the end of year 1 but may be done later under
some circumstances.
7.1.2. Progression from Year 2
The
College publishes general regulations for progression at this point.
In
addition to these, it should be noted:
1.
To progress from Year 2 to year 3, students must
have passed at least 60 credits, so that they will be in an appropriate
position to obtain a degree. The department’s recommendation, however, is that
students take resits so that they do not carry more than 20 credits of fail out
of year 2.
2.
To progress from Year 2, an MEng student must
achieve an overall mark of at least 55%. Students who achieve this mark but
have poor performance in some areas (e.g., a bad mark in CS21120) may be
advised to change from MEng to BEng or BSc.
3.
Students with the right modules choices may transfer
to G601 (MEng) if they have obtained a 60% average in their Computer Science
modules.
4.
Students on schemes requiring a sandwich year cannot
normally proceed to that year if they have not met the requirements for
progression from year 2.
5.
A student who does not obtain a placement for a
sandwich year must transfer to a scheme without such a requirement.
6.
Students who wish to change degree scheme after
Year 2 are normally allowed to do this, subject to having taken the
appropriate modules and to obtaining continuing funding.
1.
To progress from Year 4 to Year 5 a student
must satisfy the College's regulations for progression.
2.
A student who
does not meet these regulations will normally be offered a resit.
3.
A student who is not successful in the resit will not
be allowed to proceed and must leave College.
4.
Students may leave the MEng programme and take a BEng
degree if they are qualified.
5.
Students may transfer onto the MEng programme provided
they have taken the right modules and have an acceptable average (normally 60%
at the start of year 4).
7.1.4. Gaining a degree
It
is a University regulation that, in order to obtain a degree, students must
pass at least three quarters of their Part 2 credits i.e. BSc and BEng students
must pass at least 180 of the 240 credits they take in Part 2 and MEng students
must pass 270 of the 360 credits they take in Part 2.
In addition, students
must pass two thirds of the credits at the level of the award – level ‘3’ for
BSc and BEng, and level ‘M’ for MEng.
Students who fail
to gain a degree normally have resit opportunities – but they should be very
careful that they do not receive ‘N’ grades since these modules cannot be
resat. See Section 10.
Students who enter Part 2 before 2008-2009 should note that to gain an
honours degree and recommendation for BCS accreditation, they must achieve at
least 40% at the FIRST attempt in CS39440 or CC39440 as appropriate.
Students who enter Part 2 from 2008-2009 onwards should note that to
gain an honours degree, they must pass in CS39440, CC39440, CS39620, CS39540 as appropriate (possibly after a resit). If
they do not resit they MAY be eligible for an unclassified honours degree. In addition MEng students must pass SEM5940.
BCS accreditation will be given to honours students who pass the
project at the FIRST attempt.
7.1.5. Prizes
The
Glyn Emery Prize, named in honour of the founder and first head of the Computer
Science Department, is awarded every year to the best first year computing
student. The prize is worth £100.
A British Computer
Society (BCS) prize of £150 plus a year's free BCS membership will be offered for
the best project by a student in CS39440 or CC39440.
The PortalTech
Bursary of £1000, is awarded to a final
year MEng student for the best performance during their penultimate year.
A number of other
bodies, such as the BCS and Microsoft, offer prizes for student projects. These
prizes are quite valuable, typically between £500 and £1,000, and students from
the department have an impressive record of success in winning them. Notices
about the prizes will be displayed in the department and information about them
circulated by e-mail.
7.2 Degree Classification
For
general information on class of degree etc. see:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/ug-issues/exam-assess/conventions/
|
Band 3
|
Best 80 level 3
credits, with a weighting of 3
|
|
Band 2
|
Next best 80
level 3 and level 2 credits, with a weighting of 2
|
|
Band 1
|
Remainder of
level 3, 2 and 1 credits, with a weighting of 1
|
Note that level 2 modules
cannot go in a higher band than level 3 modules and that all marks in Part 2
count towards the degree.
7.2.1
An Example
In your final year
after the winter exams, a cascade calculator will appear on your student record
page, which will help you approximate your final degree class. This example is
for illustration.
Suppose you are in
G400 and received marks on your level 3 modules of:
70,70,70,70,70,70,70,70,60,60,60,60
(perhaps you
received 70 on your CS39440 project, in which case we have counted it 4 times)
On your level 2
modules you received marks of:
60,60,60,60,50,50,50,50,50,50,50,50
Then you would
calculate your final mark as:
((70*8) * 3 + (60*8)*2 + (50*8)*1) /
48
top band middle band bottom band to obtain weighted average
(top 80 level 3s) (bottom 40 level 3s (bottom 80 8*3+8*2+8*1=48
+top
40 level 2s) level 2s)
Your final average would be
63% which is a II(1)
7.2.2 Three year + 1 schemes
Some degree schemes
include an obligatory, assessed year in industry. This is called a sandwich
year. Degree classification for schemes which include a sandwich year involve a
variant of the standard method.
