Minutes of the Staff-Student Joint Committee held on
Monday 11th May 1998 at 2.15 pm in the Board Room
Present:
Dr C Y Barlow
Dr J H Brunton
Mr T A M Counsell
Ms D A Galletly
Dr S Godsill
Mrs J Hawtrey-Woore
Mr S A Low
Mr T Marwala
Ms E L Parry
Dr R W Prager (Secretary)
Mr B T Todd
Mr K M Wallace (Chair)
Ms C West
98.10 Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were received from Ms J M Conaghan, Mr M W Doherty, Mrs C B Drummond and Mr C J Lopez.
98.11 Minutes of the Meeting held on 2nd February 1998
The Minutes were accepted.
98.12 Matters Arising from the Minutes
97.45 Engineering at Cambridge : A Freshers Guide
Ms Galletly and Ms West reported that they had already had a meeting to plan the revision of the Freshers' Guide.
98.04 SSJC Booksale
The dates for book collection for the Booksale were noted.
98.05(a) Applications Lectures
It was noted that Dr Long is now maintaining a list of the titles of Engineering Applications Lectures on the web.
98.05(b) European Exchanges
Mr Wallace reported that we are exploring the possibility of joining either a scheme organised by the École Centrale Paris, or the "N+1 Scheme". Dr Brunton reported that the General Board are exploring the mechanisms necessary for the establishment of joint degrees with European universities.
98.05(c) Environmental Issues
Mr Todd and Mr Counsell introduced their document. Mr Wallace proposed that a shorter version of the document should be circulated to Subject Groups. We will also send copies to the lecturers responsible for courses for which suggestions are explicitly made in the document.
Mr Wallace thanked those involved for all the effort that went into preparing the paper.
98.06(c) Cola Machines
Unfortunately, we will probably have to move all the existing machines out of the Baker stairwell to improve access. Mrs Hawtrey Woore is trying to find a new location for them.
98.07(c) Accuracy of Cribs
It was noted that a form has been created to enable the reporting of errors. Dr Prager and Mr Wallace reported that they were still working on establishing an appropriate way to publicise the corrections.
Examiners will be encouraged to ensure that their cribs are revised and corrected in the light of experience gained marking the papers.
98.08(b) Availability of SSJC Minutes
It was noted that SSJC minutes were available on the web.
98.13 Computerised Survey and Best Lecturer Award
Dr Prager reported on progress with the development of the survey programme. It was suggested by the undergraduate members of the SSJC that filling in the survey might be made obligatory. There could be a prompt associated with the log-in screen.
Mr Counsell suggested that it could be made easier for students to identify lecturers. Perhaps a link to each lecture's web home page could be used.
98.14 Review of the 4th Year
Mr Wallace introduced the report from the 4th Year Review Committee. The committee were sympathetic to the proposed changes.
98.15 Suggestion for Improvement to Handouts
Mr Doherty's suggestion was welcomed by the committee. We will encourage lecturers to follow this advice. It was also commented that providing more complete bound handouts in the Library was particularly popular with Part I students.
98.16 Cheating in Part I Coursework
Dr Prager reported on students that had been caught cheating.
Some members of the committee felt that the marking of long reports was so rapid that some students did not feel that their work was read properly or valued sufficiently to justify putting a lot of effort into writing the report.
98.17 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of the SSJC will be on Monday 26th October 1998 at 2.15 pm in the Board Room.
98.18 Any Other Business
(a) Clashing Modules
Mr Wallace explained the way in which the timetable is constructed. The Teaching Office tries very hard to avoid clashes that will disappoint students. This problem may not be so severe under the new plans for the fourth year.