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Graduating from MSC Computer Science online University of York

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I've just dropped out. They do very little teaching. Their first module is Algorithms and Data Structures. In it, they show a lot of advanced math to prove algorithm run time. I asked the tutor if I needed to understand this math (keep in mind the entry requirement is GCSE level math) and the tutor said he won't tell me what I need to know from the course. Least helpful answer ever. I then asked a simple question regarding the math, and had no response.
The frustrating part is that they didn't explain the math, just showed it and moved on. I spent hours learning the math outside of the course. I can see there are still students who are struggling with this.
On the course's internal student forums, a lot of students share external resources, videos and courses that help them understand the material when it's supposed to be a self contained course.
I had another simple question that was ignored at first by the tutor. I had to chase for an answer. The tutor eventually responded after 5 days. The course moves really fast, and a delay of 5 days makes you fall behind.

At the end of the module, we had a pre-exam project were we had to apply the algorithm theory we learned to a practical application. We were never shown in the course how to apply the theory practically, so I asked the tutor if my thinking on how to approach the problem was suitable. The tutor told me he couldn't provide any guidance for pre-exam projects.
At that stage I withdrew from the course. I was there for a good learning experience. If the tutor won't help or explain concepts well, then I can get same learning experience by reading the text books on my own.
I actually had a good email from a member of the student success team asking if I'd like to speak to them about my decision to withdraw and if the University could do anything to help. This sounded really positive and made me think they might actually care about online students. So I called the person, and they couldn't have been more uninterested or uncaring. I'd give an example where the course was causing problems and in response there would be a 5 second delay before a dull "okay" came back.
After the call, I decided to lodge a complaint with them through their internal complaints procedure. The complaints team have since replied to say that due to a high volume of emails to their complaints inbox there will be a delay in responding to me. I wasn't surprised to hear that.
Reply 21
Original post by NDR008
How did you guys do that? We're literally fighting about the same things over and over (at Bath).

Hi!
So is Bath only slightly better than York? You didn't have recorded lectures at Bath either right?
Reply 22
Original post by noodles543
I've just dropped out. They do very little teaching. Their first module is Algorithms and Data Structures. In it, they show a lot of advanced math to prove algorithm run time. I asked the tutor if I needed to understand this math (keep in mind the entry requirement is GCSE level math) and the tutor said he won't tell me what I need to know from the course. Least helpful answer ever. I then asked a simple question regarding the math, and had no response.
The frustrating part is that they didn't explain the math, just showed it and moved on. I spent hours learning the math outside of the course. I can see there are still students who are struggling with this.
On the course's internal student forums, a lot of students share external resources, videos and courses that help them understand the material when it's supposed to be a self contained course.
I had another simple question that was ignored at first by the tutor. I had to chase for an answer. The tutor eventually responded after 5 days. The course moves really fast, and a delay of 5 days makes you fall behind.

At the end of the module, we had a pre-exam project were we had to apply the algorithm theory we learned to a practical application. We were never shown in the course how to apply the theory practically, so I asked the tutor if my thinking on how to approach the problem was suitable. The tutor told me he couldn't provide any guidance for pre-exam projects.
At that stage I withdrew from the course. I was there for a good learning experience. If the tutor won't help or explain concepts well, then I can get same learning experience by reading the text books on my own.
I actually had a good email from a member of the student success team asking if I'd like to speak to them about my decision to withdraw and if the University could do anything to help. This sounded really positive and made me think they might actually care about online students. So I called the person, and they couldn't have been more uninterested or uncaring. I'd give an example where the course was causing problems and in response there would be a 5 second delay before a dull "okay" came back.
After the call, I decided to lodge a complaint with them through their internal complaints procedure. The complaints team have since replied to say that due to a high volume of emails to their complaints inbox there will be a delay in responding to me. I wasn't surprised to hear that.

Hi, do you know if there are any conversion master which can be better?
Because it seems the others (like Bath) are quite similar to York
Original post by D.K.
Hi, do you know if there are any conversion master which can be better?
Because it seems the others (like Bath) are quite similar to York