For
schemes involving 3 taught years plus an assessed sandwich year, marks are
arranged in the standard cascade but an additional Band S comprising 120
credits from the sandwich year assessment is weighted at 0.25. To summarise:
|
Band 3
|
Best 80 level 3
credits, with a weighting of 3
|
|
Band 2
|
Next best 80
level 3 and 2 credits, with a weighting of 2
|
|
Band 1
|
Remainder of
level 3, 2 and 1 credits, with a weighting of 1
|
|
Band S
|
120 credits with
a weighting of 0.25.
|
7.2.3 Four year + 1 schemes
For
schemes involving 4 taught years plus a sandwich year, marks are arranged in a
4-band cascade (each band containing 90 credits) with a Band S
comprising 120 credits from the sandwich year assessment weighted at 0.25. To
summarise:
|
Band 4
|
Best 90 level M
credits, with a weighting of 4
|
|
Band 3
|
Next best 90
level M and level 3 credits, with a weighting of 3
|
|
Band 2
|
Next best 90
level 3 and 2 credits, with a weighting of 2
|
|
Band 1
|
Remainder of
level 3, 2 and level 1 credits, with a weighting of 1
|
|
Band S
|
120 credits with
a weighting of 0.25
|
7.3.
Supplementary and Resit Examination Policy
Students should
consult the University’s policies, which may be found at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/contents/modular-degrees/ Point 15.
The following
provides a very simplified view of this area.
‘Supplementary
Assessment’ is any assessment that takes place over the summer.
‘Resit Assessment’
refers to retaking a module’s assessment at any time.
There are several flags that may accompany a failed
mark. See:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/handbook/section-10/ for a complete list.
The main ones in
Part 2 are:
·
‘F’ failed – may be resat for a maximum of 40%
·
‘N’ missed a
large part of the assessment – may not be resat
·
‘H’ may be resat for full marks – no fee
The main ones in
Part 1 are:
·
‘C’ 30-40%
·
‘R’ below 30%
·
‘N’ as above
·
‘M’ may be resat for full marks – no fee
As of 2009-2010
resits may take place over the summer or in the following academic year.
Part 2 students are normally expected to resit
assessments by “resitting failed
examination and/or resubmission of failed/non-submitted coursework components
or ones of equivalent value.” Usually
that means that they need only resit the failed pieces of assessment. The department
will tell you of exceptions.
Part 1 students are normally expected to resit all
assessments.
When results are
released and if you have failed a module, the department will send you a letter
containing our advice given your circumstances. If you do not get such a letter
within a few days of your results please get in touch (and make sure that your
contact addresses are up to date).
If you are in any doubt about what you need to do to
retake the assessment or progress with your degree you should consult: cs-exam-advice@aber.ac.uk
7.3.1. ‘H’ resits
University
regulations do not allow you to retake the examination for a module that you
have passed. It may therefore be better to postpone taking the examination, but
you should always discuss this with the
department first. Where appropriate, special examining arrangements can be
made, such as extra time or separate seating, to alleviate the effects of
medical problems.
In Part I, it
is usually better to take the examination if at all possible. Part I marks
do not contribute to your final degree result so nothing is lost by trying the
examination; even if you do badly, the Examining Board will take into account
your problems and may still award a pass. If, however, you decide not to take
the examination, you will need to take it again in the August/September examination
period. This may very well be inconvenient for you and means that, if you fail
then, you have no chance to resit until the following year.
All Part 2 marks
contribute to your final degree classification. The Examining Board will try to
make allowance for your illness in one of three ways:
·
Recommending an H resit (ie. for full marks) that may
be taken in the summer, or
·
By returning ‘39H’ which allows you to resit for full
marks, even if you have passed with a low mark due to your illness. The department
will contact you before recommending this mark, or
·
By carrying forward the circumstances to be considered
at your final exam board. These will then be considered if you are borderline
between two classes of degree.
The department
believes that the computing facilities available to our students are more than
sufficient. Furthermore, the University Information Services facilities, which
are closely integrated with those of the department, are available to all
students. Even so, availability is not unlimited and there may be occasions
when difficulties arise. Students are asked to be understanding in such cases
and to comply with any requests the department may make over the use of
resources. The Computer Science Department takes no responsibility for the
correct functioning of any equipment or software, nor for the security or
integrity of any stored program or data except as required by the Data
Protection Act.
