What do/did you dislike about Nottingham University?

It might take me a while to think of something I don't like lol. I wish the computing labs (for Computer Science students) were open 24 hours, but only because it makes things more convenient - everything can be done remotely. Libraries are open pretty much 24/7 term-time for everyone

I wish my course was more difficult. It might sound silly, but at the moment I don't feel as though I'm learning much at all.

Ooo one thing I really don't like is the Internet in halls. It's good, but it's not great. In terms of downloading, it takes less than a minute to download a 30-minute programme on iPlayer, but when you're trying to do something with a secure connection e.g. online banking, you can literally walk away from your computer, come back 20 minutes later (I did this), and the page will still be loading. I'm going to see about getting this sorted out though - there's plenty of call for it. I brought it up at a recent meeting, off the record, but will be seeing what everyone else feels and seeing what we can do Downloads are super-fast but browsing web pages takes quite a while sometimes.

Apart from that, I love the modules I'm taking/that are available, the teaching staff, the campus, my room, others' rooms, the food, the libraries: opening hours, book availability, all the architecture, financial support, the Hopper Buses (and fingers crossed will be even better next year), the staff, cleaning frequency, the JCR, the gigantic number of societies, the huge number of AU clubs, the SU Shop, the students, the location, Unipol, Jubilee Campus, etc etc lol

You seem to love Notts!

The bit in bold caught my attention. A 24/7 library is perfect for someone like me, as I would want to work when I have absolutely nothing to do. I've even made a list of what societies I'm planning on joining if I come Notts

Thanks for your reply though

The libraries are only open 24/7 during exam periods.

Yeah, I know lol... There are only a few things I'd like to be different, which I listed above, but our SU really does get things done when you want them to. It's only my first year and my tiny Course Rep role has gotten many things changed already

I don't know about all the libraries, but Hallward, one of the biggest, is open pretty much 24/7 including the group study rooms, postgraduate single study rooms, silent zones, computing facilities, all the comfy seating in the cafe etc lol... More info @ http://webapps.nottingham.ac.uk/widgets/maps/library/ Most libraries are open 24/7 during exam seasons (January and June) for last-minute coursework and cramming. Hallward 24/7 is definitely useful when you want to spend a night just getting all your coursework out of the way and enjoying a week coursework-free

Hmm, you're right. I didn't realise Hallward is staying 24/7 till end of year. I thought it was just for Jan exams.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread as I'm planning on firming Nottingham.

Yeah, just the lending desk isn't open 24/7 because Security keep it running out of hours.

But we have those cool self-service machines as well so you can still take books out from the libraries which are open, and you can return books from any library.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread as I'm planning on firming Nottingham.

Totally unrelated point, I just wanted to get your attention!
I've heard that some of the accommodation at Nottingham is pretty crap. Also, doesn't everyone have to move out of halls over christmas and easter?

It's pretty much the same in any university, with slight differences (the moving out I mean). Your normal contract is 31 weeks, so you move out over Christmas and Easter. If you'd rather stay in halls over these periods, then you can pay the additional on top by contacting your Hall Office when it's approaching Christmas and Easter, but they can't guarantee you'll have the same room over this time.

Some halls have longer contracts (see http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nh/students/accomm/accommodation_comparison.htm) - namely postgrad accommodation and those off the main campus (SB and those not run by the university).

The accommodation isn't crap at all. I might take a few photos of my room but see http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/360/students/university/rutland_hall_bedroom.shtml for an example. In fact, all of those pictures give a good indication, except for the Students' Union bar which has been completely renovated, renamed, all comfy leather sofas and side bars and stuff They've chosen one of the worse photos of Hallward as well - like we want to see what the desks look like on the Law and Social Sciences floor lol

Not a massive fan of moving out as it would probably take 2 journeys by my parents to bring everything home! Nottingham is a 3 hour I think. The accommodation looks so much nicer than how I thought it was (visited back in June). I'm visiting again on April 15th so will get a better idea then.

What course do you do there?

It's not as much hassle as you think tbh. I pack up a few days before departure date and then it takes like 20 minutes to load the car up; I didn#t bother unpacking when I went home - just took the essentials out like laptop, clothes for washing etc. Most universities I believe you'll have to move out over one of the holidays; plenty universities have 40-odd week contracts. But like I said, you can ask the Hall Office. I'll get some more specifics for you on Monday if you like? Nottingham is about 2/2.5 hours for me.

I do Computer Science!

Just wondering if you could tell me how CS is at Nottingham as I'm planning on firming it. Things like the teaching standards, teaching methods and equipment there.

Thanks

Heya! Teaching standards - spot on. All my lecturers are more than competent, as are the lab assistants and tutors! I'm Course Rep for my CS course actually, and the only complaints we had about teaching standards this year were: maths was difficult for those who didn't take a Maths A-Level (e.g. BTEC entrants), and that students taking the Intro to AI module weren't taught how to use MatLab and the built-in tutorial wasn't very good. I brought them both up at a meeting with the school staff and the plans for next year are to either put on some blitz tutorial sessions to bring people up-to-speed with the Maths they might need, or to make a workbook for students to have a crack at before they arrive at the University, or both. For those taking Intro to AI, we're looking into a basics tutorial or a basics workbook for getting to grips with MatLab, and I'll test that myself if I can

So that's my completely honest view on the standards of teaching. The feedback I got from the students was that both problems were solved if the above go ahead smoothly.

In terms of teaching methods, it varies, depending on which modules you take. In the Autumn term you'll have lectures for every module, labs for programming and systems architecture with lab assistants there to help you with the coursework, and tutorial sessions for every module. So if you're not quite getting something, there's time for somebody to go over it in much more detail outside of lectures. Most lectures will use PowerPoints, and the whiteboards for things like Maths. All the lecturers are [at least mildly] comic so you're not falling asleep lol, and certainly if you ask for the lectures to be taught differently, the lecturers will do it. Take the Unix/Software Tools module for this semester. The lecturer was off one day and uploaded a video lecture instead and people asked for more of them, so she records the lectures and puts them up online. The same happened with one of our modules having all the lectures recorded into podcasts last term

You don't need to worry about equipment. The main computing lab, A32, has something around 170-odd computers in it! There's another lab on the second floor and an IT lab on the top floor. They all have a mob of software installed.

All the lecture notes are made available online, although 1 or 2 modules only skeletons will be put up online because it's really beneficial for you to turn up to the lectures for those modules (really, it is).

So, in summary, 'tis all awesome! The couple of things in the first paragraph were sorted in a matter of a couple of weeks when we got everybody together for a meeting. If there's anything you'd rather have done differently teaching, content or resource wise, really just ask for it. The lecturers will stop what they're doing to help you out when they're in their office, and they'll let you know where that is and when they'll be there

Thanks for the detailed response

About the maths, I didn't take it at A-Level so I'm teaching it myself on this gap year, so I was wondering which modules would be most suited to preparing for studying CS. I was told to study C1-4, D1 and S1. Is decision maths very useful?