CSE Exit Survey Results

CSE Exit Survey Response Summary (2008-'09)

Freeform Questions

Freeform answers to: 'What single aspect of the CSE program did you find most helpful? Explain briefly.'

I enjoyed being able to custom-tailor my own approach to the degree, I felt like the ability to hand-pick my electives was of great benefit to me as I narrowed my focus later in my career.
Courses using modern tools to develop products on a modern system (e.g. courses in C#) and courses on networking and security topics.
I found the teachers to be very helpful and that to me is the most important part of any good learning experience.
I feel that group work was probably the most helpful part of the CSE program, even though at some points I didnt like working in a group. Ive learned how to handle people that are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the project and also people who arent as competent and dont really care.
The broad scope of the program was helpful in that I feel it has prepared me for a variety of careers.
I feel that the classes that incorporated group work into the projects was very helpful and very applicable to real world experience. During my co-ops, it is important to know and understand how to work in a diverse group. I feel that being book smart can only get you so far but if you cant function in a interdisciplinary work environment, you wont last long.
Buccis version of 757 was by far the most relevant and helpful course I took. Ive sat in on other sections of 757 and found them to be very different, and not nearly as applicable. Courses more like this should be a standard part of the curriculum.
The most helpful to me was the learning of all different types of knowledge in the CSE field.
The variety of programming languages learned throughout the classes
The advising was top notch, any issues or questions that came up tended to be answered or resolved in a quick and satisfactory manner.
Not until late in my career here at OSU did they start teaching real languages like C# and Java as substantial courses. I think that was needed much earlier on in the cirriculum especially before 560. I can talk about C# with an employer and sound like I know what i am talking about bc I do know what i am talking bout
The big list of choices of CSE courses to choose from since not everyone would be into just one specific area in CSE.
Broad coverage of the applications of computer science.
The courses were very organized.
The ability to chose CSE classes that interested me in the line of work that I want to do. I wish there was more time devoted to technical options.
The aspect of the CSE program I found most helpfull was the range of courses given for different topics related to hardware, software and the various aspects or programming.
The project classes were good resume padding. Even though we used older languages such as C++ and Java, having projects to talk about with interviewers as opposed to simply talking about classes weve taken is a major plus.
I feel like my ability to approach problems logically and analytically has increased significantly as a result of the CSE program. While the actual technology experience in the program is inadequate on its own for industry, we learned how to learn quickly- which is more important.
459 series of classes. Although the knowledge gained in those particular classes only stays current for a brief period, it is one of the few classes that teaches the practical aspects of computer science.
Classes with projects such as CSE560. That is the only class I really learned anything in. It had a real world environment type of team where we engaged in developing a piece of software.
As much as I didnt like the class, the programming principles class (cant remember the number) taught me how to learn any language as a whole, and to analyze it easier. Good class.
The classes where we learned a specific language in order to apply our knowledge in a classroom setting. CSE 762 in particular was an excellent class.
The introduction sequence (220 series) was properly made and helpful. The model the courses follow by building on each other allows less overlap and more focus on new areas. I would like to see similar course series higher up.
The curriculum was structured very well. It was easy to get a broad understanding of many software engineering concepts.
The advising office; they really helped me plan out exactly what courses I needed to take to graduate on time, as well as provided invaluable advice on how to succeed in this program.
The GEC requirements for the degree allowed me to explore topics of interest outside of Computer Science and Engineering, and to gain skills not focused on in an engineering program.
More advanced classes were much more engaging with stronger faculty and immersion.
Taking 459 felt like one of the most important classes. It really helped when programming labs in the later classes.
The 560 course, a chance to work on a large project with other students is very valuable. More courses like that would be excellent.
The wide array of courses available and the ability to choose a specific area of study.
It was helpful that I finally got to choose some technical electives.
FEH...great interacting with other engineering disciplines and getting a taste for enineering issues
Capstone courses were most helpful.
The help with a plan for which courses were needed and when. The staff advisers helped me figure out what was right for me.
I really enjoyed software courses like 655. I think this kind of course really gave hands on experience writing from ground up. I also think cse 560 was the single most enlightening class. It seemed to me that the class didnt so much teach software or writing as much as it did teach working with people professionally.
the courses in various field that the CSE program provides is helpful.
The reputable degree
The later courses that dealt more closely to real-world problems in CSE. Also courses with strong emphasis in implementation.