Do not leave assignments until
the last minute. Computer problems are not an excuse for handing in an
assignment late.
8.1. Use of Personal Computers
If
you own a personal computer, you will enjoy considerable advantages of
flexibility and convenience. You must, however, be careful not to let these
advantages turn into a disadvantage.
The two most widely
used software environments are Microsoft Windows and UNIX. After the first
year, some of the practical work set by the department requires, explicitly or
implicitly, the use of UNIX; unless you become thoroughly familiar with UNIX,
you may have difficulty with the practical work.
If you are
sensible, you can gain a lot of advantage by becoming familiar with both major
development environments. Not only will this make you attractive to potential
employers, but it will also give you a deeper understanding of a lot of the
issues in software engineering.
A second danger
that can arise from using your own computer is that you become isolated. You
can learn a lot from working in the company of other students and discussing
your work with them. If you always sit in your room working at your PC, you
will lose the opportunity for doing this.
Finally,
departmental facilities are maintained and backed up by support staff. If you
depend on your own private machine, your work may suffer if it malfunctions. It is your responsibility to make sure that
you take adequate precautions to back up your important work.
You may use a laptop in lectures subject to the
department’s policy:
Students can find it very helpful to be able to use
laptops during lectures. Some students
take lecture notes directly on their laptops, and laptops can be used to find
information from the Internet in support of the lecture. However, using a laptop can be very
distracting for the other students who are sitting near or behind the laptop
user, and for the member of staff giving the lecture. Therefore, it is not acceptable to use a
laptop for anything not directly in support of the lecture.
Please be considerate when using a laptop in lectures
and do not disturb others.
8.2. Printing
Information
Services provides laser printers for students to use. You will find that, to
print all the teaching materials and project and assignment work you want, you
will need to budget a substantial amount for printing, especially at certain
times in the semester. When you are issued with an assignment make sure you
know what is to be handed in and in what quality.
You may find it
cheaper to learn how to use the various facilities available for fitting more
than one document page on a single side of paper ("multipaging").
If there is a queue in B23 look at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/is/computers/rooms/ to find other
printers. A queue at the last minute is NOT an excuse for late hand-in.
8.3. Regulations for the Use of Equipment
All
students are required to abide by the rules laid out by Information Services
at:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/contents/student/regulations/regulations-5/
In
addition, students are expected to abide by such further conditions concerning
the use of the resources as the Department may impose.
If, in the opinion
of the Head of the Computer Science Department, a user's use of the resources
contravenes any University rules, or is in breach of any rules promulgated by
the Department, access to the resources may be summarily withdrawn from that
user.
See under Section 12 for the list of staff currently responsible for
each major role mentioned below.
The
university operates an Academic and Personal Progress Review (APPR) scheme http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/appr/. This is a
personal development planning (PDP) tool that helps you create the best
possibilities for further study and/or your future career.
9.2 Arranging to see a member of staff
Most members of staff in the
department do not restrict the times they are available to see students to a
few hours a week, but neither can they be available all the time. If you need
to speak to a member of staff, the best way to arrange an appointment is to
e-mail them a day or two in advance suggesting two or three times which would
be convenient for you, giving them time to reply to you. Members of staff will
typically advertise, on their office door, times when they are available.
Computer Science Reception will normally be able to tell you if a member of
staff is expected to be away for more than a day.
Each student taking a degree
involving the Department of Computer Science is assigned a member of staff as a
personal tutor. Part I students have group tutorials. In Part 2 you will be
seen personally by your tutor. The main role of the personal tutor is to help
with non-academic problems, such as difficulties arising through illness,
personal problems, financial worries, accommodation problems, difficulty with
organising academic work etc. Such problems often require specialised help and
your personal tutor will often be able to put you in touch with specialised
counsellors.
There may be occasions on
which you would prefer to deal with someone other than your personal tutor. If
this happens, you should feel free to approach any member of staff.
Students with special needs
should make these know to the Special Needs Coordinator.
If you are unhappy with your
personal tutor you should contact the Head of Teaching.
We welcome the enthusiasm and
commitment that mature students bring to the Department, but are aware of the
particular problems they may face in returning to education. Apart from their
personal tutors, mature students may approach the Mature Students' Tutor who
has a particular knowledge of the problems faced by mature students.
The Overseas Students' Tutor
is available to help any student not normally resident in the United Kingdom with any problems
relating to the difficulties encountered when living and studying in a foreign
country. The main role of the Overseas Students' Tutor is to maintain contact
with the overseas students in the department, and to provide information and
help to those who need it.
