4 November 2015 Minutes

Board of Studies minutes from the 4 November 2015 meeting held on 2pm at 1.B10, Foresthill.

Minutes

Present: B Franke (Convenor), A Smaill (Academic Secretary), J Cheney, J Fleuriot, M Fourman, M Herrmann, P Jackson, A Lascarides, J Moore, I Murray, M Rovastos, R Shillcock, I Stark, P Stevens, B Webber, K Hardman,  B Muir (Secretary).

 

1. Apologies for Absence: L Haworth, J Hillston, F Keller, J Kirby, N Nardelli, S Renals, C Sutton.

B. Franke opened the Board of Studies, welcoming all Board Members.

 

2. Minutes of the previous meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted as a true record. All completed actions are recorded in the minutes, relevant updates have been recorded. 

 

3. Matters Arising

B. Franke advised that discussions with College and Exams about the online version of A.R. and I.V.R are continuing.

 

4. Proposal: Change to Course Workload Assessment – I. Stark (Proposal).

I. Stark proposed that the School sets a standard profile for the workload and assessment expected in 10-credit and 20-credit courses, there was general agreement with the changes suggested. The standard profile will be used for future course proposals, and retro-fitted for existing courses which will be discussed between the DoT and relevant course lecturer.

OUTCOME: Approved.

ACTION: Existing Year 3 courses to be represented at future BoS, instructions to be sent (B.Franke).

 

5. Course Level Change: Automated Reasoning – J. Fleuriot (Proposal).

J. Flouriet proposed to change the content of this course, and make it a Year 3 course option again.

This will help to expand student knowledge of this area, and will complement the content of P. Jackson’s adjusted Formal Verification course.

OUTCOME: Approved subject to a reduction of Learning Outcomes to maximum 5.

ACTION: Submit full course proposal at next BoS (J. Fleuriot).              

Course Proposal: Formal Verification – P. Jackson (Proposal).

P. Jackson proposed to create a new course, which will replace some of the content previously included in Automated Reasoning. This will be a Year 4 course, Level 11, also available to MSc and CDT students.

OUTCOME: Approved subject to a reduction of Learning Outcomes to maximum 5, reduction of summative feedback to 1, and compliance with new workload assessment guidelines.

ACTION: Submit full course proposal at next BoS (P.Jackson).

 

6. Course Proposal: Software Design and Modelling – P. Stevens (Proposal).

This course is intended as a replacement for S.E.O.C; this would include content from S.E.O.C as well as basic modelling tools e.g. Java. The course would be worth 20 credits, and change from 100% exam (as with S.E.O.C) to 50% Lab assessment/50% exam.

 There was discussion about keeping a cap on numbers for this course, to ensure the student experience.

OUTCOME: Approved subject to including specific equipment requirements to ensure cap of student numbers.

ACTION: Revised equipment requirements to be submitted to B. Franke for approval (I.T.O.).

ACTION: Confirmation of College Approval for quota (I.T.O.).

ACTION: Course to be created in EUCLID (I.T.O.).

 

7. Course Descriptor Change: INF1-CG - M. Lapata, C. Lucas, R. Shillcock (Proposal).

The wording of this descriptor has been edited, due to the addition of a lecturer to the course.

OUTCOME: Approved.

ACTION: Course to be updated in EUCLID (I.T.O.).

 

8. For Information: Resource Management of Courses – B. Franke

B. Franke highlighted the ongoing difficulties with recruiting enough tutors for courses, which has led to a poor student experience e.g. cancelled tutorials. Lecturers are encouraged to think of academic requirements as well as resource implications when proposing courses.

 

9. Update: Guidance for Online Courses Working Group – B. Franke

B. Franke advised that the group has met several times, and draft proposals are on the Wiki. The final proposal will be reviewed next week.

 

10. Update: N.S.S. Working Group – B. Franke

The group is reviewing proposals based on feedback from the N.S.S, including restructuring Year 3.

 

11. AOCB

a. MSc Project Suggestions – B. Webber

There are a large number of MSc students for 2015/16, an increase of nearly 40% on last year’s numbers. Staff will now be expected to cover 4 students each. B. Webber will send an email to staff to flag this up.

Previous meeting minutes