Hey, I signed up to York CS & AI and Liverpool DS & AI.
You mentioned "conversion", for York, I would not treat it as a conversion course. They do cover the basics but it moves so fast that it gives no time for the basics to sink in. I had experience coding so I was at first able to keep up within the advertised 15 - 18.5 hours study a week until I came across the math and had to spend loads of time studying outside the course. If you're completely new to the subject area, then expect to spend much longer hours studying.
I primarily joined the course for a good learning experience. I thought a Master's would be nice to have but it wasn't my goal. I did not have a good learning experience, a big part of that was due to the terribly unhelpful support from the tutor. I've since had responses from the Director of Online Teaching which defended the unhelpful support and couldn't say tutor support would be any better if I were to continue the course with a different assigned tutor.
For Liverpool, I did the introduction module, wrote an essay and then dropped out in the first week of the first module once I saw what the course would be like. The feedback from the essay was good and helpful, so engagement from tutors already seemed much better than York. The problem for me was that each module required a ton of academic and referenced writing. All modules followed the same formula: week 1 write 2- 300 word essay on a topic to share with classmates, week 2 respond to two classmates writing 2- 300 words each to critique their essay, week 3 write a new 2- 300 word essay which considers the critiques you received from your classmates. Week 4, team project with classmates. Week 5, 6 & 7 are repeats of 1, 2 & 3 i.e essay, critique 2 classmates, new essay. Week 8, write a 2,000 word essay. In total, you’re writing approx 4,000 words of academic writing every 8 weeks, on top of a group project, lectures, and required reading. In the first week, we had to read approx 80 pages of published academic articles. You’ll also need to source and read other sources for your written work, so you’ll be doing a lot of reading. All this writing is graded and every module you do follows this pattern. I felt I'd be a better writer, researcher and debater at the end of the course than data scientist.
The Liverpool course seemed very professional, and despite my short time in the course I had far better interactions with tutors, admission officers and student support than I did at York. To be fair, it’s probably a good course if you know what you’re getting into. It just wasn’t right for me.
I think the people who do well in York are people who already know the subject area well and can handle the bad learning experience because they’re revising more than learning. The people who do well in Liverpool are people who excel at research reading and writing.
Personally, I didn’t need a Master’s degree so I could drop out. If you need a Master’s degree to get a job and a pay rise, then maybe you could persevere through these courses and maybe it’ll all be worth it for you.
As for alternatives outside of these two, I couldn’t really say. You could consider a less prestigious Uni in the UK, a Uni outside the UK, a part time undergrad course, bootcamps, or forget online and do a part time master’s in a bricks and mortar Uni.
Reply 24
Original post by noodles543
Hey, I signed up to York CS & AI and Liverpool DS & AI.
You mentioned "conversion", for York, I would not treat it as a conversion course. They do cover the basics but it moves so fast that it gives no time for the basics to sink in. I had experience coding so I was at first able to keep up within the advertised 15 - 18.5 hours study a week until I came across the math and had to spend loads of time studying outside the course. If you're completely new to the subject area, then expect to spend much longer hours studying.
I primarily joined the course for a good learning experience. I thought a Master's would be nice to have but it wasn't my goal. I did not have a good learning experience, a big part of that was due to the terribly unhelpful support from the tutor. I've since had responses from the Director of Online Teaching which defended the unhelpful support and couldn't say tutor support would be any better if I were to continue the course with a different assigned tutor.
For Liverpool, I did the introduction module, wrote an essay and then dropped out in the first week of the first module once I saw what the course would be like. The feedback from the essay was good and helpful, so engagement from tutors already seemed much better than York. The problem for me was that each module required a ton of academic and referenced writing. All modules followed the same formula: week 1 write 2- 300 word essay on a topic to share with classmates, week 2 respond to two classmates writing 2- 300 words each to critique their essay, week 3 write a new 2- 300 word essay which considers the critiques you received from your classmates. Week 4, team project with classmates. Week 5, 6 & 7 are repeats of 1, 2 & 3 i.e essay, critique 2 classmates, new essay. Week 8, write a 2,000 word essay. In total, you’re writing approx 4,000 words of academic writing every 8 weeks, on top of a group project, lectures, and required reading. In the first week, we had to read approx 80 pages of published academic articles. You’ll also need to source and read other sources for your written work, so you’ll be doing a lot of reading. All this writing is graded and every module you do follows this pattern. I felt I'd be a better writer, researcher and debater at the end of the course than data scientist.
The Liverpool course seemed very professional, and despite my short time in the course I had far better interactions with tutors, admission officers and student support than I did at York. To be fair, it’s probably a good course if you know what you’re getting into. It just wasn’t right for me.
I think the people who do well in York are people who already know the subject area well and can handle the bad learning experience because they’re revising more than learning. The people who do well in Liverpool are people who excel at research reading and writing.
Personally, I didn’t need a Master’s degree so I could drop out. If you need a Master’s degree to get a job and a pay rise, then maybe you could persevere through these courses and maybe it’ll all be worth it for you.
As for alternatives outside of these two, I couldn’t really say. You could consider a less prestigious Uni in the UK, a Uni outside the UK, a part time undergrad course, bootcamps, or forget online and do a part time master’s in a bricks and mortar Uni.

Yes Liverpool seems definitely too much!

Thank you for sharing the info!

I wonder if on-campus masters are better, you can do it in 12 months...but I guess the workload is going to be very very heavy.

The strange thing is that Sunderland is doing a online master (same marketing company of York and similar course structure) in CS that is doable in 12 months lol.
Basically I received an email from them saying that you do 2 modules at the same time....
Reply 25
If you're a student with educational experience in North America and are considering the online program at the University of York, I strongly advise against it. I've been enrolled in the Online Master of Computer Science for nearly a year now, and it's been nothing short of a frustrating experience. \
Firstly, the module scheduling seems designed to extract money from students. Final grades for the previous module are consistently delayed, supposedly due to "reasons," while the new module's registration keeps asking your payment as soon as possible. This leaves you in a bind—you're unable to assess your performance in the last module before committing to the next. By the time you receive your grades, you're already enrolled in the next module and have missed the refund deadline.
Secondly, the grading system is deeply flawed. There have been numerous complaints regarding the grading of the Advanced Programming module, with students contesting what they see as unfair evaluations. However, these complaints are met with dismissive responses from the online support team, insisting that their grading is impartial. In the current module on Software Engineering, there have been two delays in publishing final grades, supposedly because the highest grade achieved was 40 out of 100, implying that nobody passed the module. The lack of evidence to support their grading fairness led to these delays.
Thirdly, for those like myself who need to request Repeat Study, the process is equally frustrating. Despite providing documentation of increased workload and seeking support for mental health challenges impacting my studies, the online support team failed to comprehend my circumstances. They rejected my request first, citing reasons such as the timing of my consultation with a psychologist and the delay in addressing workload issues. Even after providing a detailed timeline and supporting evidence, they remained unsympathetic, pointing fingers at me for not taking action sooner.
When I first time saw my Psychologist, she said "It is not late as you are here for asking help." but when I felt better and requested to repeat studying on a previous module, the York online team said "you are not action sooner."
It's never too late to reconsider your involvement in this program. And it is never too last to quit from this program as it will not waste more money and time, I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I discourage anyone from enrolling in the University of York's online program if you asked my feeling

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