9.5. Welsh Students' Tutor / Tiwtor Cymraeg
Os hoffech chi gael tiwtorial
trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg, mae angen i chi gysylltu â Janet Hardy (jzh@aber.ac.uk). Bydd y tiwtor yn cynnal
un tiwtorial yr wythnos drwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg I fyfyrwyr y flwyddyn gyntaf. Gellir
addasu'r tiwtorial i gwrdd â gofynion y myfyrwyr, ac wrth drafod pynciau
technegol, gellir ei gynnal yn ddwyieithog. Yn Rhan Dau bydd myfyrwyr yn cael
tiwtor personol sy'n medru'r Gymraeg.
There is a year coordinator
for level one modules, level two modules, the industrial year, level three
modules, for the Diploma/MSc courses and for third year MEng students and
fourth year MEng students. They coordinate teaching and administration within
their area of responsibility. The year coordinators are listed at the end of
this booklet.
Undergraduate students are
strongly encouraged to spend a year with an appropriate industrial company and
we help students find suitable places. This year comes between the second and
the third (taught) years of the course. Students spend the year with companies
that vary from small software houses to multi-national engineering and
manufacturing companies, in some cases abroad.
Applications for industrial
year placement are normally made early in the second year of the undergraduate
course, although late applications can sometimes be accommodated.
Such a year is compulsory for
some schemes, it is then known as a Sandwich Year. A sandwich year,
spent abroad, is also compulsory for students on the BSc course in Computer
Science with a European Language. Most schemes have a version with, and a
version without, a Sandwich Year.
Each student on a year out is
allocated to a member of staff of the department. Sandwich
year students will normally be visited twice during the placement. We do our
best to visit optional industrial year students (sometimes called YES
placement).
The University Welfare System,
under the Director of Welfare, provides support and advisory services for all
students. The contact telephone number is x2955. Information is also available
on the Web, http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student-support
The Department always tries to
do its best to resolve any problems that students may experience, but if you
feel that you have been treated unfairly in any way, you have the right to
complain.
The University Complaint
Procedure is described in an Appendix to the Rules and Regulations for
students, and is available on the Web (http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/regulations/).
One of the general principles
of that procedure is: “Disputes should be resolved at the lowest level
possible in the procedure. In the interests of harmonious relationships
informal procedures should, so far as is reasonably practicable, be exhausted
prior to entering the formal procedure.”
If you do not understand why you
received particular treatment, you should first seek clarification from the
member of staff involved or the course coordinator. We hope that any problem
can be resolved at this point, but if you still feel that you have been treated
unfairly, you should contact your year coordinator. If the situation is still
not resolved, put your complaint into writing and follow the official
complaints procedure through the Head of the Department. If any of these
members of staff is in any way involved in your complaint you may pursue your
complaint directly to the next level. You can expect to receive a written
response to your written complaint.
10.
Getting the most out of your studies
10.1. Language and Learning Centre
The Language and Learning
Centre is available to support your studies. If you have special needs, wish to
be evaluated, or just find out more about their services, it is a good idea to
make an appointment with them. They are situated in the Llandinam building and
information can be found at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student-support/learner-support/
10.2. Personal Development Planning
The University supports
students by encouraging them to reflect on their own academic performance and
personal strengths and weaknesses. This reflective process leads to an
increased sense of direction, improving motivation and personal development.
Key skills valued by future employers are developed throughout your time with
the department. See http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/student/appr/
for the University link – further details will be given during lectures and
tutorials.
10.3. Other Services
Your general handbook gives
you information about the facilities provided by the Student Union, the Student
Support Office, the Careers service etc.. Students who get the most out of
University life are usually also those who put in the most. If you have any
problems, remember that staff in the Department care about you. Come and talk
to us and we’ll do our best to help.
10.4. Report Writing and Study Skills
The ability to produce
well-structured reports, written in clear, concise and correct technical
English, is essential for a successful professional career in computing. For
this reason, we attach a lot of importance to written work in the computing
courses. Many students find this sort of writing difficult and there is no easy
way to success, the best method is to work at it!.
The following titles have
proved useful for students wishing to improve their study habits and they also support
the University’s personal development programme:
· Stella Cottrell, The Study Skills Handbook 2, Palgrave Macmillan,
2003.
· P. Race, How
to Study: Practical Tips for Students, Blackwell, 2003.
· John W. Davies, Communications Skills a Guide for
Engineering and Applied Sciences Students, Addison-Wesley, 2001.
Students who would like some
help with study skills and finding resources should contact Janet Hardy who is
the Module Coordinator for CS18010.