Courses: 680, 494J, 560, 758
Interest of the curriculum to make students knowledgeable in many areas helped me very much. Ability to interact with people outside my major (for ME, ISE and other courses) was also helpful. Capstone courses provided real insight into the development life-cycle of a software product and meeting with clients who are outside OSU (working in real world) gave an insight into real things that are happening.
I found that just learning the general software engineering process was the most helpful, along with learning different techniques behind this. CSE 560 and 757 were probably the most helpful classes in this regard. They forced students to work on projects in a certain way, which is what students will have to do out in the professional world.
The project courses such as CSE 560 and the capstone courses. These courses forced us to get some real world experience, do some research on new technologies, and apply what we learned.
Resolve Series, Capstone, and 560
Most professors have a very good understanding of information in their field making them very good at teaching students. Most professors are very knowledgable.
Many of the classes covering software design, such as 560, 616, and 757. They were a large help in understanding how to better organize efforts when developing larger systems.
Great focus on core concepts that apply across all programming languages.
The availability of 700 level classes to undergrad students. Havin taken some of those classes it was a lot easier for me to decide to go to grad school. Also, the Staff Advising is very helpfull and makes it easier to get answers about the classes you need to take for graduation.
knowledgeable faculty capable of expressing that knowledge intelligibly
I found the CSE program to have a wide breadth of topics that allowed me to, some of the time, pick classes I thought were interesting to me even if they werent generally interesting to the majority of students.
Internship
the theoretical underpinnings necessary to understand the computer science curriculum.
The advisers were always very helpful which made the college experience less stressful.
Classes with team programming projects.
Group projects that forced me to work in teams and learn new technologies to complete the project.
CSE 616, CSE 758. Doing real projects with real people. Nothing better than experience.
The professors were very well qualified and possessed great knowledge of the material. If you had a question they could give you a sensible answer or if they didnt know the answer they would find it and relay it to you.
Teaching the foundation and skill set needed to adapt to a variety of challenges faced in the real world.
I found the group project based courses to be very helpful in learning to work as a team and set design goals while also gaining experience using different technologies.
The large variety of choices for technical electives and variety of CSE courses offered.
I found the advisors and the professors to be very useful for acquiring information, and helpful for making informed decisions.
Because we did not focus on specific technologies we were able to gain more fundamental knowledge. Since the current technologies will always be changing, our fundamental knowledge will help us even as the current technologies change.
There was a good amount of group projects over the various courses that I took. Soft skills are becoming more important in the workplace, and the interaction and collaboration required in group projects helps to develop those skills.
The CSE faculty and advisers are very good. Also, the curriculum itself is, for the most part, very complete. Choosing options (software, software/hardware, etc.) is also very nice, as it allows the student to tailor the program to his or her interests.
Team Projects. Team projects are how the world works and this allowed a large benefit from the classroom to get that experience
The teamwork focus of several core classes has greatly improved my ability to work with other students. It has provided me an opportunity to act as both a team leader and help delegate responsibilities as well as the chance to fill specific roles within a team somebody else was leading. Learning how to accomplish either role effectively will benefit me in the job place.
Every class with a group project. In every job Ive had I rarely worked by myself. So it stands to reason that an environment where it is encouraged to learn and work with other students would be very beneficial. The traditional schooling scheme of homework, quiz, midterm, and exam does not support this. It is an antiquated system that needs to be scrutinized. One of the major parts of being an engineer is working with others, and this shouldnt be a class so much as integral to more classes. I was fortunate to be able to take some of the C series of math classes before they were removed. They were a classic example of cooperative learning. Students helping other students learn and understand the work.
Some excellent faculty members!! E.g. Prof Ramnath adds a lot of value! He has lots of contacts with industry, teaches things that are relevant in the industry, and is not about just theory! Newpath program and Europa are other examples where faculty members go out of their way to encourage students in their pursuits.

Freeform answers to: 'What single change in the CSE program would you most like to see? Explain briefly.'

There are too many core courses to get done in four years with anything less than a rushed and, consequentially, botched education. If you honestly expect people to be able to exercise that level of freedom that the technical electives entail then the core classes need to be trimmed in order to make the fourth-year graduation a possibility, not an exception. Im glad I had the independent resources necessary to fund myself for a fifth year, if I hadnt then I would not have been able to take advantage of what the program really has to offer.
More emphasis on networking, IT, and other issues not directly related to software development.
Allowing for a more focused cirriculum based on preferences. I would have liked to have the ability to choose more of my major classes.
