[SWLUG] Thanx

[James Edgeworth]

Michael Johnson wrote:
> Actually I'm also a bit puzzled about why ICT courses are always based around Windows. Even at 
> uni the sysadmin stuff was Windows-based and UNIX/Linux was rarely mentioned. I could never 
> understand why, considering the majority of web servers run some variant of UNIX. Does anyone 
> actually use Windows Server?
>
>   

The problem was that they mixed the modules between different awards - 
Computer science shared almost all of it's modules with "Computing". 
Their reason was that they do not have the money to seperate them any 
further.

They also seemed to hate the idea of keeping a module 'difficult'/on 
topic. People went to uni not to do a science, but as a way of getting 
into "a very well paying industry". Loads of students sacrificed their 
marks to go to the endless social events the union would put on (and 
advertise on almost every notice board), and uni's answer to the falling 
grades was to make the modules easier.

There used to be subjects such as data structures and algorithms, which 
were removed and replaced with "programming". This was also shared to 
some of the basic awards, and was just a year of getting started with 
java. The second year then had a module for "event driven programming" 
which was VB.NET. Guess what? Most the year was how to do if's, for's, 
while's and so forth - the same things we went through in year 1, just 
again in VB. People STILL found it an absolute struggle, some even 
commenting "why are we doing this programming stuff?" "Well, you did 
pick computer SCIENCE".

Finally, in the third year, we got onto C programming, in a Linux 
environment. Although the first assignment was to write a clone of "ls 
-lR", and it was only worth 12.5% of that module. The second assignment 
was about semaphores, and worth the same amount. The rest of the module 
was writing a report about modern Windows VS Linux, and how they 
approach security, development, etc.

The gist is, those who work hard are punished, as the uni tweaks things 
for those who are there for a heavy discount on booze. Ideally people 
should be interviewed, and those who are there with a scientific 
interest should do a proper computer science, and those who "heard it 
was a good industry" should go do a seperate computing 'degree' aimed at 
the usual office work. Then again, isn't that what college is for?

I sure hope this situation is alien to other university's.

James