The department tries hard to keep the quality of its courses as high as
possible. In order to do this it looks for input from employers, professional
institutions, colleagues in other universities and, most importantly, from its
students. Our courses, in their current
form, have benefited from student input over the years; please play your part
in making them better for future generations of students. Remember, however,
that we often get conflicting comments - employers, professional institutions
and students do not always agree with each other. We also need your help if
problems arise with equipment or timetables. If we know about a problem, there
is a good chance that we can solve it quickly; if we don't, there's nothing we
can do.
Groups of students will be
invited at the start of each academic year to elect representatives to these
committees. Those students must make themselves known to and available to their
constituents (e-mail is very useful for this). The committees meet once a
semester, and provide a platform for discussion between staff and students
about any relevant matters. Staff are normally represented by the head of
teaching, head of support and each of the year coordinators. Formal minutes of
the meetings are taken and posted on the departmental notice board and the web,
and details of any actions taken as a result of the meetings are posted.
You will also be invited to
complete a questionnaire providing feedback on each module that you study
within the department. These questionnaires provide both quantitative and
qualitative data. A nonymous questionnaires are given exactly the same
consideration as ones with names on them.
12. Administrative Responsibilities
Administrative responsibilities are distributed among various members of
the department.
Ones relevant to students are noted below.
From a
telephone on the campus network, you need only dial the 4-figure extension
number; such calls are free. All these extensions can be dialled directly from
outside the campus by dialling 62 before the extension number, for example
01970 62 2424 is the number for the Department Secretary.
cs-office@aber.ac.uk will give you the
main office and cs-exam-advice@aber.ac.uk
will give you advice.
|
Responsibility
|
|
Room
|
e-mail
|
Ext.
|
|
Head of Department
|
Prof. Qiang Shen
|
B48
|
qqs
|
2424
|
|
Director of Teaching
|
Dr. Fred Long
|
B58b
|
fwl
|
2440
|
|
Director of Research
|
TBA – ask at office
|
|
|
|
|
Head of Infrastructure
|
Mr. Sandy Spence
|
B59
|
axs
|
2430
|
|
Department Secretary
|
TBA – ask at office
|
|
|
|
|
Year 1 Coordinator
|
Mr. Richard Shipman
|
C54?
|
rcs
|
2450
|
|
Year 2 Coordinator
|
Mr. Rhys Parry
|
C49
|
rrp
|
2427
|
|
Year 3 Coordinator
|
Mr. Chris Loftus
|
C47
|
cwl
|
2422
|
|
MEng (Year 5) Coordinator
|
Mr. Nigel Hardy
|
C53
|
nwh
|
2434
|
|
Dip/MSc Coordinator
|
Dr. Edel Sherratt
|
C46
|
eds
|
2448
|
|
MSc. Secretary
|
Mrs. Lorraine Langford
|
B50
|
lal
|
2540
|
|
PhD. Secretary
|
Mrs. Margaret Anthony
|
E46
|
mta
|
8521
|
|
Tiwtor Cymraeg
|
Dr. Adrian Shaw
|
C54
|
ais
|
2215
|
|
Mature Students' Tutor
|
Dr. Edel Sherratt
|
C46
|
eds
|
2448
|
|
Overseas Students' Tutor
|
Dr. Edel Sherratt
|
C46
|
eds
|
2448
|
|
Special Needs Coordinator
|
Mr. David Smith
|
B44
|
dhs
|
2446
|
|
Staff/Student Committee
|
Mr. Nigel Hardy
|
C53
|
nwh
|
2434
|
|
Timetable Officer
|
Mrs. Meinir Davies
|
B44
|
met
|
2424
|
|
IS and Library Representative
|
Dr. Richard Jensen
|
C36
|
rkj
|
8510
|
|
Departmental Advisor
|
Dr. Lynda Thomas
|
C48
|
ltt
|
2452
|
|
Examination Board Chair
|
Prof. Dave Barnes
|
E49
|
dpb
|
1560
|
|
Examination Officers
|
Mr. David Smith
|
B44
|
dhs
|
2446
|
|
Mrs. Janet Hardy
|
B43
|
jzh
|
2431
|
|
Mrs. Meinir Davies
|
B44
|
met
|
2424
|
|
Industrial Year Administrator
|
Mrs. Lorraine Langford
|
B50
|
lal
|
2540
|
|
Industrial Placement Coordinator
|
Dr. Adrian Shaw
|
C54
|
ais
|
2215
|
|
Careers Liaison Officer
|
Dr. Adrian Shaw
|
C54
|
ais
|
2215
|