I would like to see more emphasis on actual programming in more of the courses. Some courses teach you the abstract ideas behind some subject but you never actually implement anything yourself. Learning the theories behind certain subject matter is important but hands-on experience makes it much easier to understand. For example, in my 677 class (networking), we learned about the protocols behind computer networks but we never actually wrote even a simple program that used those protocols. I also would like to see more use of the Safari online textbooks in classes. There are tons of great books on Safari but some classes still make you purchase a $150 dead-tree book. Using Safari would ease some of the financial burden of CSE students - and they could also purchase the books at a discount if they wanted to. Sorry for this long response, but I also think that the amount of credits hours assigned to some of the classes is not proportional to the amount of work involved in that class. It seems that the higher-level and more difficult classes are worth 3 credit hours while introductory courses are worth 4 or 5. Why is my very easy literature GEC 5 credit hours but the capstone course only 4?
A stronger introductory sequence that would teach a programming language more useful than RESOLVE. Throughout my program I always felt as if I learned my programming practices on my own rather than having been taught them.
I found it sometimes difficult to find classes that would give me a broad range of education. There are a lot of classes that I find interesting but was either unable to take them b/c of time or they just werent approved towards my major and therefore taking them was difficult.
There seemed to be almost no engineering in the computer science engineering program here, calling it such is a misnomer. There needs to be more focus on good design principles, how to step back and think logically about a problem before diving in and writing code. It was extremely worrisome to me when, in the last lab course I took, students were still making random changes to their code, then running it to see if their problem was magically fixed. Its the antithesis of engineering, and the problem badly needs to be fixed.
classes changed to where they are offered all the time to meet with students schedules. Also update the techniques and things taught, as some are outdated.
More classes focusing extensively and going into depth in certain programming languages
Course offerings need to be more varied, many of the courses that I wanted to take overlapped in time slots and were only offered once a year.
I would like to see new technologies/languages taught in the cirriculum as part of the senior course. Not just teach a new language or technology becuase you can, but tie it to things that have already been taught so that as a whole all of that information is tied together in our minds. I think that this would be best.
Not changing the graduation requirements so often. Also, following through with not making the students that came in earlier years go based off the new requirements.
More professors available to teach the same class since not all the professors can be understood.
More courses on working with companies; something closer to internships or field experience.
Some of the instructors and professors, especially from other countries outside US, didnt have enough communication skills, so I think there should be improvements on this matter.
I wish there was more time devoted to technical options.
I belive either a course in applying common algorithms to a real life problem or integrating knowledge and the applications of popular algorithms into existing courses would be helpfull.
In terms of the curriculum, I did not learn anything which I could directly apply to my industry internships. When I got an internship, I basically had to start from scratch - my first week was spent reading books about .NET. I found that the emphasis on RESOLVE is misleading. Students are told that this is how programming is, and in reality its not even close. I think there should be a course designed around a more real-world application with the 3-layer system - data layer (database), business layer (C#.NET code), and UI layer (a ASP.NET webpage). In terms of advising, I found that to be a bit misleading. I had gotten a 5 on the AP BC Calc test, and rather than recognizing that I did not need to take any calc at OSU, I was told that I needed to take the 161 series. They obviously did not know what they were talking about. Also, my tech-elect advisor was unreachable and seemed totally disinterested in me (hakan).
Early on as a Freshman I did not know what classes I needed to take, and it ended up costing me an extra quarter down the line. The course and major options were overwhelming to me as a Freshman. I wish it all would have been laid out more clearly for me. I did not like the RESOLVE series, although I may be able to better appreciate it now if I were to take it again since I now have more insight into languages.
A move to more practical classes. I feel like the program attempts to cover abstract ideas but generally just covers old abstract ideas that do not require spending the majority of the quarter covering. I feel like the result of this is students leaving the college without the required knowledge to effectively enter the work force because they lack any real practical knowledge.
Taking out electrical engineering courses. Those are only needed in the hardware field of computer engineering. Most people enter the software side of computer engineering.
Maybe learn some more advanced technologies--namely, C# and .Net, as opposed to older languages like C and freaking RESOLVE.
Get rid of group classes! Getting stuck with group members in every class who dont have the knowledge or experience to do the project is hardly a quality education. In the real world they would be fired an replaced. In my classes they received a bad grade (how does that help me?!?!) and I was stuck wasting my time making up their work. Professors also seem to be trained to not care and just state that thats how the real world is.
The course CSE 676 is the only course I have taken which helps inform students of the mechanics of modern computer architecture. Setting aside that the professor is an exceptionally poor lecturer, I would like to see this class expanded and placed far earlier in the curriculum. !!!Students should not be fourth year CSE majors without any idea of how to put together a computer!!!
I think there needs to be a better transition from the RESOLVE sequence to regular classes. I do think the RESOLVE series has a lot to offer, but most professors do not allow students to do labs in upper-level CSE classes in RESOLVE. This requires students with only RESOLVE background to learn a new language while trying to do a rather difficult lab.
I would like to see teachers that do a better job of explaining concepts; much of time time our professors are extremely bright people who, I think, forget that their students dont have the same level of understanding and experience as they do.
I would like to see a shift away from low-level computing courses to something more focused on software engineering and design. Along these lines, topics such as design patterns or object oriented analysis and design should be covered in required courses. I often found it difficult to schedule classes relating to these topics, either due to cancellation, or rotating schedule offerings.
Teach 221, 222, 321 in C++. More support of student groups and department as a whole. Many resources available, but not very much awareness of them.
The way Information is presented in class largely is up to individual professors to come up with lesson plans it seems. Standardized compiled powerpoint presentations of class information that have been proven or thought to be most efficient should be used as to confuse the students the least and enrich their learning the most. Kill resolve
I would like to see better coding practices taught, as well as a better introduction to object oriented coding. Use of more modern tools would be good earlier on. Did not like Resolve. Need to keep things more current and up to date.
Better adaption to students with prior experience. My high school AP CS class taught me material (such as algorithm analysis) that wasnt seen for years here.
There are two things I wish I would have been more informed about. 1.) The combined MS BS program offered at Ohio State. I think this is something that professors should tell the students about early in the program. 2.) Closer relationship to professors.
The software component engineering intro sequence is trying to do to many things. It is unfocused and generally misses the point in most respects. RESOLVE is garbage. Get rid of it, and teach a real language.
Use more modern applications, languages, techniques, etc in cirriculum. The 772 capstone is putting together an AJAX web application but no one in the class knows how to do web application program or use MS SQL Sever or the Windows environment for program. There is a whole branch of computer science jobs that this program does not even touch but requires students to know to complete a capstone class.
1) Students should be required to do more than one capstone course. 2) Number of GEC credits should go down.
More classes that focus on real-world career aspects.
I would really appreciated a c++ or java class before getting into 560 as part of the core. It seemed to me that not only did i teach myself c++ in that class but nobody else had any real programming experience.
i wish each course need to be more practice with real work product.
more useful classes that can be applied to real life. Only got from the capstone. (front end - guis, back end - lots of code, learn new things in process)
Get rid of RESOLVE. It would be much beneficial for students to start out using just plain C++ or maybe a much more object oriented language like C# or Java. They would also familiarize themselves with languages common in the real-world while learning the structure of design-by-contract.
Greater focus on project related curriculum (hard to achieve in quarter system, admittedly). Require 494J (421, now I guess) or C# or C++ equivalent of all students after RESOLVE sequence.
More capstone courses would be highly encouraged. There should be a way to let students know and realize how important it is to communicate with majors of other colleges and also to communicate with non-technical people. I am a little dis-satisfied with the fact that there are no big-league companies life Google, Amazon, Apple and some from Silicon valley (Apart from Intel, Microsoft, Cisco and very few others) coming to our college for career fairs, thus limiting the scope of opportunity to get into really good computers-oriented companies.
I would like to see more group projects in all classes. Sure, classes need individual homework assignments, but with how the professional world is, working with additional people on projects is monumental in preparing the student for a career. I also feel that the classes did not generally prepare me for how the working world might be, which is why classes like 560 and 757/758 should be so important and more classes like them should be offered/required as to prepare students for a career.
More emphasis on software develpment process (at least for the software systems option) Also more courses teaching important technologies such as SQL. Most importnatly more project oriented courses, I feel they teach us how to work in the real world and will help build a stronger resume.
Read the SETs. Some teachers are not good and shouldnt be teaching.
I think the intro to programming course(ie CSE 221, 222, 321) should look into using a real world programming language, C++ Resolve has advantages when it comes to helping to teach students new to programming but I feel learning C++ itself or Java would be more useful in the long run.
I would like for more projects to involve the development of practical software. It would be a helpful transition to the job market.
More focus on classwork that is web based (i.e. build a program that runs on a web site).
I feel that there was not a lot contact with real world tools, I liked RESOLVE as an introductory language, but I believe that teh intermediate course (after 321) that its being deisned now should be obligatory and probably offered not only in JAVA but also in C++ or C# and Python to allow students to get a good grasp of a language. When I went from 321 to 560 and 541 I felt like I was left in the cold because I had no idea of how to implement labs, and still today I dont feel comfortable programming in any language (this also has to do with the fact that I decided to focus more on theoretical aspects of CS ratehr tahtn practical ones).
the object-oriented programming concepts of the opening RESOLVE sequence could be carried over more strongly thru the rest of the curriculum - you start out learning about how to write good organized programs, and then in subsequent courses as you hack together solutions for proof-of-concept labs you kinda forget about it.
A more contemporary and realistic faculty. I had far too many professors who seemed out of touch with reality or who, even if they were in touch with current practices and problems, never once mentioned them in class or asked anyone about them to spark our interest.
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there simply is no where near, not even in the same galaxy, enough practical application of the theoretical knowledge. in the industry, all that matters is the ability to immediately apply the knowledge you have. period. that is simply not what ohio state cares about, and its as obvious as anything can be. this is truly a shame. i generally wont hire OSU graduates without prior knowledge of their expertise, because the majority have no practical skills. forced co-op would be a start.
Have more classes on project management and the planning that goes into making software.
Better early teaching of common languages. No Resolve.
Bringing in more examples from work in the outside world. Especially web technologies.
Make freshman take an intro course in a programming language that they want to learn. Then instead of having the intro course be RESOLVE/C++ let freshman be able to continue using the programming language they have chosen. That way they get 5 years of experience with a programming language they like, that they are comfortable with, and they dont have to jump around between languages depending on the course that is being taken. Also maybe not so much focus on theory of computers but practice. More hands on stuff instead of having to imagine things from what a book says or what is written on the blackboard.
I would like to see courses with more of a direct connection to real world concepts. Homework questions often asked how a topic may be applied to the real world but lab assignments were usually too narrowly scoped and did not translate well to real applications.
I think it would be great if more involvement with outside organizations were brought to OSU. Examples can be found in the setup of CSE 616 and CSE 762. Though I cant say how feasible these models are to scale.
The availability of modern software classes, I.E. MSSQL, C#, LINUX etc that are used in the job market, not making them required but making them available.
I would like to see the analysis and design aspects of computer engineering introduced earlier in the program instead of only in the last few classes of the series.
the Resolve C++ sequence. The concepts are fine, but it would be much more helpful to learn those concepts in a contemporary language.
I would like to see more clubs and social programs made available for undergrads.
Real world experience. Either have at least some classes focusing on specific technologies or build internships or co-ops into the program like other schools and help students achieve these positions directly through the CSE department.
More time working in a realistic work environment... for example, using Visual Studio and a source control system.
My faculty advisor was nonexistent when I attempted to contact him for advising on course selection. I learned quickly that I had to go to the Undergraduate Advising staff for any such help.
While 616 and 758 allow students to interact with real life clients, this real world experience is not found anywhere else in the CSE curriculum. This should be changed. Also, more focus on .NET, and other frameworks used in the real world, would be nice.
Faculty reviews should be more strongly looked at, and action should be taken based on these reviews. The teachers determine the interest level of the classroom and if a teacher is unengaged in the material or cannot explain it clearly to all of their students then there is a loss of interest and learning goes down.
I would like to see see a CSE course offering that teaches MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes). I have been asked at every job interview if I have experience working with it. I have been able to answer yes because I had some on the job learning during an internship and that has given me a huge advantage. I think learning to use Windows APIs to create a variety of applications with GUIs would greatly benefit undergraduate students both in terms of berdth of knowledge and preparedness for the jobplace.
I would change the introductory classes. Im sure you guys get this a lot, and for good reason--221, 222, and 321 all need to be changed. The problem is simple, the CSE classes on a whole do not give enough experience with C/C++ (all class not just the intro series), so while we learn the concepts, applying them can sometimes be difficult. Ive taken interviews where I was not nearly knowledgeable and not nearly as confident as I should be with the language. The best place to teach the language is not a class dedicated to it, but along side the concepts presented in the intro series. A commanding knowledge of C/C++ may not be necessary curriculum, but it is very beneficial when you are trying to get a job. And there is no reason the people that designed the course cannot teach proper programming practices using C/C++ and the standard library.
Less reliance on RESOLVE. RESOLVE is good to learn some basic concepts, but there are 3 CSE classes and few required math classes dedicated to it. People in the industry make fun of it. It is difficult to look for internships, because students dont end up learning C/C++ or Java, but a dialect of C++ which will never be used in the future. CSE department lacks classes on the latest things in the industry. It seems that CSE education is good with the basics, but if a student wants a good job s/he has to go out of their way to pick up skills outside the classroom.